RI slams Euro Parliament for Irian Jaya interference

RI slams Euro Parliament for Irian Jaya interference

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia has denounced the European Parliament
for what it perceives as interference in the nation's domestic
affairs.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas issued a letter
expressing dismay with European Parliament President Klaus
Hansch, who has invited the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM)
to send a delegation to the assembly in Strassbourg, Austria.

Alatas said that Irian Jaya is an integral part of the
country, a fact recognized by the United Nations Resolution 2504
(XXIV). By making such an offer, the European Parliament has
violated Indonesia's territorial integrity, he charged.

The minister said in the letter, a copy of which was made
available to The Jakarta Post Tuesday, that such an act could be
construed as implicit recognition of the illegal separatist
group.

The European Parliament is committing "a blatant act of
interference in the internal affairs of Indonesia," he added.

"I should therefore like to register, on behalf of the
Indonesian government, our vigorous protest against the
interference by the President of the European Parliament in the
internal affairs of the Republic of Indonesia which constitutes
an affront to its sovereignty and territorial integrity," he
said.

Hansch sent a letter last month to OPM leaders proposing that
they send a delegation to visit and address the European
Parliament on human rights, cultural identity and environmental
concerns in Irian Jaya.

The separatist group is currently holding eleven hostages,
including six Europeans, whom they abducted on Jan. 8.

Informed sources have confirmed that OPM leaders have received
Hansch's letter. The sources revealed that the letter also
suggests the possibility of asylum for the OPM members.

In his letter to Hansch dated March 6, Alatas described the
European Parliament's proposal to hear the OPM delegation as "a
very dangerous precedent". (mds)