America supports integrity of RI, congressman says
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A United States Congressman assured Indonesia on Thursday of his country's support for the territorial integrity of this country, which has been plagued by secessionist movements for decades.
Co-Chair of the U.S. Congressional Indonesia Caucus Robert Wexler said the U.S. policy was clearly demonstrated when President George W. Bush met Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the latter's visit to Washington in June.
"We America support the integrity of the Indonesian territory and we do not support any separatist movement in Indonesia. There is no if, no and, no but," he said during a press briefing after a meeting with Susilo at the Presidential Office.
U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia B. Lynn Pascoe was also present at the meeting.
Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the President and Wexler discussed bilateral and regional issues, including efforts to enhance ties between the two countries.
The contentious issue of Papua was raised recently following a move by two U.S. Congress members who proposed a bill calling for a thorough analysis of the Papua's history, including the 1969 Act of Free Choice, in which 1025 handpicked tribal elders voted unanimously to become a part of Indonesia. The Netherlands had claimed the territory as an overseas protectorate from 1949 until 1962.
Wexler, however, stated that the bill did not reflect the view of the United States, in general.
"Any kind of different view (among U.S. legislators) is merely due to democratic circumstances," he said after a separate meeting with Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono.
However, Wexler admitted that "there is a little miscommunication" among the Congressmen in regard to Papua.
He said he was optimistic that the government could handle the problems in the restive province.
"After hearing the president's plan and explanation, we have great hopes that the issues will be handled in a just fashion," said Wexler, who represents the Democratic Party from Florida.
He assured the president that there was no "division of opinion" in the U.S. about the integrity of Indonesia.
Before meeting Susilo and Juwono, Wexler had earlier held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda.
Debate over the status of Papua also seems to have come to surface because U.S. legislators criticized what they called continuing rights abuses against the pro-independence group in the resource-rich province in a letter sent to the U.S. secretary of state and the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan earlier this year.
Political analyst Bara Hasibuan, meanwhile, was of the opinion that the debate on Papua was a result of the government's failure to address prolonged discontent in the territory.
"The government should review its unclear policies on Papua to win the people's hearts and minds," explained Bara.
Jakarta, he added, was not serious about implementing special autonomy in Papua.
"Human right abuses, deployment of reinforcement troops and injustices have been decried by Papuan groups to draw the world's attention to those issues," said Bara, an intern at the U.S. Congress in 2002 and 2003.
The government has not yet implemented the special autonomy law for Papua, and actually violated elements of that law by proceeding with a division of Papua into three smaller provinces last year, although the Papuan People's Council local consultative body was never consulted -- as it is supposed to be when such decisions are made -- because it has never been established.