Gus Dur wants release of leaders in Irian Jaya

Gus Dur wants release of leaders in Irian Jaya

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid called on the police
on Thursday to release Irian Jaya pro-independence leaders
currently in detention so that dialog between Jakarta and locals
in the troubled province could resume.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Abdurrahman at
Merdeka Palace, secretary of the Irian Jaya chapter of the
Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) Karel Phil Erari said
Abdurrahman was "surprised" when he found out that "his order to
release PPC (the Papuan Presidium Council) leaders had not been
carried out by the provincial police chief".

"Gus Dur said he instructed police to free them by Dec. 5, so
that the dialog (between the government and pro-independence
supporters) could resume," he said referring to the President by
his nickname.

Theys Eluay and several other pro-independence supporters were
arrested by police last week.

He said the arrest "could indirectly be considered as an
attempt to provoke Irianese people to put up resistance".

Karel said his meeting with the President on Thursday was
aimed at expressing concerns about the deteriorating situation in
Irian Jaya.

Also present on Thursday were national legislators from Irian
Jaya province Simon Patrice Morin and Lukas Degey, both from the
Golkar Party, and Irianese community leader Michael Menufandu.

Karel said "political and security developments on the ground
have shown that the central government is intent on creating
preconditions for imposing repressive measures (in the
province)."

"The strong indication of this approach is that troops have
been mobilized and leaders of the Papuan Presidium Council have
been arrested," he said in a four-page statement distributed to
journalists after the meeting.

Karel said Irianese leaders deplored that there had been
"systematic attempts by a certain group of political elite from
the central government to create a climate that would legitimize
the imposition of civil emergency or even martial law in Papua".

"These people have been exploiting the President's green light
(to the Papuans) to raise the Morning Star flag as an issue of
disintegration to discredit the President," Karel said in the
statement.

"The hoisting of the Morning Star flag should not be blown out
of proportion as an impending sign of disintegration because the
Papua problem is actually only a problem of injustice," Karel
said.

"We, therefore, call on the central government to immediately
set up a commission to facilitate a dialog between the central
government and local people to seek solutions to the Papua
problem," Karel said. (byg)