Irianese refugees told to return home

The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Authorities in Irian Jaya called on 3,000 Papuans who crossed the borderline to remote areas in Papua New Guinea (PNG), to return voluntarily in order to provide a better future for themselves.

Budiman Kayoga, deputy regent of Jayawijaya, said the Indonesian government would give the refugees a guarantee on their political rights and equal treatment and opportunities, as it had done with other Papuan people, should they voluntarily return to their home villages in the province.

"The government does not want the refugees to remain in exile under unhealthy circumstances and without good future prospects because of the political situation in the province. It would be better for them to come back to their home villages to live normally," he said upon his arrival from a border liaison meeting in the PNG town of Madang here on Tuesday.

The refugees fled their home villages in Wamena and Merauke regency to seek a better life in PNG. Most have declined to return for fear of being mistreated by local security authorities.

Kayoga said the Irian Jaya administration would coordinate with the central government and PNG authorities to persuade the Papuan refugees to return because they were living under difficult circumstances in the neighboring country.

"If the refugees come back home, they will be welcome and their safety will be guaranteed on condition that they do not disrupt security," he said.

He conceded the Papuan people had taken refuge in the neighboring country after receiving political propaganda from the Free Papua Separatist Movement (OPM) that they would have a better life and their political rights would be guaranteed.

Kayoga, who also made a field tour of the refugee camps, said most refugees had objected to returning home as they had frequently been intimidated into believing that they would be killed by security authorities if they returned.

"I told the refugees that that was untrue and the political situation in Indonesia had changed," he said.

Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon, chief of the Cenderawasih Military Command overseeing Irian Jaya, said security authorities would treat the refugees humanely and respect their political rights because they were Indonesians.

"The most important thing is that the refugees should be aware of their obligations and rights as citizens and behave well if they come back home," he said.

Meanwhile, in Mimika, the local military subdistrict arrested seven rebels and seized 10 guns and many rounds of ammunition in a joint operation with the local police to crack down on separatist activities in the regency.

Lt. Col. Djamaluddin, chief of the local military, said the rebels had been arrested when they held a meeting at a vacant house in Kali Kopi Village.

The seven identified as EK, IN, OW, YA, SN, EK and TN, are still undergoing intensive interrogation by the local police.