We prefer security to autonomy: Papuan council

We prefer security to autonomy: Papuan council

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The secretary-general of the proindependence Papuan Presidium
Council (PDP), Thaha Al Hamid, said in Jayapura on Thursday that
Papuans (indigenous people of Irian Jaya) wanted the government
to guarantee their right to life despite their constant demands
for freedom.

"A government guarantee to protect us is more important than
the promised special autonomy," Al Hamid said in a telephone
interview on Thursday.

"How can we live normally if our right to life is not
guaranteed?" he said, adding that a list of names of Irian Jaya
figures who were to be "eliminated" had been circulated in many
parts of the easternmost province. He didn't explain whether
Theys Hiyo Eluay was one of the people on the list or whether any
other PDP activists were on the list.

Theys was found dead in his car at Muara Tami, a district west
of Jayapura. A group of people had reportedly attacked his driver
Ari Masoka before kidnapping him on Saturday night shortly after
he left a dinner party hosted by the local military.

Willem Onde, another prominent separatist, went missing and
was found dead in a remote area in the province about two months
prior to Theys's demise.

"We want President Megawati Soekarnoputri to come here with
assurances that the government will protect all Papuans against
violence," he said.

Megawati plans to visit Irian Jaya on Dec. 22 to give the
Irian Jaya people the special autonomy law, which has already
been passed by the House of representatives, as a Christmas gift.

Asked whether the PDP would continue with the fight for
freedom, Al Hamid said that it was not the PDP that wanted
freedom.

"The PDP has been entrusted by the Papuans to fight for
independence. If tomorrow the people come and tell us to stop
fighting for freedom, then the PDP will do so," he explained.

He said, however, that freedom could only be achieved as the
outcome of dialog. "Let's talk about the process. We want to sit
down together with Indonesian officials to talk about the truth
and the history of Papua."

The PDP had on many occasions proposed that a dialog with
independent witnesses and observers be held between the
government and Irian Jaya people, but the government has never
responded positively, he said

"Instead of holding a dialog with us, the government offered
us a special autonomy law with sharing of the revenue obtained
from natural resources," he said. "Once again, what is important
for our people is not revenue sharing. We want our lives to be
protected and we want to sit down with government officials to
talk about historic truths. Just listen to us, don't discriminate
against Papuans."

The Dutch colonial administration handed over West Papua (then
known as Irian Barat, or West Irian, to Indonesia) to the United
Nations in 1962. The UN ruled the territory through its Temporary
Executive Authority (UNTEA) for eight months before handing over
the gold-rich Irian Barat to Indonesia in May 1963.

In 1969, the United Nations set up a council to organize a
plebiscite aimed at deciding whether Irian Barat would remain as
part of Indonesia or become independent (one of the members of
the council was Theys). The council endorsed Irian Barat's
integration into Indonesia. Later, the name Irian Barat was
changed to Irian Jaya during Soeharto's administration.

Asked about the death of PDP chairman Theys, Al Hamid said
that as an organization the PDP had its internal mechanisms. "The
organization keeps going," he said.

He added that he had no idea who or what was behind Theys's
death.

Although the PDP, Theys's relatives and the tribal council
have decided to have Theys's body buried on Saturday, the cause
of his death was still shrouded in mystery as of Friday.

An examination of Theys's heart, which should have been
performed at the police's forensic laboratory in Makassar, had
yet to be carried out late on Thursday.

"I was informed that the Jayapura General Hospital sent the
organs to Theys's family on Wednesday. I was surprised because
the organs should have been flown to Makassar. I don't know what
was behind this," Al Hamid said.

In Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf
confirmed on Thursday that Theys's heart had been dispatched on
Thursday to the police's central forensics laboratory in Makassar
for a more in-depth investigation into the cause of Theys's
death.