On Irian Jaya issue<\/p>\n
The Page 2 article titled Churches back calls for Irian Jaya
\nIndependence published on Aug. 3 clearly shows that churches
\nsupport the movement for Irian Jaya's independence. To clarify
\nthe matter, I feel the need to convey the following:<\/p>\n
Recently there has been political turbulence in Irian Jaya,
\njust like in some other parts of our country. Reform is
\nsubstantiated in various ways. As far as the status of the
\nrelationship of a region with the central government is
\nconcerned, some have expressed their desire for the broadest
\nautonomy possible. Others wish to see the establishment of a
\nfederation, while still others aspire to have independence. This
\nlast-mentioned aspiration was manifested in demonstrations
\norganized in Jayapura, Biak and Sorong in early July.<\/p>\n
As the government and security apparatuses considered these
\ndemonstrations attempts to wrest power, they resorted to violence
\nwhen dealing with these demonstrations with the result that some
\nfell victim to this violent handling. The manner adopted in
\nhandling these demonstrations failed to bring calm but instead
\nignited the fury of the Irianese, for quite some time enduring
\nquietly all kinds of pain inflicted upon them by the government
\nand security apparatuses, who, these Irianese feel, have treated
\nthem unfairly and cruelly.<\/p>\n
What these people wish is that their aspirations may be
\npeacefully channeled and discussed. Unfortunately, the door,
\nleading either to the government or to the House of
\nRepresentatives, is simply closed. These aspirations will not
\ndisappear by themselves and will not be dampened simply by
\nsuppressing them. As a result, various social groups have taken
\nthe initiative to find the right means to channel these
\naspirations. Hence the establishment of the Forum for the
\nReconciliation of the Irian Jaya Community (Foreri). This forum
\nbrings together leaders of three churches, community elders as
\nwell as women and university student leaders.<\/p>\n
This forum, as it name suggests, seeks to unite various
\nparties in an open and peaceful manner to discuss various
\naspirations evolving in the community. It has been clearly stated
\nthat Foreri is independent in nature in the sense that it does
\nnot take sides with any particular aspiration. The objective the
\nforum is pursuing is: To monitor and accommodate the pure
\nconscience of the Irian Jaya community and channel it to the
\nregional administration, the central government and other
\nrelevant parties. In this way, it is expected that these
\naspirations will be peacefully discussed and that violence which
\nmay lead to useless bloodshed may be averted.<\/p>\n
It is expected that this explanation may prevent any
\nlikelihood of misunderstanding that the churches support one
\nparticular aspiration, namely the desire to form a state separate
\nfrom the Republic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
LEO L. LADJAR<\/p>\n
Jayapura Bishop<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/on-irian-jaya-issue-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }