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INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 9788
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY PRIORITY 3204
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 9943
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON PRIORITY 0978
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 009861 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PP ID
SUBJECT: PAPUA: GOVERNORS SWORN IN, SBY VISITS 
 
REF: JAKARTA 9161 (PAPUAN POLITICAL ROUND-UP) 
 
JAKARTA 00009861  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Daniel E. Turnbull.  Reason 1 
.4 (b, d) 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Summary. The directly-elected governors of West 
Irian Jaya and Papua were sworn in without incident on July 
24 and 25, respectively.  The inaugurations mark the end of a 
long period of strife over the partition of Papua and the 
outcome of the March 10 direct elections.  President 
Yudhoyono's goodwill visit to Jayapura and Yahukimo regency 
July 26-29 emphasized themes of development and welfare.  End 
Summary. 
 
Governors Sworn In 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) On July 24, Indonesian Home Affairs Minister Mohammad 
Ma'aruf swore in Abraham O. Atururi and Rahimin Katjong as 
Governor and Vice Governor of West Irian Jaya province.  The 
pair had won the March 10 direct elections on the PDI-P 
ticket with a lopsided majority.  The swearing-in was held in 
Manokwari, the provincial capitol. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Shortly before the inauguration, Jimmy Ijie, the 
speaker of West Irian Jaya's Provincial Assembly, announced 
that the body would soon take action to change the province's 
name to West Papua (Propinsi Papua Barat).  This proposal, 
supported by all candidates in the direct election campaign, 
is symbolically meaningful in that it replaces the New 
Order-era term Irian Jaya.  The change would be approved by 
provincial authorities, then forwarded to the central 
government. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On July 25, Ma'aruf swore in Barnabas ("Bas") Suebu 
and Alex Hesegem as Governor and Vice Governor of Papua in a 
ceremony in Jayapura.  The incoming governor promised to 
address the problem of unresponsive bureaucrats in provincial 
government and to resolve tribal disputes such as the one 
ongoing in Timika regency, which has cost several lives.  In 
a speech at the inauguration, Provincial Parliament Speaker 
John Ibo, who had previously sought to block Suebu's 
installation as governor (reftel para 3), stated that he was 
willing to end the feud in the interests of Papuan society. 
Despite lingering concern that supporters of defeated 
candidate Lukas Enembe might stage a protest, the 
inauguration went off smoothly. 
 
¶5. (C) Suebu's swearing-in was attended by West Irian Jaya 
Governor Atururi, likely signaling an end to the simmering 
conflict between the two provinces' elites.  Suebu's 
predecessor Jaap Solossa had refused to acknowledge the 
validity of West Irian Jaya's creation, and was backed in 
this by the Papuan People's Assembly (Majles Rakyat Papua, 
MRP).  Even before the swearing-in, there were indications 
that the dispute was winding down.  In mid-July, delegations 
from Papua, West Irian Jaya, and the MRP held an amicable 
meeting on the island of Biak where it was agreed to request 
a committee of experts from Cendrawasih and Papua 
Universities to make recommendations on solving certain 
problems of the Special Autonomy Law.  An associate of Suebu 
told poloff July 15 that Suebu had a good rapport with 
Governor Atururi.  The two men have known each other since 
Suebu's previous term as appointed governor of Papua and 
Atururi's term as regent of Sorong. 
 
Yudhoyono Visits Papua 
---------------------- 
 
¶6. (U)  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) visited 
Jayapura, Wamena and Pasema on July 26-29.  In Jayapura, he 
was accompanied by his wife and a large delegation including 
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie, 
Armed Forces Commander In Chief Marshall Djoko Suyanto, State 
Minister for Underdeveloped Regions Syaefullah Yusuf, Health 
Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, Agriculture Minister Anton 
Apriyanto, Transportation Minister Hatta Rajasa, Social 
Affairs Minister Bachtiar Hamzah, and Home Affairs Minister 
Mohammad Ma'aruf. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In Jayapura, Yudhoyono met for the first time with 
members of the MRP.  Previously, SBY had deflected their 
requests for meetings, referring them instead to Vice 
President Kalla.  SBY's discussions with both the MRP and 
Governor Suebu apparently centered on implementation of the 
Special Autonomy law.  In his public remarks, SBY 
acknowledged that that the law, which has to date resulted in 
 
JAKARTA 00009861  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
11 trillion rupiah into provincial and regency coffers, must 
be implemented in a transparent way, so that society would 
understand how it was being used and not suspect 
embezzlement.  He said that three years after its enactment, 
it was time for the law to be reviewed to see how it could be 
better implemented.  Contrary to expectations (ref A paras 
8-11), SBY did not announce his "New Deal" policy as such 
during the trip, but discussed acceleration of development 
only in general terms. 
 
¶8. (SBU) In the mountainous regency of Yahukimo, SBY visited 
Wamena and Pasema, where his program highlighted welfare and 
development issues.  He and the First Lady visited schools, 
toured agricultural projects, inaugurated a hydroelectric 
plant, and in Pasema attended a harvest festival.  Announcing 
that the isolated area had overcome the ordeal of the failed 
harvest that had led to 83 deaths from malnutrition last 
year, SBY formally dissolved the interdepartmental working 
group that had been formed to address the crisis.  In Wamena, 
SBY said that he was accelerating construction of the new 
highway connecting the city to Jayapura.  At present, 150 
kilometers of the 500-kilometer road remained to be 
completed, he said. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) SBY deflected calls for creation of a Central 
Papuan province centered on Jayawijaya Regency.  Among those 
calling for the creation of such a province were Jayawijaya 
Regent Nicholas Jigibalom and supporters of defeated 
gubernatorial candidate Lukas Enembe, a a favorite son of the 
region.  Implicitly acknowledging the controversy touched off 
by former President Megawati's creation of West Irian Jaya 
and aborted formation of Central Papua, SBY responded that 
creation of new provinces could not be undertaken hastily, 
but rather must be studied carefully and factor in the 
concerns of all involved parties. 
 
¶10. (U) A planned opening of a road connecting Papua with 
Papua New Guinea, in which PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael 
Somare was to have participated, was cancelled at the last 
minute, reportedly at the request of the PNG side.  The GOI 
said that the cancellation was due to "technical reasons," 
not because of concerns about security of the border area. 
The TNI has reportedly stepped up patrols of the border area 
and cooperation with the Papua New Guinea military since an 
attack, allegedly by separatist OPM guerillas, on TNI forces 
in the village of Wembi earlier this year. 
 
¶11. (C) Comment.  The inauguration of the two governors marks 
the end of a period of strife and indirection in Papuan 
politics.  2005 was marked by feuding among the elites over 
the partition of Papua into two provinces.  With the MRP now 
apparently resigned to the existence of West Irian Jaya, and 
with the swearing-in of two governors who apparently get 
along well, this conflict will likely subside.  The 
inaugurations also end months of acrimony surrounding the 
result of Papua's March 10 direct elections.  SBY's visit is 
a welcome gesture of goodwill despite its apparent absence of 
real substance.  Like his Christmas visit in 2004, it shows 
his continued personal interest, in contrast to the approach 
of President Megawati, who allowed her ministers to devise 
conflicting policies that left Papuans disappointed and 
angry.  End comment. 
PASCOE