Many Negative Narratives For Papua, BIN: Amplification Of Papua's Development Both Human Resources And Infrastructure

Forest sightings in West Papua Province. (Between)

JAKARTA - The government is committed to advancing and prospering the Papuan people through the Special Autonomy for Papua and the establishment of a New Autonomous Region (DOB) in Papua. However, the Government's program needs to be monitored by all levels of Public Relations of the central and local governments, so that positive information related to Papua's development can be well received by the community, especially the Papuan people.

To support the role of Government Public Relations, the State Intelligence Agency held the Bakohumas Thematic Forum with the theme “Improving the Role of Public Relations to Oversee Government Programs and Policies in Papua.”

Present as speakers were the Special Staff of the Head of BIN, Dr. Sundawan Salya, Deputy-V of the Presidential Staff Office, Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, and Special Staff of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Billy Mambrasar.

This activity aims to synergize and increase the public relations role of the Central and Regional Governments, especially in supporting development in Papua.

In his remarks, the Director General of Public Communication Information (IKP) of the Ministry of Communication and Information, Usman Kansong, said that exchange of ideas is very important to support the implementation of the public communication function in explaining the acceleration of development and improvement of welfare in Papua.

“The development of Papua has always been a concern of the Government. Papua is a development priority to alleviate poverty and the Human Development Index crisis,” said Usman Kansong in a written statement received on Thursday, August 25.

Doctor Sundawan Salya said the government needed to have a single narrative in support of policies in Papua. There are many government programs in carrying out development in Papua that are currently running, such as infrastructure development and human resources.

"All ministries/agencies must disseminate and amplify Papua's development, as well as establish dialogue forums that discuss Papuan problems and their solutions," said Sundawan.

Jaleswari Pramodhawardani also said that talking about Public Relations requires coordination and collaboration. Public relations cannot run alone, because it requires concrete collaboration and networking. On the other hand, public relations work also needs to be improved, to deal with the many negative narratives related to the formation of new autonomous regions in Papua.

“Social media accounts that support Papuan separatism often create narratives from various angles and framing. The issues raised include human rights violations, marginalization, violence and the environment,” said Jaleswari.

Meanwhile, Billy Mambrasar revealed that the Government continues to focus on realizing development in the Papua region, either through the policy of the Special Autonomy Law (Otsus), the New Autonomous Region (DOB), and cutting regulations or bureaucracy.

“The new autonomous region policy is one of the policies that has a high enough urgency to accelerate development and reduce development disparities between regions. The DOB policy has the aim of accelerating the realization of community welfare through public services, empowerment and community involvement in the implementation of development in Papua," he concluded.