Manokwari, Jubi/Antara – Hundreds of students of the Papua State University rallied in front of the West Papua Representative Council in Manokwari on Tuesday (3/3/2014) to reject a non-Papuan as the council’s chairman.
The students led by Aloysius Siep urged the majority Democratic Party to propose a native Papuan to lead the council.
“This is a protest against the Democratic Faction which nominated a non-Papuan as chairman,” Siep said in a speech.
He said if the Democratic Politician Robert Melianus Nauw could not be sworn as the elected Chairman due to his status as corruption suspect, therefore he should be replaced with other Papuan instead of non-Papuan. “If the Democratic Party replaced him with non-Papuan politician, it will create a conflict in West Papua Province,” he said.
Further he said the Central Government has given attention to Papuan people through the Autonomy Special Law No.21/2001, thus the Democratic Patry must give the opportunity to Papuan as West Papua Legislative Council Chairman.
“The students will occupy the parliament office until the Democratic Fraction Chairman and Regional Democratic Party Chairman address out aspiration,” he said.
Meanwhile, the West Papua Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Robert Manibui separately said the parliament has not received yet a nomination from the Democratic Party to replace its politician, Robert Melianus Nauw. The students’ aspiration would be submitted to the Democratic Fraction as reference to assign the new chairman. (*/rom)
