We prefer security to autonomy: Papuan council<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The secretary-general of the proindependence Papuan Presidium
\nCouncil (PDP), Thaha Al Hamid, said in Jayapura on Thursday that
\nPapuans (indigenous people of Irian Jaya) wanted the government
\nto guarantee their right to life despite their constant demands
\nfor freedom.<\/p>\n
\"A government guarantee to protect us is more important than
\nthe promised special autonomy,\" Al Hamid said in a telephone
\ninterview on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"How can we live normally if our right to life is not
\nguaranteed?\" he said, adding that a list of names of Irian Jaya
\nfigures who were to be \"eliminated\" had been circulated in many
\nparts of the easternmost province. He didn't explain whether
\nTheys Hiyo Eluay was one of the people on the list or whether any
\nother PDP activists were on the list.<\/p>\n
Theys was found dead in his car at Muara Tami, a district west
\nof Jayapura. A group of people had reportedly attacked his driver
\nAri Masoka before kidnapping him on Saturday night shortly after
\nhe left a dinner party hosted by the local military.<\/p>\n
Willem Onde, another prominent separatist, went missing and
\nwas found dead in a remote area in the province about two months
\nprior to Theys's demise.<\/p>\n
\"We want President Megawati Soekarnoputri to come here with
\nassurances that the government will protect all Papuans against
\nviolence,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Megawati plans to visit Irian Jaya on Dec. 22 to give the
\nIrian Jaya people the special autonomy law, which has already
\nbeen passed by the House of representatives, as a Christmas gift.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the PDP would continue with the fight for
\nfreedom, Al Hamid said that it was not the PDP that wanted
\nfreedom.<\/p>\n
\"The PDP has been entrusted by the Papuans to fight for
\nindependence. If tomorrow the people come and tell us to stop
\nfighting for freedom, then the PDP will do so,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
He said, however, that freedom could only be achieved as the
\noutcome of dialog. \"Let's talk about the process. We want to sit
\ndown together with Indonesian officials to talk about the truth
\nand the history of Papua.\"<\/p>\n
The PDP had on many occasions proposed that a dialog with
\nindependent witnesses and observers be held between the
\ngovernment and Irian Jaya people, but the government has never
\nresponded positively, he said<\/p>\n
\"Instead of holding a dialog with us, the government offered
\nus a special autonomy law with sharing of the revenue obtained
\nfrom natural resources,\" he said. \"Once again, what is important
\nfor our people is not revenue sharing. We want our lives to be
\nprotected and we want to sit down with government officials to
\ntalk about historic truths. Just listen to us, don't discriminate
\nagainst Papuans.\"<\/p>\n
The Dutch colonial administration handed over West Papua (then
\nknown as Irian Barat, or West Irian, to Indonesia) to the United
\nNations in 1962. The UN ruled the territory through its Temporary
\nExecutive Authority (UNTEA) for eight months before handing over
\nthe gold-rich Irian Barat to Indonesia in May 1963.<\/p>\n
In 1969, the United Nations set up a council to organize a
\nplebiscite aimed at deciding whether Irian Barat would remain as
\npart of Indonesia or become independent (one of the members of
\nthe council was Theys). The council endorsed Irian Barat's
\nintegration into Indonesia. Later, the name Irian Barat was
\nchanged to Irian Jaya during Soeharto's administration.<\/p>\n
Asked about the death of PDP chairman Theys, Al Hamid said
\nthat as an organization the PDP had its internal mechanisms. \"The
\norganization keeps going,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that he had no idea who or what was behind Theys's
\ndeath.<\/p>\n
Although the PDP, Theys's relatives and the tribal council
\nhave decided to have Theys's body buried on Saturday, the cause
\nof his death was still shrouded in mystery as of Friday.<\/p>\n
An examination of Theys's heart, which should have been
\nperformed at the police's forensic laboratory in Makassar, had
\nyet to be carried out late on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"I was informed that the Jayapura General Hospital sent the
\norgans to Theys's family on Wednesday. I was surprised because
\nthe organs should have been flown to Makassar. I don't know what
\nwas behind this,\" Al Hamid said.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf
\nconfirmed on Thursday that Theys's heart had been dispatched on
\nThursday to the police's central forensics laboratory in Makassar
\nfor a more in-depth investigation into the cause of Theys's
\ndeath.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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