The political rights of indigenous Papuans are regulated in the mandate of Law Number 2 of 2021 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua. This law contains everything about how special autonomy was created and implemented, including the reasons why the central government consolidated the special rights of the Papuan people in the form of special autonomy. Everything that happens in Papua, including all activities in strategic areas, will be done for the welfare of all the people of Papua. More importantly, the targets of prosperity are the natives of Papua. Customary rules and customary law are also taken into account. In addition to the economic problems associated with the use of natural resources to increase the well-being of Papua’s indigenous population, there are political problems of particular concern. One of them is the political rights of the indigenous people of Papua, which are managed and protected.
Papuan leaders must be native Papuans. Starting with the Governor at the Regency level and also at the Mayor/ Regency Governor City/ Regency Governor level. The doubt that a native Papuan will hold the post has raised concerns ahead of simultaneous regional leadership elections scheduled for November. Of course, they all hope that their political rights will be protected. Thus, indigenous Papuan leaders are themselves indigenous Papuans who have gone through a legitimate general election process.
Indonesia is a country with the core ideology of Pancasila, whose motto is Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. It means that they are different, but still one. The existence of these ideological guidelines proves that Indonesian society as a whole is not different, even if its regional origin, ethnicity and of course culture are different. When regional elections are held, anyone can become the leader of each region. This means that there are no boundaries of regional origin for regional leaders.
The above conditions are different from those in Papua. The Special Autonomy Law introduced special rights, namely that the entire Papua region must be governed by native Papuans. Concerns arise when Papua, as part of Indonesia, also adheres to the ideological guidelines of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. In addition, Papua also has immigrants from outside the region and from various tribes and cultures. They also have the same political rights where they can vote and be elected in general elections. But once again, this does not apply to Papua.
The special political rights of Papuan indigenous peoples must be protected and supported in the Papuan Special Autonomy Law through the Papuan People’s Assembly. The objective is clear, to implement the current law with all existing privileges. That in the future the indigenous people of Papua have the same political rights as those who are elected and elected. In addition, there are special political rights in terms of how indigenous Papuans can become leaders in their lands.
