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IRIAN JAYA (WEST PAPUA, NEW GUINEA): THE QUEST FOR INDEPENDENCE-June 28-June 29, 2000

THE RECORD
June 28-June 29, 2000

=======================================================

Subj: AFP: Long-standing foe of Suharto regime flies into Indon
Date: 6/29/00 6:20:34 AM Central Daylight Time
From: plovers@gn.apc.org (Tapol)
To: indonesia-act@igc.apc.org, u.braun@xcc.de, slliem@xs4all.nl, taylorjb@vax.sbu.ac.uk, jonathan.head@bbc.co.uk, reg.westpapua@gn.apc.org, u.braun@xcc.de, slliem@xs4all.nl, taylorjb@vax.sbu.ac.uk

Received from Joyo Indonesian News

Long-standing foe of Suharto regime flies into Indonesia

JAKARTA, June 28 (AFP) - Carmel Budiarjo, the British woman who for decades
championed the cause of political prisoners in Indonesia, returned here
Wednesday for the first time since the fall of ageing strongman Suharto.

Budiarjo, 75, who was imprisoned with her Indonesian husband for four years
in the mass purge of leftists in Indonesia during the 1960's, arrived aboard
a commercial flight at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport, an AFP reporter said.

She left Indonesia in 1971 after being released from detention, and had been
blacklisted from the country since then.

"It's quite nice but I'm still a little bit confused," Budiarjo told
journalists after being delayed 40 minutes at the airport where she was told
she was still on the blacklist.

But a letter she carried from Law and Legislation Minister Yusril Ihza
Mahendra allowed Budiarjo into the country.

In the letter, Mahendra said she had been removed from the blacklist in
September of 1999. Suharto fell from power in May of 1998 amid mass
demonstrations.

One clause in the letter stipulates however that she must obtain permission
from the chief of the Indonesian armed forces.

Waiting to greet Budiarjo was Sulami (Eds: one name) a cell-mate from her
years in prison, and members of the rights activist group Solidamor
(Solidarity for East Timor).

Budiarjo said she hoped to see leftist writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who
spent 14 years behind bars, and pro-democracy activists during her month-long
visit.

Budiarjo's husband, who left Indonesia in 1979, died in London in 1996.

During her years in exile, Budiarjo was seen as a constant thorn in the side
of the Suharto regime, founding and running "Tapol"-- the British campaign
for the release of Indonesian political prisoners.

At least 500,000 people died in the purge of the mid-60s when Suharto banned
the then-powerful Communist party of Indonesia (PKI) after an attempted coup
blamed on the PKI. Hundreds of thousands of others were imprisoned for more
than a decade.

**************************************************
Paul Barber
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign,
25 Plovers Way, Alton Hampshire GU34 2JJ
Tel/Fax: 01420 80153
Email: plovers@gn.apc.org
Internet: www.gn.apc.org/tapol
Defending victims of oppression in Indonesia and
East Timor, 1973-2000

=======================================================

Subj: After the West Papua Congress (1/6), A Preliminary Appraisal
Date: 6/29/00 12:25:38 PM Central Daylight Time
From: mahdi@FHI-Berlin.MPG.DE (Waruno Mahdi)
To: indonesia-act@igc.apc.org, tapol@gn.apc.org, reg.westpapua@gn.apc.org

AFTER THE WEST PAPUA CONGRESS

1. A PRELIMINARY APPRAISAL

The National West Papua Congress held some weeks ago in Numbai
(officially: Yajapura) was without doubt a memorable occasion in
the history of West Irian/Papua (officially: Irian Jaya) and its
people. It has left strong impressions both of a tremendously
gratifying nature, as well as of a somewhat disquieting one.

The political maturity and organisatorial skill with which West
Papuan leaders carried out the congress is actually highly
instructive for the rest of the country. In view of the traumas
accumulated in more than three decades of state terror by Soeharto's
New Order regime, this had not at all been a self-evident prospect.

The congress was a great organisatorial achievement that brought
together representatives from all districts and ethnic groups.
More impressive still was perhaps the interconfessional harmony
with which Muslim and Christian Papuan leaders cooperated. This
cannot be highly enough praised in view of the adverse situation
in neighbouring Maluku.

The moderate leaders at the congress passed their toughest test
with flying colours, when they succeeded in negotiating a compromise
with the hardliners. In view of accumulated post-traumatic stress
resulting from three decades of state terror, it was already
remarkable that there hadn't been an even larger hardliner faction,
and that this had not been even more adamant in its stand.

