The Special Autonomy Status of Papua Within the Unitarian Structure of Republic of Indonesia (Legal Analysis based on Law No 2 of 2021)

Abstract

Indonesia is a unitary state with the fullest possible autonomy and a decentralized government. Indonesia recognizes the existence of a special regional government unit in Article 18B paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution, therefore this thesis will demonstrate how the notion of special regional government is enshrined in legislation. Papua is one of the regions with special status. The DPR ratified the second revision of the Special Autonomy Law for Papua in 2021 ago, and Article 76 is one of the articles that was amended and received additional articles. The addition of the word “may” and the phrase that the central government can expand the territory has an impact on the Papuan people themselves. This analysis was carried out using a juridical-normative method which resulted in an analysis of the concept of decentralization according to Article 18B paragraph 1, namely asymmetric decentralization and the impact that could occur as a result of changes to Article 76 is that the marginalization of Papuans will occur because the expansion can dominate the population from outside Papua, the seizure of customary lands and other resources due to the company's expansion in Papua, the occurrence of conflicts and expansions between groups in Papua, as well as the struggle for power and control by the central government. Furthermore, this analysis is expected to provide input for the government in drafting laws related to regional expansion in Papua.