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.