Emotions ran high, and only recently, a representative of one
faction was killed by those of another in exile in PNG. Bringing
everyone together under one roof was therefore a masterly piece
of organization. It also explains the extreme tenor of the
resulting compromise, which obviously tested the government's
patience to the utmost, but which really could not have been
expected to fall short of that.

The organizers also had to cope with a wide range of cultural
diversity, which included sizable delegations of tribesmen from
the interior, armed with spears, roaming the streets and
threatening with action in the event of an unsatisfactory outcome.
This situation too they mastered in a most commendible fashion.

All in all, even if the congress should not bring about anything
else, then its overall organisatorial success alone has provided
a very much deserved moral boost to the self-consciousness of the
West Papuans. As paradoxical as this may sound, but this is in
fact a vital condition for perspectives of continued integrity of
the unitary Indonesian national state .

Indonesian unity can only survive as a unity of equals. After
three decades of humiliation under Soeharto's New Order regime,
the West Papuans need the restoration of their human dignity
even more urgently than the Acehnese. Without that, they will
never regain their feeling of belonging which they were so
thoroughly rid of by the brutality of Soeharto's repressive
apparatus.

There also are other remarkable aspects which deserve mention.

The peaceful and unintimidated organization of the congress is a
telling indication of the progress that has been achieved so far in
restoring a semblance of democratic government in the country. The
government did not just tolerate a major political manifestation
which from the very start left no doubts about its secessionist
sentiments, the President actually helped finance it. The very
building in which the congress took place, a large sports stadium,
was apparently state-owned.

The most significant achievement of the government in this matter
appears to have been its success in keeping the military and police,
or "rogue elements" in their ranks, from reacting with the usual
kind of brutality against the population as so often in the past.
The population roamed freely through the streets, demonstrating
the Morning Star flag, without anyone being arrested, let alone
getting shot at. Nothing unusual in a democratic state, but quite
unimaginable in the country even in the most recent past.

It remains to be seen, how well the military and police have learned
their lesson, and whether they will also let the country benefit from
this in other regions, particularly in Aceh. That they are not yet
really willing to fully give up their past ways, is suggested by the
police in Jayapura interrogating leading organisers of the Congress on
suspicion of "treason". Actually, those leaders should be thanked and
praised for having headed off a crisis in West New Guinea similar to
that in Maluku. By accusing them of "treason", the police is actually
provoking new unrest which could very much endanger the unity of the
country. So, if anyone needs to be suspected of treason, it is more
likely the responsible chief of police (I'll return to this in section
6), rather than the organisers.of the West Papua Congress.

The most important message of all, to my mind, is to be learned
from the enthusiastic support which the Congress enjoyed in wide
layers of the indigenous population throughout the province, which
also guaranteed its success. It was an immediate indicator of the
thoroughness, with which Soeharto and the military had alienated
the population. It demonstrated the total bankruptcy of Soeharto's
"wisdom" of rule by terror. Oppression engenders resistance. Here,
West Papuans (like Acehnese, and Indonesians in general who forced
Soeharto to resign) have provided yet another convincing proof of
that fine quality that is ingrained in mankind, in all the nations
and races around the world.

The unanimous enthusiasm and solidarity of the West Papuans during
the preparations towards the Congress, and throughout its progress,
landed such a strong shock effect on all factions of the establishment
in Jakarta, that everybody suddenly remembered democratic decorum
and political culture of government by rule of law. Most significant
of all, interfactional bickering was laid aside long enough for
everyone with any say to put on his nicest Sunday smile and reassure
that only civil and democratic methods should henceforth apply in
all dealings with the popular movement, respecting the basic human
rights of the population. They even forgot to lambast the President
for his wise tacit but candid promotion of the West Papuan Congress.

The most gratifying result of the Congress was, therefore, that the
West Papuans had in this way made an eminent contribution to the
restoration of democracy in Indonesia as a whole. Why is this so
important? It was indicated above, that true unity can only be
achieved in a unity of equals. Subjective judgement on equality
can be very utilitarian, boiling down to the question "what good
does it bring me?". The present West Papuan contribution to the
nation will not be so easily equaled by the others, and social
and political groups all over the country, committed to setting
up democracy in Indonesia, owe them sincerest gratitude for this.

