Irian Jaya dialog needed: Rights body<\/p>\n
JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid must
\nhold a dialog soon on Irian Jaya's problems with all related
\nparties, a rights institution said.<\/p>\n
Yohanes Bonay, an executive of the Institute for Human Rights
\nStudies and Advocacy (IHRSTAD) said here over the weekend that
\nthe dialog, expected to be held before December, would hopefully
\nsettle the lingering problems and prevent further rights abuse in
\nthe easternmost province.<\/p>\n
Bonay told a media conference on Friday that the Indonesian
\ngovernment had given too much attention to the demand for a
\nreferendum in restive Aceh, and had failed to respond to the
\noutcry of the Irianese.<\/p>\n
\"This indicates that President Abdurrahman's administration
\nhas deliberately belittled Irian Jaya's case,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It would be better for the President to invite all related
\nparties, including the Irianese, Indonesian government
\nrepresentatives and international community, to a meeting to find
\nthe root of the problem, he said. \"The meeting would also seek a
\nsolution in a peaceful, just, and democratic way.\"<\/p>\n
The peaceful dialog was urgent because the rights institution
\nsaw possible riots happening on Dec. 1 when Irianese hoist the
\nMorning Star flag in the natural resource-rich province.<\/p>\n
According to IHRSTAD, the Morning Star flag had been flying in
\nTimika since Nov. 10. Timika is the capital of Mimika regency,
\nwhere U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoran operates.<\/p>\n
Irian Jaya's police chief, Brig. Gen. SY. Wenas, and the
\nprovince's military commander, Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring, have
\nsaid that the plan to hoist the Morning Star on Dec. 1 would be
\nalright. They said that the action was an expression of
\naspiration.<\/p>\n
News on the plan to hoist the Morning Star flag has already
\nspread all over the province, and has been spiced up along the
\nway.<\/p>\n
Unidentified people have spread rumors in Arso, a district
\nclose to Papua New Guinea, that there would be a war on Dec. 1.<\/p>\n
In Jayapura, another rumor has it that if the people's demand
\nfor independence was not responded to, the Free Papua Movement
\nwould attack there.<\/p>\n
\"All these news and rumors have brought unrest to all the
\npeople living in Irian Jaya,\" Bonay said. (eba)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/irian-jaya-dialog-needed-rights-body-1447893297",
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