PIF welcomes Indonesia's proposals for Irian Jaya

PIF welcomes Indonesia's proposals for Irian Jaya

AUCKLAND (Agencies): A last minute push by Papua New Guinea was behind a decision by Pacific Island nations to soften their support for Indonesia's autonomy proposals in Irian Jaya, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Sunday.

In their final communique after a three-day summit in Nauru, the Pacific Islands Forum, which groups Australia, New Zealand and 14 Pacific island nations, on Saturday welcomed Indonesia's proposals for Irian Jaya, where Melanesian separatists are seeking independence.

The communique, for a second year in a row, recognized Indonesia as the sovereign authority in Irian Jaya.

The Forum has also increased links with Jakarta, accepting Indonesia as a Forum "dialog partner".

However, a draft communique obtained by Reuters showed leaders had considered going further in support of the Indonesian autonomy plans for the remote but resource-rich province covering the western half of the island of New Guinea, north of Australia.

Around half of Irian Jaya's two million people are Melanesian, sharing ethnic links with a number of Pacific island nations including Vanuatu, which supports independence for the province.

"Forum Leaders agreed that adoption and implementation of comprehensive autonomy for the province would contribute (to a peaceful resolution in Irian Jaya)," the draft communique read, but this was removed before the final was issued.

Clark said the deleted wording, used earlier at the summit by Forum chairman and Nauru President Rene Harris after the Forum leaders held a retreat, was deleted on Saturday at the request of Papua New Guinea, which borders Irian Jaya.

"The language of it was New Zealand's language and it went up to the final moment (of the Forum) and Papua New Guinea objected," Clark told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"What Papua New Guinea didn't want in was a statement that said that implementation of comprehensive autonomy would contribute to a peaceful outcome."

Clark said only she had spoken up in favor of retaining the reference, but her argument that it was a statement of the obvious received no support from other Forum members.

"The sentence was taken out and no one spoke up to keep it there except me," she said.

Clark played down the significance of the change, saying the Forum's communique still expressed concern about violence and loss of life and called for a peaceful resolution of differences.

Nauru, a 21 square km island just south of the equator between Australia and Hawaii, has also supported the separatists but Harris banned five members of the West Papuan movement from the country during the summit.

Harris said this was because of divisions within the separatist movement that he feared would sidetrack the Forum. Analysts suggested Australia had put pressure on Nauru because of its desire to restore ties with Indonesia damaged by Australia's support for East Timor independence.

Fiji will provisionally host next year's Pacific Islands Forum summit, leaders decided here at the conclusion of this year's meeting.

Fiji was to have held the summit this year but lost out as a result of last year's coup and the breakdown of democracy.

Leaders here decided Fiji can hold it next year if acceptable democracy returns after next week's elections, although Nauru's President Rene Harris said their were no preconditions.