Papua's removal from U.S. bill 'welcome'<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia has greeted with a sigh of relief a decision by the
\nUnited States Congress to omit references to Papua from the State
\nDepartment Authorization Bill, saying it reflected the consistent
\nsupport of both the U.S. government and Congress for Indonesia's
\nnational integrity.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty
\nNatalegawa said the removal of the references to Papua from the
\nbill was welcome.<\/p>\n
"It is a positive development that is in accordance with our
\nefforts to gain support from both the United States government
\nand Congress for the NKRI," Marty told Antara, referring to the
\nIndonesian acronym for the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The ministry considers the move to be the fruit of persistent
\ndiplomatic efforts by "all elements of the nation", Marty said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the State Department
\nAuthorization Bill in July. Among many other issues affecting
\nnations around the world, it questioned the incorporation of
\nPapua into Indonesia following the so-called Act of Free Choice
\nin 1969, in which carefully selected Papuan representatives voted
\nfor the territory to remain part of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The bill also referred to human rights abuses committed by the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) there, and would have obliged the U.S.
\ngovernment to endorse an investigation by the United Nations into
\nthe 1969 event 180 days after the bill's enactment into law.<\/p>\n
A bill needs approval from both the House of Representatives
\nand Senate before being discussed with the administration.<\/p>\n
Even if the Senate agrees to accept a bill proposed by the
\nHouse of Representatives, the U.S. president can still veto its
\nenactment.<\/p>\n
However, the references to Papua in the bill sparked uproar
\namong Indonesian politicians.<\/p>\n
During a visit to the U.S. in September, President Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono said that Papua was "Indonesia's domestic
\naffair". He has also called on the U.S. and other nations to
\n"respect Indonesia's territorial integrity".<\/p>\n
International affairs expert Dewi Fortuna Anwar said the
\nremoval of the references to Papua was "a friendly gesture by the
\nUnited States in respecting the integrity of Indonesia".<\/p>\n
"We should welcome the efforts by all sides in favor of
\nIndonesia both inside and outside Congress to scrap the
\nreferences to Papua in the bill," she said.<\/p>\n
Dewi, who is a researcher with the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI), also praised the efforts of the country's
\ndiplomats and foreign parties regarding the issues.<\/p>\n
She called on the government to maintain good relationships not
\nonly with foreign governments but also non-governmental
\norganizations, media interests and academics to enable Indonesia
\nto give its side of the story about developments in Papua.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/papuas-removal-from-us-bill-welcome-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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