W. Papuans declare independence from Indonesia

W. Papuans declare independence from Indonesia

By Neles Tebay

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya (JP): Defying warnings from Jakarta, the
Papuan Congress ended on Sunday with a declaration that West
Papua, or Irian Jaya as the territory is still officially called,
is no longer a part of the Republic of Indonesia.

And according to participants at the congress, it never was.

"West Papua has been an independent nation since Dec. 1,
1961," the resolution of independence, read by the congress'
secretary-general Thaha Alhamid, stated.

The date refers to when the territory was granted independence
from the Netherlands as Indonesia escalated its military campaign
to claim sovereignty. Indonesia won the war in 1963 and the
annexation was given international recognition in 1969, following
a United Nations-supervised plebiscite.

Thaha said the congress rejected the 1962 New York agreement
on the plebiscite between Indonesia, the Netherlands and the
United Nations since the Papuans were never consulted.

The 1969 plebiscite was attended by 1,025 tribal leaders who
voted for integration under intimidation, pressure and killings,
he said. "We call on the United Nations to revoke resolution No.
2504,19/12,1969," he added.

The congress urged Indonesia, the Netherlands, the United
States and the United Nations to recognize the political rights
of Papuans and to reassess their position toward an independent
West Papua by Dec. 1.

In spite of the exchange of harsh words between Jakarta and
Jayapura, the week-long congress at Cendrawasih stadium ended
peacefully. Police stayed away as the congress deployed its
personnel to handle security in and around the venue.

The congress, originally due to end on Saturday, was extended
for another day because of debates over the wording of the
independence declaration. There were fears an outright
declaration of independence would antagonize Jakarta.

They settled for declaring independence dating back to 1961 in
keeping with the congress' theme to review the history of West
Papua's integration into Indonesia.

Meanwhile, hundreds of military and police officers were
deployed around town in anticipation of trouble. The fears turned
out to be unfounded.

Acting Irian Jaya Governor Musiran Darmosuwito and provincial
legislative council chairman TN Kaiway attended the closing
ceremony but military chief Maj. Gen. Inkriwang and police chief
Brig. Gen. SY. Wenas, however, were not present.

Jakarta-appointed Musiran avoided addressing the independence
declaration but praised the congress' participants for keeping
order and peace throughout the meeting.

He appealed to West Papuans to respect the rights of non-
Papuans living and working in the territory. "I call on all
people in Irian Jaya to continually keep unity so that every one
here can live and go about their business peacefully."

Tom Beanal, the deputy chairman of the Papua Presidium, also
assured non-Papuans in Irian Jaya that their rights would be
respected.

"We need them to develop our country," Tom said.

The Papuan Presidium will disseminate the results of the
congress in a peaceful manner, he said. "We will fight for the
sovereignty recognition which we had (in 1961)," he said.

Another source of contention from Jakarta was the presence of
many foreigners, mostly representing non-governmental
organizations, at the congress.

Viktor Kaisiepo from the Netherlands, representing the
European delegates, promised to explain the congress' results to
major countries and the United Nations.

West Papuan leaders at the congress meanwhile rejected
President Abdurrahman Wahid's claim that the independence
aspirations did not have the support of the majority of West
Papuans, most of whom live in remote jungles.

"Only 0.01 percent of Papuans want to remain in Indonesia,
while 99.9 percent want independence," Herman Awom, a member of
the presidium, said.

Congress delegates debated on Sunday the status of Yorrys
Raweyai of the Pemuda Pancasila youth organization, with his
close links to the previous regime of former president Soeharto.

A delegate demanded that Yorrys be expelled from the Papuan
Presidium but others felt that he should be retained.

"His status will be decided by the presidium after the
congress," Awom said.