Irianese people give Megawati warm welcome
JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party, received a traditional warm welcome as the people pleaded for assistance to improve their lot.
Megawati, the daughter of former president Sukarno, was met by an enthusiastic throng of supporters when she arrived in Indonesia's eastern-most province last week as she launched another campaign to drum up support for the party.
She was received in traditional Irian Jaya fashion and toured around the city in an open car.
A crowd of thousands of people, including students, drivers and civil servants, trying to get a close look at her, lined the streets. Many also thronged the airport.
She also toured the towns of Biak, Serui, Merauke and Wamena, where she received equally warm welcomes.
Along with the welcome, Megawati had to deal with a number of criticisms and sharp questions during the ensuing dialogs with local leaders.
"We have been independent and joined Indonesia 30 years ago. But most villages remain underdeveloped, so we want to ask explicitly about PDI's plan to help alleviate our poverty," Athan Tenau, a director of a Catholic foundation said.
Megawati, who was elected by popular vote at an unprecedented party congress in December last year, diplomatically said "Adhering to our national unity principles, what the Irianese feel, the Acehnese and Jakarta people must also feel," she said. "If you suffer, those who live in Aceh and Jakarta will feel the suffering."
Philliphus Degey, a local intellectual, attacked the authorities' overt concern with security, which he said has reached the point of terrorizing the local people.
"Even though we have lived free from colonialism, we are still overpowered by this fear we can't explain," Degey said, adding that some Irianese feel they are being treated badly in many cases.
Legislator and senior party executive, Sabam Sirait, who accompanied Megawati, said the government and the Armed Forces are seriously endeavoring to improve their condition.
"Hopefully the practice of discrimination will soon end," he said.
Meanwhile, Diocese of Jayapura's Monsignor Munninghoff O.F.M. said he expected the PDI to help bring about greater democracy in Irian Jaya. (lkd/prs)