Government to Study the Papuan District Expansion

President Joko Widodo stated that the government would study the possibility of district expansions in Papua during the meeting with 61 Papuan representatives at the presidential palace in Jakarta, on Tuesday (9/10). In the meeting, one of the representatives, Abisai Rollo, revealed his wish for the district expansions based on five indigenous territories in Papua and West Papua. Based on the proposal, there will be seven provinces in the West Papua.

President agreed with the proposal of district expansion in Papua and West Papua, although he argued that creating five new provinces was quite a hard task. The government might be ready to support two or three new districts, but not five. He also mentioned that the expansions needed a thorough study. After all, President Joko Widodo generally agreed with the idea of district expansions and planned to include locals to develop the new districts.