Irian Jaya cannot go the way of East Timor

Irian Jaya cannot go the way of East Timor

SINGAPORE: Last Friday, "independence" observances by
separatists' supporters in the remote eastern Indonesian province
of Irian Jaya passed with little trouble.

It is an indication of how fragile the unitary state is that
the relative calm, bar some arrests, is celebrated as some sort
of success. Tension there had been, but the Indonesian military
was prepared.

For days before the event, security forces put out a clear
signal with their presence, which was quite considerable in
Jayapura, the provincial capital. They were restrained, the
message being that the locals could proceed with their ceremonies
if they stayed calm.

On the day itself, the hoisting of the independence movement's
flag by tribal chiefs went unimpeded.

It helped that four separatist leaders had been arrested in
the preceding week. Among them was Theys Eluay, head of the pro-
independence Papua Presidium Council. President Abdurrahman Wahid
had warned that no breakaway attempt would be tolerated, on pain
of tough military action.

It is possible the crackdown in the nearby Maluku islands and
distant Aceh, where disturbances have been far worse, had an
impact on the Irianese.

As it turned out, the main rally in Jayapura was so orderly
even the provincial police went up on the stage to thank the
crowd for cooperating with the authorities.

The curious thing about the proceedings is that they
nationally marked a desire for freedom that was expressed 31
years ago - on Dec 1, 1961!

That was when Irian Jaya (or West Papua as it was known),
which shares a huge island with Papua New Guinea, broke free of
the Dutch colonial administration. Indonesia annexed it in 1963,
and it was formalized in a United Nations plebiscite in 1969
which confirmed Irian Jaya as part of Indonesia.

Although an Irianese people's congress had set last Friday as
the deadline for achieving substantive sovereignty, this was
never taken seriously. The tribal chiefs' declaration of 1961 is
in essence the Irianese Melanesians' spiritual link with their
pre-Indonesia past. Dec 1 observances had become an historical
oddity, more or less.

What relevance the recent past has now is that the "loss" of
East Timor through an act of folly by President B.J. Habibie has
changed the equation drastically.

Irian Jaya cannot go the way of Timor, or the consequences to
Indonesia - and South-east Asia - can be serious.

This is why the apparent change in military stance, at least
to the extent evident during the Jayapura observance week, is a
helpful sign.

Heavy-handedness is different from firmness in controlling
rebellious tendencies. Thus far, the regional command has shown
admirable restraint in keeping order in Irian Jaya, even in the
face of provocations from rebel elements operating near the
border with Papua New Guinea.

The guerrilla movement has been low-grade despite the example
of the East Timor secession, and this is fortunate.

Jakarta has promised Irian Jaya more autonomy in May, under
which the local administration will have more control over
resources and regional affairs.

It is crucial that devolution be handled well, and more
benefits accrue to the local population for the considerable
revenue the province's gold and copper reserves bring to Jakarta.

It would be a serious miscalculation, possibly even fatal, if
Indonesia gets complacent over this outer province on the
understanding that there is no international support for Irian
Jaya independence.

East Timor is a painful lesson. It was firmly ensconced within
the Indonesian family, and there was hardly a clamor by foreign
governments and lobbyists for its deliverance. But look what
happened.

-- The Straits Times/Asia News Network