The circumstance also has a complementary opposite aspect: one is
generally inclined to subjectively value those things the most, in
which one has invested the most of one's own effort. The history
books have omitted the West Papuan share in the Indonesian struggle
for national independence. The re-unification of West New Guinea
with the rest of Indonesia was depicted as some glorious deed of
swashbuckling militaries (I'll return to this in section 3), the
very same militaries which West Papuans experienced in daily life
more than 30 years long as oppressors and humiliators.

As the irony of history will have it, in the very moment that they
collectively straightened their backs to jointly face up to their
oppressors by claiming their right of secession from the Indonesian
Republic, they actually in fact repulsed the intimidations of those
oppressors, and reasserted their equal right of belonging as
fullfledged co-possessors of this archipelagean community together
with all the others who have faced or are still facing up to remnants
of the old military regime.

Through their valiant feat, the West Papuans brought home an
important lesson to all civilian and military factions in Jakarta,
as well as to the entire nation: that democracy is government FROM
the people FOR the people; that democracy represents a material
force not to be dismissed as ephemereal idealism of goody-goody
intellectuals.

To a nation that was brainwashed by the Soeharto regime to believe
that power is maintained at the point of a bayonet, and which still
couldn't believe its own eyes when unarmed students brought Soeharto
down from his despotic pedestal, they demonstrated that the common
man may seem small and frail in his vulnerable physical isolation,
but integrated in manifold social and economic ties of the community,
he holds in his hands the actual socio-economic basis of political
power. The military, not contributing to the national productive
resources, can only meet its legitimation for existence as a force
of national defence when it serves the community, not when it tries
to command it. Otherwise it turns into a gang of scavengers that
parasitises on the community.

Another lesson which the West Papuans brought home is a sore point
in the whole of Indonesian history: "united we stand, divided we
fall". Indonesia could be colonized because it was divided against
itself. It regained its independence because Indonesian leaders
managed for a short moment to convince the nation to be united,
an extremely difficult undertaking with such an unparalleled range
of diversity as in this country. The call for unity is therefore
an evergreen of Indonesian patriotic tradition.

The masterly handling of the Congress by West Papuan leaders,
maintaining unity inspite of widely disparate ethnic, social,
economic, cultural, and political identities of the participants,
was an instructive example for other ethnic and social groups in
the whole country, particularly groups which have been deprived
of their traditional lands in favour of forestry and mining
enterprises with connection to Soeharto's New Order apparatus.
Last but not least, the President himself could use some support
from the West Papuans in handling recalcitrant Muslim minority
parties that are misusing their few mandates the way they once
tried to blackmail the election committee by threatening to
debunk the results of the 1998 elections.

In short, having thanked the West Papuans for their invaluable
contribution to the cause of Indonesian democracy, the next thing
all committed and interested sides should do is to cordially welcome
them back in Indonesia..., as equals among equals.

But take care, to many of them this comes as a surprize, so they
may need some time to realize what they have actually achieved.

(to be continued)

...2. Rectifying History
...3. From West New Guinea to West Irian
...4. Is West Irian an Indonesian Colony?
...5. Is West Irian Part of Indonesia?
...6. Prospects for the Future.

=======================================================

Subj: KABAR-IRIAN: [EN] OPINION: Open letter to Gov. Indonesia
Date: 6/29/00 10:05:49 AM Central Daylight Time
From: admin@irja.org
Sender: owner-kabar-irian@irja.org
Reply-to: admin@irja.org
To: kabar-irian@irja.org

Too much mail? Try our digest version. Info available at
http://www.irja.org/conf.htm

A reminder to our readers that we post all views and that a posting of a
view does not indicate support or for that matter opposition of a
view. Anumber of people have asked us about several people who contribute
to KI. If they do not use a @irja.org address they are not afiiliated with
us.
-IRJA.org

From: "Moses Werror"

OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDONESIA.

The Prersident Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, the Chairman of the National Parliament Amien Rais
and the Ministers in the Wahid-Megawati Cabinet.

Please think as wise leaders rather than stubborn head. Accept the
Congress Papua-II decision as a political fact that to be tackled with
cool head rather than try to create more new laws that will not help at
all.
The time is running out, there is no other choice but to recognize
West Papua People Congress decision as a genuine decision from
the Papuan people. It has been echoed in the world since Congress
Papua had declared separation from the Republic of Indonesia
on June 4, 2000 and there are already lined up supporters from
the world Human Rights abiding countries.

