Papuans reject new Indonesian law to split province


Police disperse Papuan students as they hold a protest against the Indonesian government's plan to develop new administrative areas in the country's easternmost Papua province, near Jayapura, Papua on May 10, 2022. - AFP

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): The House of Representatives unanimously passed a set of laws on Thursday (June 30) to establish new administrative units in Papua, in what critics say could undermine indigenous rights and stoke further tensions in the restive region.

The legislation has carved three new provinces out of what was previously the province of Papua: South Papua, Central Papua and the Papua Highlands. West Papua has remained as it was.

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