The Resignation Of The Vice Regent Of Nduga Is Seen As A Political Maneuver

Menkopolhukam, Mahfud MD. (Mery Handayani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD suspects that there is something behind the attitude of Deputy Regent Nduga Wentius Nimiangge who chose to resign from his position. According to Mahfud, Wentius' resignation could be related to political maneuvers.

"If that is true, it could be a political maneuver," he said, when met in the Menteng area, Central Jakarta, Thursday, December 26.

The former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court admitted that he was no stranger to the practice of regional leaders asking to resign in order to launch political maneuvers. This practice often occurs on the island of Java. Mahfud emphasized that he did not want to have a long polemic over Wentius' resignation.

"That's just normal. So, don't need to say that something extraordinary has happened there, until the deputy regent resigns. I think it's part of a political maneuver. It's normal," he explained.

Meanwhile, the Vice President, Ma'ruf Amin, stated that regarding Wentius' resignation, the government through the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) would proceed further.

Regarding the security condition in Papua, the Vice President explained that the government will deploy security forces as long as the situation is not yet conducive. Apart from security, the Vice President emphasized that the government will try to restore the situation in Papua through the social, economic and education sectors.

For your information, Wentius Nimiangge resigned from his position as Deputy Regent of Nduga, Papua. According to Wentius, the Nduga Regent Yairus Gwijangge had already acknowledged the resignation request.

Wentius resigned his position because he admitted that he could not see a number of violence to killings that befell civilians since the conflict in Nduga. In fact, the day before Christmas, he was still taking care of the corpses of his citizens, including his aide and driver, who were thought to have been shot dead.

Since the Nduga conflict erupted in December 2018, victims have continued to fall. Wentius expressed his disappointment with the government in responding to the conflict in Nduga Regency that had been going on for a long time. He admitted that he had met with ministers to the president, but until now his voice was not heard.