Government urged to uphold law or face disintegration
BANDUNG (JP): National disintegration will not materialize if the government upholds the supremacy of law and avoids abusing its power, a noted rights activist said on Friday.
Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) Bambang Widjojanto said on the sidelines of a seminar here he doubted that the new government would be able to make firm decisions due to its need to make compromises.
"The main problem faced by the new government is that the President does not have definite strategic plans to boost national unity. This will weaken the government's efforts to counter any disintegration threats," he said.
According to Bambang, the threat from several regions in Indonesia, including Irian Jaya, Aceh and Sulawesi, to break away from Indonesia was a consequence of the lack of coordination in the government.
"Government officials have so far made statements and comments without implementing them fully," Bambang said.
He also mentioned the lack of law enforcement, particularly in relation to cases of crimes against humanity which have involved the Indonesian Military.
"In the past the government have failed to bring military personnel to justice," he added.
Bambang, however, called on the government to act wisely in responding to the increasing demands for referendums in Aceh and Irian Jaya.
Another speaker at the seminar Neles Tebay, who represents the Diocese of Irian Jaya, said the government has never looked into the roots of the problem underlying the demands for independence by the Irianese.
"All the related parties have to sit down and talk it through wisely to understand what the real problem is", Neles said.
He said the military way to combat any threat of separatism there would only make the problem worse. Moreover, he added, there have been human rights violations against people in Irian Jaya for over 30 years.
Neles suspected that the way the government has handled the independence demands in the province was similar to a systematic ethnic cleansing of the Papua people.
Rally
Meanwhile, around 10,000 people attended on Friday a peaceful mass rally in Sentani, some 45 kilometer south of Irian Jaya capital of Jayapura, demanding United Nations' intervention in the province.
Head of the Yapen Waropen tribe Yusuf Tanawani said at the rally that the West Papua people would declare their independence on Dec. 1. He told the people to hoist the West Papuan flag on that day.
"The raising of the flags will force the Republic of Indonesia to take our cry for freedom seriously," Yusuf said to the crowd.
The people demanded the withdrawal of the Indonesian Military and Police Force from the territory starting from Friday. They also said the Indonesian government was accountable for human rights violations in the region since 1961.
West Papua became Indonesia's 26th province following a UN- supervised referendum in 1967.
Friday's rally, which was attended by traditional leaders, nongovernmental activists and people from all walks of life, ended peacefully at 2 p.m. local time. Security troops were seen in the area but they stayed 200 meters away from the demonstrators. (02/04/43/eba)