Papuan separatists look for foreign support

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.