Govt called on to respect Irianese<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A recently released Irianese political prisoner
\nhas appealed to the government and the Armed Forces (ABRI) to
\nlift the province's status as a military operation zone,
\ninvestigate human rights violations and release all political
\nprisoners as part of moves to bring about a reconciliation in the
\ntroubled province.<\/p>\n
Jacob Rumbiak, released from Cipinang prison here on Thursday,
\ntold a media conference yesterday that the government should show
\nrespect to the right of the Irianese people to live peacefully by
\npulling out combat troops from the province.<\/p>\n
"You can't imagine how many people have been killed, tortured
\nand arrested in military operations in the past and how many
\npeople will experience the same fate if combat troops continue to
\nremain in the area," he said emotionally.<\/p>\n
He remarked that many people in the province continue to live
\nin fear of being arrested, tortured and shot because of the
\npresence of an excessive number of combat troops.<\/p>\n
"The Irianese people have long been oppressed and that is why
\nstudents have started to stage demonstrations, raise the OPM
\nseparatist group's flag and demand independence," he said
\nreferring to the recent surge in separatist sentiment in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
Jacob contended that besides resolving problems linked to the
\nmilitary's presence, the province should also be given more
\nautonomy in political and economic spheres.<\/p>\n
"The Irianese have the right to get a bigger share of the
\nbenefits resulting from the exploitation of the province's
\nnatural resources such as oil, copper and gold. Some of the
\nproceeds should be used to develop the province and improve the
\npeople's social welfare," he said.<\/p>\n
He hailed Irian Jaya governor Freddy Numberi's recent demand
\nthat the Irianese people be given 80 percent of the profits from
\nPT Freeport's copper and gold mine in Timika.<\/p>\n
Yacob was sentenced to 17 year in jail by the Jayapura
\nDistrict Court for his involvement in student demonstrations in
\nthe city in 1989.<\/p>\n
He said that he had lived through good and bad times while
\nbeing moved from one prison to another in Irian Jaya and Java
\nthroughout his incarceration.<\/p>\n
He said that despite his release, he was still obliged to
\nreport to the police once a month and was prohibited from
\ncriticizing the government and any further involvement in
\npolitical activities.<\/p>\n
In a related development yesterday, Foreign Minister Ali
\nAlatas denied the existence of any document signed by the
\ngovernment which would grant independence to Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
"There is no agreement other than the agreement on the
\nplebiscite," Alatas told reporters after meeting the House of
\nRepresentatives fact-finding team for the province, led by Deputy
\nSpeaker Abdul Gafur, at the foreign ministry.<\/p>\n
Gafur said that during his recent visit to investigate the
\nriots that erupted following pro-independence demonstrations,
\nlocal religious leaders told him that the so called "Rome
\ndocument" promised to grant independence to the mineral-rich
\nprovince sometime after its integration into Indonesia in 1969.<\/p>\n
"It's true that there was a meeting between (former) foreign
\nminister Adam Malik and his Dutch counterpart in Rome in 1969,
\nbut there was never any such agreement entered into," Alatas
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Alatas said that the province was transferred from the
\nNetherlands to Indonesia through the United Nations Temporary
\nExecutive Authority (UNTEA) in 1962.<\/p>\n
The agreement was signed by Indonesia and the Netherlands on
\nAugust 12, 1962, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.<\/p>\n
He said that full administrative control was then transferred
\nto Indonesia in May 1963.<\/p>\n
"A plebiscite was held in 1969 to confirm the integration of
\nthe province," Alatas said.<\/p>\n
Alatas noted that there were still critics who said the
\nplebiscite was not conducted on a "one man one vote" basis.<\/p>\n
"(These criticisms) are incorrect because it was agreed that
\nthe plebiscite could not be carried out on a "one man one vote"
\nbasis.<\/p>\n
"The UN and the Netherlands did not demand that condition
\nbecause of the physical characteristics of the province," Alatas
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The province was hit by a wave of pro-independence protests in
\nearly July following the resignation of the veteran ruler
\nSoeharto in May.<\/p>\n
At least three people were killed during the clashes between
\nprotesters and security personnel in Biak and the provincial
\ncapital of Jayapura.<\/p>\n
Activists have reported that at least five people are still
\nmissing in the wake of the Biak incident and allege that the
\nmilitary have been responsible for serious abuses of human rights
\nthroughout the province over the past three decades. (rms\/byg)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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