PNG minister tells Papua rebels to sign Aceh-like pact with RI
PNG minister tells Papua rebels to sign Aceh-like pact with RI
Agence France-Presse, Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea's foreign minister urged on Thursday pro-
independence rebels in the neighboring Indonesian province of
Papua to seek an autonomy arrangement similar to that reached
this week between Jakarta and separatists in Aceh.
The appeal by Foreign Minister Rabbie Namaliu came a day after
PNG authorities sparked a controversy by barring a leader of the
Papua separatist group OPM from attending a four-nation summit
meeting of Melanesian states being held this week in the
highlands town of Goroka.
Papuans are ethnic Melanesians and their exclusion from the
summit drew protests from some PNG officials and the Pacific
state of Vanuatu, which invited OPM (Free Papau Movement)
representative John Ondawame to the meeting as an observer.
The four-day summit of the Melanesian Spearhead Group involves
officials from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and
Vanuatu. Prime ministers from the four states will wrap up the
summit on Friday.
Namaliu, speaking from Goroka, defended the decision to bar
Ondawame from the meeting, saying the Papua situation was an
internal matter for the Indonesian government, which renamed the
former Dutch colony Irian Jaya in 1963.
He suggested the Papuans follow the lead of separatists in
Aceh province who on Monday signed a peace agreement with
Jakarta.
"The fact is now they (Indonesia) have reached an agreement
with the people of Aceh to have a greater autonomy, indicating
that they will also be taking a similar approach to Papua,"
Namaliu said.
"Thats the sort of process that I think we would welcome, and
obviously thats the sort of process that OPM should get
themselves involved in," he said.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a similar
appeal on Tuesday, offering "special autonomy" to Papua.
"The government wishes to solve the issue in Papua in a
peaceful, just and dignified manner by emphasizing dialogue and a
persuasive approach," Susilo told parliament.
An OPM spokesman regretted his group's exclusion from the
Goroka meeting, saying Papuans needed help from the Melanesian
governments to counter human rights abuses by Indonesian
soldiers.
"We don't want human rights abuses going on to our next
generation," Jacob Rumbiak told the Australian national
broadcaster, ABC.
"We want to share with our Melanesian kids how we stand
together to stop human rights abuses," he said.
Report on genocide in Papua -- Page 11