Statement on the solution to the problems in Papua

The Alliance of Churches in Papua

(PERSEKUTUAN GEREJA-GEREJA DI TANAH PAPUA)

Sekretariat : Jln. PLN 07 Sentani, Kabupaten Jayapura, Papua; Telp: 0967591291; 0811489578

Statement on the solution to the problems in Papua

We wish you a Happy New Year 2012

(NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION)

First  of all, we, the leaders of Churches in Papua would like to express our sincere thanks to the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who invites and welcomes us to this meeting.

Shalom,

We have heard the commitment of the Central Government under the your leadership to find a peaceful solution to the problems in Papua through an open dialogue with the People of Papua.  In his State Address on 16 August 2011, the Indonesian President reaffirmed that, “to reorganise Papua with heart, is a key for all efforts to have successful development.” On 9 November 2012, the Indonesian President reaffirmed again that, “A dialogue between the central government and our brothers in Papua is open. We need to dialogue, an open dialogue to find solutions and options, to find the best way to solve the problems in Papua”.

Based on the commitment of the Central Government to dialogue with the Papuan, let us, the leaders of Churches in Papua, to convey our statement concerning the solution to the problems in Papua as following:

First, the leaders of Churches in Papua support the initiative of the Central Government to find a solution and the best way to address the problems in Papua through an open dialogue with the Papuan;

Second, the leaders of Churches in Papua are ready to work together with individuals and groups as well as institutions that support a dialogue between the Central Government and Papuan as a way to solve the problems in Papua;

Finally, we appreciate the initiative of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to receive and meet the leaders of Churches in Papua, on December 16^th, 2011 and today, February 1^st, 2012. We do not consider these two meetings as a dialogue between the Papuan and Central Government. Instead, we, the leaders of Churchesin Papua, understand these two meetings as a moral responsibility of the leaders of Churches and the leaders of the Government of Indonesian in their efforts to prepare a dialogue with honesty and dignity between the Central Government and the Papuan. We pray that the dialogue between the Central Government and the Papuan, through facilitation from a neutral third party and trusted by both parties, can take place in 2012. In this way, we may call year 2012 as the Year of Dialogue with Papua.

These are our prayers and wishes, the leaders of Churches in Papua.

Jayapura, January 30th  2012

Sincerely,

On behalf of the leaders of Churches in Papua