Papuan separatists look for foreign support

The Papuan People's Congress held in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, from May 29 to June 4 declared that the Irianese want to separate from Indonesia. Agus Alue Alua, the congress chairman and deputy secretary of the Papuan Presidium formed to follow up the congress, shares developments with The Jakarta Post's correspondent Neles Tebay. The following is an excerpt of an interview in Jakarta:

Question: What are the duties of the Papuan Presidium after the Papuan People's Congress?

Answer: The Papuan Presidium is to carry out the mandate of the congress which gave us full support to hold activities in struggling for West Papua's (local name for Irian Jaya) independence.

The presidium will use peaceful ways, such as dialog and negotiations with all parties involved.

What has the presidium done, and what does it plan to do?

Firstly, we determined our working guidelines ... Secondly, the presidium met with President Abdurrahman Wahid in Jakarta in the first week of July. We reported what had been discussed in the congress and submitted a written report of the results.

What was the response of the President?

We got a positive response. He welcomed the decision to settle the West Papua case by holding dialog. The President is to form an ad hoc team ... to study the results of the congress. They will also visit West Papua to verify the contents of our report. They will then report to the President, and their task ends there.

After that, the President will invite the presidium to a discussion. Another team will possibly be established to work out the terms of reference for a national dialog on West Papua.

If the terms of reference are agreed on by the government and the presidium, a political dialog on the Papuans' aspiration could be held based on openness ... equality and respect for human rights.

What has been the response of the presidium to the planned ad hoc team?

We fully appreciate and welcome the idea. We will be supporting the team in the task. We think the team will be very helpful in moving toward a national dialog.

Is the presidium also seeking the possibility of an international dialog on Irian Jaya by involving the United Nations and some countries, such as the Netherlands and the United States?

So far, we have no plan for an international dialog; we're just focusing on the necessity of a national dialog.

Which other parties have received the congress results?

They include the speakers of the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives, the Indonesian Military Commander, the Indonesian Police chief, some ministers, non-governmental organizations and some ambassadors in Jakarta.

Was the distribution of the congress results to ambassadors aimed at gaining attention and support for Irian Jaya's independence?

We deliberately submitted the congress report to them so that they can also understand the things going on in Indonesia, including in Papua ... they would then be able to explain it to their respective leaders.

Is the presidium also planning to introduce the congress results in foreign countries?

The congress has entrusted the presidium to report and submit the results to the United Nations, the Netherlands and the United States, for instance. However we lack the funds to do so.

We are grateful to the government for helping us to distribute and announce the congress results to Indonesians, the international community and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The government has sought international support for Indonesia's territorial integrity. How can you say the government helped introduce the congress results?

We heard that when the Papuans declared their desire to separate from Indonesia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab rushed to meet with ambassadors in Jakarta ... The President also met with leaders of the countries he visited and even with Kofi Annan.

We suppose they had surely informed these parties of the congress results before asking for their support.

Alwi announced that foreign countries support Indonesia's territorial integrity, including that of Irian Jaya, and that they do not support Irian Jaya's independence.

The foreign minister was expressing either facts or his personal hope. If the foreign leaders indeed said that, it is their right to do so ... But support from a country's leader is not always identical to that of their parliament.

We have yet to be informed that there are no countries supporting West Papua's freedom.

We think a change toward political support could happen any time, as in the case of East Timor. Papuans have yet to lobby any foreign parliament or government.

What has the presidium done in Irian Jaya?

The presidium will explain the results of the congress and of the meeting with the President in each (of 13 regencies) beginning on July 14 (five regencies were visited as of last week -- Ed). The presidium will call on Papuans to maintain peace and order in respective regencies while we conduct dialogs.

Papuans must be aware that the Papuan movement for independence is a nonviolent movement.

What is your personal impression of the President in his response to the congress results?

President Abdurrahman has shown himself to be a democratic man who fully respects human rights, who lets people express themselves and who prioritizes dialog and peaceful ways in resolving matters. All these reveal that he is not only a leader of a country, but a man with a big soul and noble heart.