Irianese want to return home

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: Some 3,000 people from Irian Jaya who are now living in refugee camps across the border in Papua New Guinea have asked to be returned home, the Antara news agency reported yesterday.

Moses Tandung, the information attache of the Indonesian embassy in Port Moresby, said that most of the 3,000 Irianese had crossed the border at the instigation of separatist rebels.

The agitators had intimated that they faced persecution by the Indonesian military if they returned, Moses said, stressing that the suggestion was a complete lie.

The Indonesian embassy had sent circulars to the refugee camps and used television messages to inform the refugees that they were welcome to return and guaranteed safe passage home. (11)