Government urged to take concrete steps on Irian Jaya<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An Irian Jaya leader and a Communion of Churches
\nin Indonesia (PGI) official on Saturday urged the government to
\ntake concrete measures to respond to growing demands for the
\nprovince's independence.<\/p>\n
\"We want a peaceful... solution for Irian Jaya. As the church
\nrepresentatives, we sense the Irianese seriously want to be
\nindependent. And for PGI, freedom is people's basic right,\" said
\nPhil Erari, the head of research and development at the Christian
\norganization, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
In a joint media briefing, Phil and Amungme tribal chief Tom
\nBeanal called on the government to put Irian Jaya on its serious
\npolitical agenda.<\/p>\n
\"As church representatives, we've heard Irianese aspirations
\nbased on the actual conditions... they live in misery. Many
\ndreadful incidents have happened there but remain covered,\" Phil
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Another dialog between Irian Jaya people and the government is
\nto be held this month as the next step in the search for a
\nsolution to the fate of the Irianese, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Do not engineer things. Let the people speak up,\" Phil urged
\nthe government.<\/p>\n
He asserted the last dialog between the Irianese and President
\nB.J. Habibie in Jakarta on Feb. 26 had failed to uncover the
\nwhole truth about the Irianese people's desire for independence.<\/p>\n
Phil, who is a member of PGI's task force for Irian Jaya,
\nclaimed that all 15 district representatives in the province
\nactually wanted independence, and aired this aspiration in the
\nmeeting with Habibie.<\/p>\n
Habibie reportedly did not give a direct response to the
\ndemands. He told the delegation to reconsider and think about the
\nconsequences of the option, saying abundant natural resources
\nalone were not a sufficient guarantee for their future.<\/p>\n
Phil said he hoped that if Habibie's government failed to meet
\npeople's aspirations, the next government would be able to
\naccommodate Irian Jaya's wish for independence.<\/p>\n
\"We understand the government cannot make any quick decisions
\non Irian Jaya as this is a very serious political as well as
\neconomic matter,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Position<\/p>\n
Tom Beanal, however, repeated his long-standing position that
\nthe Irianese wanted to establish their own state. He described
\nhow for decades they had been the victims of government
\nexploitation, receiving nothing in exchange for the vast wealth
\nextracted from the province.<\/p>\n
\"People were brutally killed and went missing in Papua (Irian
\nJaya). This is an accumulation of 35 years of misery. We do not
\nwant wide-ranging autonomy, we do not want a federal state.<\/p>\n
\"We want to be free.<\/p>\n
\"If the government doubts our ability to cope with the
\nconsequences of standing on our own... it's too late to think in
\nsuch a way. We have been abandoned for so long, we have become
\ntough and we believe we can survive,\" Tom said.<\/p>\n
Tom revealed the results of a recent survey on several areas
\nin Irian Jaya. A total of 14,000 questionnaires were distributed
\namong residents, and 13,775 were returned. Of these, 13,753
\nrespondents said they wanted independence.<\/p>\n
\"The remaining said they want wide-ranging autonomy. Similar
\nsurveys conducted by community leaders also found the people
\ndesired freedom. So this has taken on a snowball effect,\" Tom
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Chairman of PGI Sularso Sopater told The Jakarta Post by phone
\non Saturday the organization still supported Irian Jaya as a
\nprovince and an integral part of the Republic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"But it does not mean that we are deaf to Irianese people's
\nmounting demands for independence. That is why we became a
\nfacilitator to open a dialog between the people and the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\"Now it is up to the government to decide. We're here to
\npresent the truth about people's aspirations.\"<\/p>\n
On the basis of a United Nations-sponsored New York agreement
\nbetween the Netherlands, the former colonial power, and
\nIndonesia, West Irian became part of Indonesia in May 1963. Ten
\nyears later, then president Soeharto renamed the province Irian
\nJaya (Glorious Irian).<\/p>\n
Separately, Territorial Assistant of Trikora\/VIII Military
\nDistrict Command Col. Wais Ningkeula said in Jayapura, the
\ncapital of Irian Jaya, that Habibie's call for the Irianese to
\n\"reflect\" on their demands did not mean he was encouraging them
\nto seek independence. Rather, he speculated, Habibie wanted them
\nto develop the province and improve on people's welfare.<\/p>\n
\"Do not be obsessed (by independence),\" Wais said, saying
\nIrian Jaya people have achieved some progress over the years.
\n(edt\/34)<\/p>",
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