The Wire

A conference on West Papua held last week in Sydney raised concerns about the viability of the special autonomy law, implemented by Jakarta in 2001 as a compromise to stop the province from seeking independence, a long held aim of many Papuans. The gathering in Sydney, called Paths to Justice and Prosperity, saw delegates from inside West Papua as well as those living in exile discuss issues facing the province, including everything from ongoing human rights abuses perpetrated by the Indonesian military to labor problems and the scourge of HIV Aids devastating the province. The Wire attended the conference and spoke to some of participants to get their thoughts on the future of this trouble part of Indonesia. First up, Agus Alue Alua, a member of the Papuan People’s Assembly told the delegates that despite one of the aims of Special Autonomy supposedly being to reduce the numbers of Indonesian troops in the province, troop numbers have increased substantially since the law was implemented.