Aussie arrested for abusing UNAMET visa

TIMIKA, Irian Jaya (JP): An Australian man has been arrested by local police for illegally entering Irian Jaya using a UNAMET- visa.

Police said on Thursday that Saul Francis Dalton, a 26-year- old rural development technician from New South Wales, was arrested last Saturday. He is now in house arrest at Serayu Hotel in Timika.

A reliable police source at the Irian Jaya Police HQ said that if Dalton was a real UNAMET member "he should have traveled to East Timor, not Irian Jaya."

The officer who asked for anonymity said that Dalton brought a West Papua Morning Star flag, documents of alleged sexual harassment by Indonesian Armed Forces members in Timika, and other (political) documents related to Irian Jaya separatist movements. "What does he collect those stuff for?" he said.

Dalton's lawyer, Iwan Anwar told The Jakarta Post by phone on Thursday that Dalton had been questioned by Timika police and was waiting for the result from the questioning. "I hope after one or two days he (Dalton) could leave for Australia," Anwar said.

According to Anwar, his client left Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, for Dili by KM Dobonsolo vessel. "But he could not disembark in Dili, and finally he reached Jayapura," Anwar said.

The lawyer did not explain why his Australian client left Kupang and why he used a Pro-UNAMET visa. (34)