Indonesia wants Mateas Wenda

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Irian Jaya Police chief Brig. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika said here on Wednesday that Indonesia hoped that the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government would return Mateas Wenda, who was arrested by PNG police for illegally entering the territory and establishing a force, to Indonesia for legal processing.

"We will contact the PNG government through the Indonesian Defense Attache in PNG and send detailed records of the crimes Mateas committed in Irian Jaya," the newly-installed police chief said in his first meeting with local journalists.

Mangku Pastika replaced Insp. Gen. F.X. Soemardi who was killed in a Navy plane crash in Silimo, Wamena, on Jan. 8.

Mateas Wenda, not Mathias Wenda as earlier reported, along with 12 of his men were arrested by the Sandaon provincial police during a routine border patrol.

The Sandaon District Court has sentenced Mateas to six months jail term for establishing rebel forces to topple the Indonesian government and border crossing.

According to Indonesian authorities, the 50-year-old Mateas was involved in the killing of five loggers in Wotung, Jayapura in December of last year. He was also accused of masterminding the abduction of two transmigrants in Arso district in 1996. (35/sur)