Papuan separatists look for foreign support<\/p>\n
The Papuan People's Congress held in Jayapura, Irian Jaya,
\nfrom May 29 to June 4 declared that the Irianese want to separate
\nfrom Indonesia. Agus Alue Alua, the congress chairman and deputy
\nsecretary of the Papuan Presidium formed to follow up the
\ncongress, shares developments with The Jakarta Post's
\ncorrespondent Neles Tebay. The following is an excerpt of an
\ninterview in Jakarta:<\/p>\n
Question: What are the duties of the Papuan Presidium after
\nthe Papuan People's Congress?<\/p>\n
Answer: The Papuan Presidium is to carry out the mandate of
\nthe congress which gave us full support to hold activities in
\nstruggling for West Papua's (local name for Irian Jaya)
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
The presidium will use peaceful ways, such as dialog and
\nnegotiations with all parties involved.<\/p>\n
What has the presidium done, and what does it plan to do?<\/p>\n
Firstly, we determined our working guidelines ... Secondly,
\nthe presidium met with President Abdurrahman Wahid in Jakarta in
\nthe first week of July. We reported what had been discussed in
\nthe congress and submitted a written report of the results.<\/p>\n
What was the response of the President?<\/p>\n
We got a positive response. He welcomed the decision to settle
\nthe West Papua case by holding dialog. The President is to form
\nan ad hoc team ... to study the results of the congress. They
\nwill also visit West Papua to verify the contents of our report.
\nThey will then report to the President, and their task ends
\nthere.<\/p>\n
After that, the President will invite the presidium to a
\ndiscussion. Another team will possibly be established to work out
\nthe terms of reference for a national dialog on West Papua.<\/p>\n
If the terms of reference are agreed on by the government and
\nthe presidium, a political dialog on the Papuans' aspiration
\ncould be held based on openness ... equality and respect for
\nhuman rights.<\/p>\n
What has been the response of the presidium to the planned ad
\nhoc team?<\/p>\n
We fully appreciate and welcome the idea. We will be
\nsupporting the team in the task. We think the team will be very
\nhelpful in moving toward a national dialog.<\/p>\n
Is the presidium also seeking the possibility of an
\ninternational dialog on Irian Jaya by involving the United
\nNations and some countries, such as the Netherlands and the
\nUnited States?<\/p>\n
So far, we have no plan for an international dialog; we're
\njust focusing on the necessity of a national dialog.<\/p>\n
Which other parties have received the congress results?<\/p>\n
They include the speakers of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly and the House of Representatives, the Indonesian
\nMilitary Commander, the Indonesian Police chief, some ministers,
\nnon-governmental organizations and some ambassadors in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Was the distribution of the congress results to ambassadors
\naimed at gaining attention and support for Irian Jaya's
\nindependence?<\/p>\n
We deliberately submitted the congress report to them so that
\nthey can also understand the things going on in Indonesia,
\nincluding in Papua ... they would then be able to explain it to
\ntheir respective leaders.<\/p>\n
Is the presidium also planning to introduce the congress
\nresults in foreign countries?<\/p>\n
The congress has entrusted the presidium to report and submit
\nthe results to the United Nations, the Netherlands and the United
\nStates, for instance. However we lack the funds to do so.<\/p>\n
We are grateful to the government for helping us to distribute
\nand announce the congress results to Indonesians, the
\ninternational community and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.<\/p>\n
The government has sought international support for
\nIndonesia's territorial integrity. How can you say the government
\nhelped introduce the congress results?<\/p>\n
We heard that when the Papuans declared their desire to
\nseparate from Indonesia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab
\nrushed to meet with ambassadors in Jakarta ... The President also
\nmet with leaders of the countries he visited and even with Kofi
\nAnnan.<\/p>\n
We suppose they had surely informed these parties of the
\ncongress results before asking for their support.<\/p>\n
Alwi announced that foreign countries support Indonesia's
\nterritorial integrity, including that of Irian Jaya, and that
\nthey do not support Irian Jaya's independence.<\/p>\n
The foreign minister was expressing either facts or his
\npersonal hope. If the foreign leaders indeed said that, it is
\ntheir right to do so ... But support from a country's leader is
\nnot always identical to that of their parliament.<\/p>\n
We have yet to be informed that there are no countries
\nsupporting West Papua's freedom.<\/p>\n
We think a change toward political support could happen any
\ntime, as in the case of East Timor. Papuans have yet to lobby any
\nforeign parliament or government.<\/p>\n
What has the presidium done in Irian Jaya?<\/p>\n
The presidium will explain the results of the congress and of
\nthe meeting with the President in each (of 13 regencies)
\nbeginning on July 14 (five regencies were visited as of last week
\n-- Ed). The presidium will call on Papuans to maintain peace and
\norder in respective regencies while we conduct dialogs.<\/p>\n
Papuans must be aware that the Papuan movement for
\nindependence is a nonviolent movement.<\/p>\n
What is your personal impression of the President in his
\nresponse to the congress results?<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman has shown himself to be a democratic man
\nwho fully respects human rights, who lets people express
\nthemselves and who prioritizes dialog and peaceful ways in
\nresolving matters. All these reveal that he is not only a leader
\nof a country, but a man with a big soul and noble heart.<\/p>",
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