Westnoken – In the era of President Jokowi’s administration, massive development was carried out in the Eastern region. With this development, it proves that the state is present in the Eastern Region so that it does not create a stigma that development is only in the Western Region. In the Eastern region, especially Papua, the separatist movement continues to haunt the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. President Jokowi’s government approach of starting development from Eastern Indonesia, including Papua, can be used as an instrument to respond to the separatist movement through a persuasive approach in the form of a welfare approach.
Separatism in Papua, even though its numbers are getting smaller, still poses a threat to the stability and security of the Republic of Indonesia, namely in civilian clothes, but armed, so it threatens not only the people, but also the security forces. There are at least three approaches to responding to separatist movements, namely the political approach, the persuasive approach and the repressive approach. If it is true that the separatist movement is rooted in feelings of being treated unfairly in economic terms, the persuasive approach that the government also needs to take is a welfare approach. However, the state must not hesitate to take a repressive approach to separatist groups who continue to fight, who do not want a political and persuasive approach.
Whatever approach the state takes towards the separatist movement, whether political, persuasive or repressive, the state must aim to protect the sovereignty of the people and the authority of the Indonesian state, for this reason we as citizens must continue to support whatever decisions have been made in dealing with Papuan separatism. The activities of the Papuan separatist movement have continued to increase in recent years, including through actions carried out internationally. Benny Wenda is increasingly active in the activities of the Papuan separatist movement internationally, by continuing to seek opportunities and build their opinions and influence. The Indonesian government is trying to respond moderately to achieve its goal of reducing the resulting international impact.
The opinions they develop tend to corner the Indonesian government by distorting facts about incidents that befell the Indigenous Papuan and non-Indigenous Papuan communities, such as the incident some time ago where Papuan humanitarian activist Michelle Kurisi was cruelly murdered by the KKB because she was accused of being a spy. Paying attention to this, there is a need for cooperation between stakeholders in dealing with acts of separatism in Papua, especially in terms of countering wrong news about events in Papua so that they can provide correct information about Papua.