Irianese leaders want control of their land

Irianese leaders want control of their land

JAKARTA (JP): Irian Jaya leaders told President B.J. Habibie
on Friday they wanted to be the masters of their own land, while
at least one tribal chief declared his wish outright for the
province to become an independent state.

During the three-hour, closed-door meeting at the Merdeka
Palace, Irian Jaya Governor Freddy Numbery cited the growing
demands for wide-ranging autonomy, and for strategic bureaucratic
positions to be given to Irianese. He argued there was a
sufficiency of educated local people.

"For 35 years Irianese people felt they were ignored. We
witnessed how positions for regents and heads of government
agencies were given to outsiders. Why did these not go to the
native Irianese?" Numbery said after the meeting.

Before the meeting Habibie hosted a luncheon for his 100
guests, including chairman of the Pemuda Pancasila youth
organization Yorris Raweyai, at the State Guest House.

The President was accompanied by several ministers including
Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung and Minister of
Defense/Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.

Tom Beanal, chief of the Amungme tribe, repeated his long-
standing position that the Irianese wanted to establish their own
state. He said they had received nothing but had instead become
targets of government exploitation.

"I told Habibie straight that the Papua people's demand is
separation from this republic," Beanal said in a short press
briefing organized by Yorris at the palace compound.

Beanal has accused gold and copper mining giant PT Freeport
Indonesia of causing local environmental and cultural destruction
in Irian Jaya. He lost the first part of a legal battle against
Freeport when a U.S. district court rejected his US$6 billion
lawsuit in April last year.

Yorris, whose father, Jacob, hails from Irian, introduced
Beanal to journalists as a representative of the meeting's
participants.

"I do not think that Beanal's opinion reflects the totality of
Irianese aspirations," Akbar hinted.

Habibie is reported not to have given a direct response to the
demands. Rather, he told the delegation to reconsider and think
about the consequences, saying abundant natural resources alone
were not a sufficient guarantee for their future.

"The President was very relaxed during the meeting and he
responded directly to questions," Akbar noted.

On the basis of a United Nations-sponsored New York agreement
between Holland, the former Dutch colonial power, and Indonesia,
West Irian became part of Indonesia in May 1963. Ten years later,
then president Soeharto renamed the province Irian Jaya (Glorious
Irian).

The 421,981 kilometers square province is three and a half
times the size of Java. The 1995 statistics indicated the
population was only about two million.

The government has sent transmigrants, many of them from Java,
in a bid to accelerate economic growth there.

Their presence has often created friction as the locals are
unable to compete on an equal footing with the more experienced
outsiders.

The armed Free Papua Movement (OPM) has often disturbed
security in the province.

"I underline the importance of empowering the Irianese to
become masters of their own land," said the governor.

The palace was tightly guarded as many Irianese youths had
gathered in the National Monument Park (Monas) across the road.
Presidential security guards patiently accompanied some of the
guests to the toilet and escorted them back to the meeting hall.

The Irianese delegation complained that the air conditioning
in the palace was too cold for them. "Or maybe we ate too much.
How often can one have lunch with the President, anyway?" said
Martin, one of the guests.

Habibie later invited his guests to pose for photographers and
cameramen on the terrace of the Palace.

Irian Jaya Military Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Sembiring and
provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Hotman Siagian were standing
next to Habibie before the photo session began. Habibie then
asked more of the visitors to stand alongside him.

"This has been a very good and useful meeting," said Numbery.
(prb)