Irianese leaders want control of their land<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Irian Jaya leaders told President B.J. Habibie
\non Friday they wanted to be the masters of their own land, while
\nat least one tribal chief declared his wish outright for the
\nprovince to become an independent state.<\/p>\n
During the three-hour, closed-door meeting at the Merdeka
\nPalace, Irian Jaya Governor Freddy Numbery cited the growing
\ndemands for wide-ranging autonomy, and for strategic bureaucratic
\npositions to be given to Irianese. He argued there was a
\nsufficiency of educated local people.<\/p>\n
\"For 35 years Irianese people felt they were ignored. We
\nwitnessed how positions for regents and heads of government
\nagencies were given to outsiders. Why did these not go to the
\nnative Irianese?\" Numbery said after the meeting.<\/p>\n
Before the meeting Habibie hosted a luncheon for his 100
\nguests, including chairman of the Pemuda Pancasila youth
\norganization Yorris Raweyai, at the State Guest House.<\/p>\n
The President was accompanied by several ministers including
\nMinister\/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung and Minister of
\nDefense\/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.<\/p>\n
Tom Beanal, chief of the Amungme tribe, repeated his long-
\nstanding position that the Irianese wanted to establish their own
\nstate. He said they had received nothing but had instead become
\ntargets of government exploitation.<\/p>\n
\"I told Habibie straight that the Papua people's demand is
\nseparation from this republic,\" Beanal said in a short press
\nbriefing organized by Yorris at the palace compound.<\/p>\n
Beanal has accused gold and copper mining giant PT Freeport
\nIndonesia of causing local environmental and cultural destruction
\nin Irian Jaya. He lost the first part of a legal battle against
\nFreeport when a U.S. district court rejected his US$6 billion
\nlawsuit in April last year.<\/p>\n
Yorris, whose father, Jacob, hails from Irian, introduced
\nBeanal to journalists as a representative of the meeting's
\nparticipants.<\/p>\n
\"I do not think that Beanal's opinion reflects the totality of
\nIrianese aspirations,\" Akbar hinted.<\/p>\n
Habibie is reported not to have given a direct response to the
\ndemands. Rather, he told the delegation to reconsider and think
\nabout the consequences, saying abundant natural resources alone
\nwere not a sufficient guarantee for their future.<\/p>\n
\"The President was very relaxed during the meeting and he
\nresponded directly to questions,\" Akbar noted.<\/p>\n
On the basis of a United Nations-sponsored New York agreement
\nbetween Holland, the former Dutch colonial power, and Indonesia,
\nWest Irian became part of Indonesia in May 1963. Ten years later,
\nthen president Soeharto renamed the province Irian Jaya (Glorious
\nIrian).<\/p>\n
The 421,981 kilometers square province is three and a half
\ntimes the size of Java. The 1995 statistics indicated the
\npopulation was only about two million.<\/p>\n
The government has sent transmigrants, many of them from Java,
\nin a bid to accelerate economic growth there.<\/p>\n
Their presence has often created friction as the locals are
\nunable to compete on an equal footing with the more experienced
\noutsiders.<\/p>\n
The armed Free Papua Movement (OPM) has often disturbed
\nsecurity in the province.<\/p>\n
\"I underline the importance of empowering the Irianese to
\nbecome masters of their own land,\" said the governor.<\/p>\n
The palace was tightly guarded as many Irianese youths had
\ngathered in the National Monument Park (Monas) across the road.
\nPresidential security guards patiently accompanied some of the
\nguests to the toilet and escorted them back to the meeting hall.<\/p>\n
The Irianese delegation complained that the air conditioning
\nin the palace was too cold for them. \"Or maybe we ate too much.
\nHow often can one have lunch with the President, anyway?\" said
\nMartin, one of the guests.<\/p>\n
Habibie later invited his guests to pose for photographers and
\ncameramen on the terrace of the Palace.<\/p>\n
Irian Jaya Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring and
\nprovincial police chief Brig. Gen. Hotman Siagian were standing
\nnext to Habibie before the photo session began. Habibie then
\nasked more of the visitors to stand alongside him.<\/p>\n
\"This has been a very good and useful meeting,\" said Numbery.
\n(prb)<\/p>",
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