Papuans reject the creation of provisional govt
Papuans reject the creation of provisional govt
JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): A majority of participants at a landmark conference on the future of Irian Jaya rejected on Friday an idea to create a provisional government in exile for an independent West Papua state, fearing the move would trigger a harsh counter-measure from Jakarta.
"The idea would be tantamount to separatism and this would justify the Indonesian army and police to launch an operation to wipe us out," Fadal Alhamid, a student of the state-run Cenderawasih University, told The Jakarta Post.
Delegates were on Friday fine-tuning declarations expected to include an assertion of the right to independence.
The final texts would be adopted on the last day, Saturday, organizers of the six-day congress said.
Jakarta has flatly ruled out independence for the mineral-rich province of some 2.5 million people -- formerly Dutch New Guinea -- which was incorporated into Indonesia after a United Nations plebiscite in 1969.
On Wednesday, Jakarta issued a stern warning against the fiercely pro-independence tone of the congress, with Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab and Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak slamming it as "illegitimate", saying it was not representative of the people of Irian Jaya.
The claim was denied, however, by the chairman of a 31-member Papuan presidium council Tom Beanal, saying that all of the regencies and groups in the province had been included.
He added that the delegates were chosen by the people in their respective regencies.
The congress, though overwhelmingly pro-independent, has been bitterly divided over how to attain it.
The majority moderates at the conference want to reach their goal through peaceful negotiations with Jakarta with international mediation, while the minority extremists want an immediate declaration of independence and the creation of a provisional government in exile.
Both sides say the 1969 plebiscite was flawed.
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who has asked legislators to rename the province West Papua in deference to local sentiment, has flatly ruled out independence, and insisted that Irian remain a part of the country.
Meanwhile in Yoyyakarta, a political observer Pratikno from Gadjah Mada University called on Jakarta to refrain from using security force in the province as the move would only exacerbate the matter.
He also pointed out that the government was facing a political dilemma as demands of independence were a direct result of oppression during the past government under former president Soeharto.
"The political elite in Papua can easily mobilize Papuan people to support the effort to separate from Indonesia because the previous government left hatred among the Papuans," he explained.
Pratikno argued that the government should offer a particular model of regional autonomy in which regional is transferred from the central government to provincial level, instead of regency level as stipulated in the new law on regional autonomy.
He said current proposals to divide Irian Jaya into three provinces were simply unacceptable to an area which is solidifying its sense of unity.
"They are mobilizing solidarity among West Papua, that's why they reject the government's offer...they fear this proposal (to divide Irian Jaya in three) will undermine Papua's bargaining position with the government," he said.
He urged the president to directly talk with local political elites in the province to settle the matter.
"The political elites in Papua are the ones who have political interest in the movement," he explained. (44/eba)