U.S. not for Papua's independence: Juwono

U.S. not for Papua's independence: Juwono

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has expressed confidence in the United States
administration, which it said would not back any move that posed
a threat to Indonesia's national unity.

"The U.S. government supports the unitary state of Indonesia
and it will not back any secessionist movement anywhere in this
country. Neither will it support the partition of Papua from
Indonesia," Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on Tuesday.

He was commenting on a move by U.S. Congress members,
including Eni Faleomavega from the Republican Party, who proposed
a bill to question the validity of the process prior to the 1969
referendum in Papua, when selected Papuan elders voted
unanimously to join Indonesia.

Juwono was speaking in a press conference followed the opening
of a two-day security dialog attended by defense officials from
Indonesia and the U.S.

Present at the ceremony was U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia B.
Lynn Pascoe.

"We should not react too much (to the issue). It is a normal
political development when two congressmen, who represent
American Samoa, concluded that Papuans have not been able to
enjoy democracy and decentralization," Juwono said.

"What we have to do now is to boost democracy and
decentralization in the province to enable justice to prevail
there."

Although Indonesia had claimed Papua as part of its territory
since the formation of an independent Indonesia was proclaimed in
1945, the territory remained under Dutch control until 1962. That
year, Indonesia and the Netherlands signed the New York
Agreement, which transferred the administration of Papua to a
United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA), and then to
Indonesia in 1963, pending a referendum.

Since Indonesia held the Act of Free Choice -- in which 1,025
Papuan elders voted unanimously to join Indonesia -- a sporadic
low-level armed struggle against the vote has taken place. The
government has accused the Free Papua Organization (OPM) of
orchestrating the secessionist movement.

Debate over the status of Papua has intensified since a group
of U.S. congressmen sent a letter on March 14 of this year to the
U.S. secretary of state and the UN secretary-general.

The politicians criticized what they called continuing rights
abuses, ranging from torture to rape and from arbitrary arrest to
murder, against pro-independence groups in the province, while
accusing Indonesian Military officers of involvement in the human
rights violations.

The letter also lashed out at the Indonesian government for
dividing Papua into three smaller provinces: Papua, West Irian
Jaya and Central Irian Jaya, regardless of the special autonomy
granted to the natural resource-rich territory.

"What has happened in the U.S. Congress is just the expression
of some individuals that will not affect the relationship between
Indonesia and the United States," Juwono said.