Papuan People's Assembly Backs Jusuf Kalla as Peaceful Facilitator

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The West Papuan People’s Assembly (MRPB) on Thursday views positively the offer from former Indonesian VP Jusuf Kalla as a facilitator for the Papua - Jakarta peaceful diplomacy.

MRPB chairperson Maxsi Nelson Ahoren thinks that Jusuf Kalla has sufficient experience in handling foreign diplomacy during his time as Indonesia’s vice president. They view that Kalla has enough experience in helping solve domestic conflicts. 

Ahoren says that Kalla’s good intentions in helping end the Papuan conflict is commendable and revered by the MRPB as representatives of West Papua’s indiginous culture. 

“We appreciate the goodwill from an Indonesian figure such as Jusuf Kalla to be a facilitator to help the Indonesian government solve Papua’s conflicts through peaceful diplomacy,” Ahoren says in Manokwari, on November 5.

Previously, a chairman of the Papuan Customary Council Zakarias Horota in Manokwari expressed his support for the former VP to facilitate the peaceful diplomatic between Papua and Jakarta. Horota, in his statement, mentioned Jusuf Kalla’s role in the 2005 conflict between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Read: Jusuf Kalla Heads to Vatican as Zayed Award Selection Committee

HANS ARNOLD KAPISA (CONTRIBUTOR)