Gus Dur offers freedom but not independence

JAKARTA (JP): Visiting President Abdurrahman Wahid said in Irian Jaya on Monday that Jakarta would allow "peaceful freedom of expression" in the province, but warned against any attempt to secede from the republic.

Speaking during a Christmas celebration in the provincial capital of Jayapura, Abdurrahman said that "Irian Jaya must remain part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia".

"I will allow the people here to freely express their opinions, but if there is any attempt to declare independence of the province, I will take action against it," Abdurrahman said.

In what appeared to be a shift from his earlier stance, Abdurrahman also said Monday that the police move to arrest Irianese pro-independence leader Theys Eluay earlier this month had to be "respected".

Abdurrahman had earlier called on the police to release Theys so that dialog between Jakarta and Irian leaders in the troubled province could resume.

Top security officials in Jakarta refused, however, to bow to the President's demand. Instead, the promised to speed up the investigation against Theys, who has been charged with subversion.

Theys and four other Irian Jaya pro-independence activists grouped in the Papuan Presidium Council were arrested prior to and after the observance of the unrecognized 1961 declaration of independence for Irian, also known as West Papua.

At least 16 people have died this month in a series of violent incidents related to the growing clamor for independence in the easternmost province.

The 31-member Presidium has so far been advocating dialog and a non-violent approach to the independence struggle.

Irianese civic leaders had earlier suggested that the arrest of Theys could be considered as an attempt to provoke Irianese people to put up resistance.

They also accused Jakarta of trying to create preconditions for imposing repressive measures in the province.

Also present on Monday were First Lady Sinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman, the Indonesian Military Chief Adm. Widodo A.S., Irian Jaya Governor J.P. Salossa, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bungaran Saragih and Junior Minister for the Acceleration of Development in Indonesia's Eastern Region Manuel Kaisiepo.

Meanwhile, a member of the Presidium was quoted by AFP as saying on Monday that Abdurrahman has left independence leaders in Irian Jaya out of the schedule of his two-day visit to the province.

"We have had no invitation," Presidium moderator Willy Mandowen said.

"There are no plans for any meeting between Presidium members and Gus Dur," he said referring to the president by his nickname.

Willy said, however, the Presidium's deputy leader, Tom Beanal, may be included in a group of community leaders scheduled to hold talks with Abdurrahman in the southern mining town of Timika on Tuesday.

Tom is chief of the Timika-based Amungme people.

Abdurrahman, who arrived in Jayapura at around 5 p.m., is scheduled to return to Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.

Abdurrahman's visit to Irian Jaya was shadowed by a series of bombings at churches across the country on Sunday.

Commenting on the bombings, Abdurrahman pledged in Jayapura that the government "will get to the bottom" of the incident and said that strict measures would be taken against the perpetrators.

"We should not be afraid of terrorists. The state will not be afraid of them and we will take action on them," he was quoted by Antara as saying.(35/byg)