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WHY HAS THE CASE ATTRACTED ATTENTION?
The case has prompted talk of it being politically motivated as Mr Enembe is a member of the opposition Democrat Party.
But Mr Mahfud had denied such an allegation.
“Lukas Enembe’s case is not a political fabrication. It has nothing to do with political parties or certain officials, but is based on what has been discovered and a legal fact,” he said at the press conference on Sep 19.
Mr Enembe is currently serving his second term as governor, which will end next year.
He was first appointed to the five-year role in 2013 during the tenure of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is the founder of the Democrat Party.
The case is particularly shocking since it highlighted the lavish lifestyle of the governor, while resource-rich Papua was widely known as Indonesia’s poorest province.
As of March, 26.5 per cent of its population are poor, according to data from the statistics agency released in July.
Papua became part of Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nations-backed referendum which some considered a sham.
Ever since then, Papua has experienced low-level insurgencies waged by those who want the region to be independent.
The insurgencies often claim the lives of locals and security personnel.
The Indonesian government granted Papua special autonomy in 2001, enabling Papua to regulate and manage the interests of the local communities according to their aspirations.
With the special status, Papua is eligible for a special budget.
Recently, the government divided Papua province into four autonomous provinces, namely Papua, Central Papua, South Papua and Highland Papua, for equitable development and distribution of public services.
Mr Mahfud stated on Sep 23 that 1,000 trillion rupiah has gone to Papua since 2001, with half of the sum disbursed during Mr Enembe’s leadership.
“More than 500 trillion rupiah were disbursed during Lukas Enembe’s tenure but nothing has happened.
“The people remain poor and the officials continue with their lavish lifestyle,” he said.
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