"The Papua provincial administration is ready to support the recruitment financially," the provincial government's secretary, Dance Yulian Flassy, said here Tuesday.
The provincial government, however, does not participate in the recruitment process, as it is the exclusive responsibility of the Papua police headquarters, he added.
However, the quota for recruiting 2,000 young men and women from native Papuan communities in five regions has been jointly approved by the provincial government and Papua police.
"The Papua provincial government is ready to finance the recruitment of the 2,000 police cadets through the Papua special autonomy funds," he reiterated.
Meanwhile, Sen. Coms. Alfred Papare from the Papua police headquarters noted that the quota of 2,000 police cadets for the "Bintara Noken" Program would remain unchanged.
Papare said there would be no additional number of recruits, adding that the total number of applicants was recorded at more than 7,000 people.
However, owing to the quota, the number of recruits is restricted to 2,000, he said.
The special autonomy funds come from the Papua and West Papua provincial governments, which were received from the central government following the enactment of Papua Special Autonomy Law No.21/2001.
Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) is currently working to finish the renewal of the Papua Special Autonomy Law No.21/2001 before it expires in November this year.
The law, which has been in force for almost 20 years, has paved the way for a significant amount of funding to flow into Papua and West Papua, with the central government earmarking Rp94.24 trillion (CNN Indonesia, 2020) for the region from 2002 to 2020.
The government has hinted that it intends to extend the allocation of the special autonomy funds by another 20 years, to expedite efforts to close the development gap and help all communities in the region to prosper.
Even as deliberations continue on the bill for amending the Papua Special Autonomy Law No.21/2001, which has become a top priority under the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), Papua remains trapped in the throes of violence.
Over the last few years, Papuan separatist terrorists have used hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and targeted civilians in districts, including Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak, to stoke fear among the people.
The recent targets of such acts have included construction workers, motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers, teachers, students, street food vendors, villagers, and also civilian aircraft.
Last week, three residents of Niporolome village in Ilaga, Puncak district, Papua province, died and three others were injured in a gunfight between security personnel and armed Papuan rebels at the Aminggaru Airport in Ilaga.
Related news: Some 82 percent Papuans favor special autonomy status: Mahfud
Related news: Second phase of special autonomy to make Papua prosperous: Moeldoko
Related news: Papua's security personnel tasked with safeguarding development agenda
(INE)
Translator: Hendrina DK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
