Govt cold shoulders Irian Jaya independence bid

JAKARTA (JP): Irian Jaya Governor Freddy Numberi confirmed on Saturday the government's disapproval of demands for independence from the country's easternmost province.

"The demand for independence raised by a group of Irianese before President B.J. Habibie recently met with government opposition," Freddy said upon arrival from Jakarta at Sentani Airport in Jayapura.

He said Habibie asked the delegation to reconsider the demand during the Feb. 26 dialog at Merdeka Palace.

"This means that the President does not agree with the idea to establish an independent state in West Papua," he said.

A separatist campaign launched by the Free Papua Movement (OPM) for several decades appears derived from discontent at division of mining revenues in the mineral-rich province.

Freddy said the Irian Jaya Reconciliation Forum-sponsored dialog failed to attain its goals because the delegation returned home with nothing significant.

"Those Irianese representatives should have not raised the demand for independence, but spoken about necessities to develop the province instead," he said.

Despite the failure, Freddy, also a Navy commodore, said the dialog should serve as a reminder for the government to pay more attention to the Irianese people's aspirations.

He said the province needed huge funding for development of quality local human resources.

"The program to groom native Irianese who will take over public administrative jobs here has not worked. The failure has caused the province to lag behind its counterparts," Freddy said.

The governor also warned Irianese people against possible provocation in the wake of continuing tension in neighboring Maluku province.

"The unabated clashes in Ambon, Maluku, have turned into ethnic and religious conflicts. Therefore, people in Irian Jaya should stay on alert for a possible spillover of unrest," he said.

Although security and public order in Irian Jaya are under control, Freddy called on all people to remain vigilant of provocateurs who might infiltrate the province.

He denied reports on expulsion of migrants from the province, stating that Irian belonged to the nation and all Indonesians were entitled to reside there.

He said the autonomy offered by the government seemed most suitable for Irian Jaya's progress.

"A wide-ranging autonomy will allow us to control our own region. Therefore, it is better for Irian Jaya people to accept the offer rather than to demand for an unrealistic thing."

He said the government earmarked Rp 3 trillion from the state budget to boost development in the province.

"Without sufficient funds, it is impossible for Irian Jaya to catch up with the other provinces," he said. (rms)