Stop from making accussations against the Presidium Dewan Papua
members. They are carried out by a mandate given by the West Papuan
Congress-II for them to report to the President the result of the
congress and present the resolution to the Indonesian Government
through the President Abdurrahman Wahid as respect and to express
West Papuan people sincere appreciation for his financial support.

Come on support for establishment of the West Papua new nation by
beginning with the transitional government administration now step
by step in peace that would support the unity of the rest of
the Republic of Indonesia and for a good name.

The world politics in 1960s was different than today world politics.
Please accept the reality of the world politics today rather than
try to against it that will create more headache for Wahid-Megawati
government.

The West Papua indeperndence is a gift from God to His beloved
people of West Papua . Therefore no power in this world including
Indonesia can be able to stop God intervention in establishing
new nation of West Papua in year 2000.

Issued at the OPM-RC headquarters
Madang PNG, June 29, 2000.

\Moses Werror snr
Chairman
>

KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
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=======================================================

Subj: Irian averse to cutting Freeport's output
Date: 6/28/00 7:25:15 AM Central Standard Time
From: plovers@gn.apc.org (Tapol)
To: reg.westpapua@gn.apc.org, u.braun@xcc.de, slliem@xs4all.nl, taylorjb@vax.sbu.ac.uk

Received from Joyo Indonesian News

Indonesian Observer
June 28, 2000

Irian averse to cutting Freeport's output

JAKARTA (IO) - The Irian Jaya Brotherhood Deliberation Body (Bamusmirja)
in Jakarta has questioned the wisdom of Environment Minister Sonny Keraf's
recommendation that hugely profitable PT Freeport Indonesia reduce
production at its massive copper and gold mine.

"This would have a serious impact on regional taxation, as well as
Freeport's contribution of 1% of its annual profits to locals living in
its contract of work area," Bamusmirja Chairman Willem Frans Ansanay was
quoted as saying by Antara yesterday.

He said reducing the output from Freeport's Grasberg mine in the remote
Timika district would only hamper efforts to develop Irian Jaya (West
Papua) and could spark conflict between natives and the company,
especially if locals were to receive less development money.

Keraf earlier this month said Freeport should cut production because of
its poor record on environmental protection. He particularly criticized
the company for dumping vast amounts of tailings into river systems.

Bamusmirja questioned why the House of Representatives had in May planned
to review Freeport's contract.

"Is there a definite legal basis to unilaterally abrogate a contract which
is protected by law?" asked Willem.

He said the matter should be decided on by the Papua provincial
administration, as a consequence of the government's regional autonomy
legislation.

Willem claimed that Freeport has always fulfilled its commitments to the
central government and regional government. "But the mining company is
always getting blamed."

He said the central government and House of Representatives should act as
mediators in a dialog between natives and Freeport.

Freeport, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold
Inc, made an average profit of just under US$2 million a week in 1999 from
the vast mine in mountains near Timika town.

Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, was earlier this year named
as an adviser to President Abdurrahman Wahid, and urged Jakarta to honor
its contract with Freeport. Kissinger is on the board of Freeport's US
parent company.

Freeport is mining one of the world's largest deposits of copper and gold.

It began operations in Irian Jaya in 1968 and in recent years has become a
constant target of public criticism, particularly since former president
Soeharto was forced out of office two years ago.

Freeport is also one of Indonesia's largest corporate income tax payers.

It argues that it makes significant economic contributions to the country
through taxes and through the scheme to donate 1% of its revenues to
ethnic groups in the area of its mine. One major project was to build a
hospital for the local people.

Freeport is, directly or indirectly, the main employer in and around
Timika and Tembagapura. Neither town existed before the mine opened.

The company employs a number of Irianese, but their jobs tend to be lower-
paid because they generally lack the right skills for the better paid
ones.

Freeport says it is trying to promote employment at the higher levels in
the long run through a scholarship scheme, but it is years away.

**************************************************
Paul Barber
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign,
25 Plovers Way, Alton Hampshire GU34 2JJ
Tel/Fax: 01420 80153
Email: plovers@gn.apc.org
Internet: www.gn.apc.org/tapol
Defending victims of oppression in Indonesia and
East Timor, 1973-2000

=======================================================

Subj: Indon to station 3,000 marines in W.Papua [+Eluay meets police summons]
Date: 6/28/00 3:50:10 AM Central Standard Time
From: plovers@gn.apc.org (Tapol)
To: reg.westpapua@gn.apc.org, u.braun@xcc.de, slliem@xs4all.nl, taylorjb@vax.sbu.ac.uk, indonesia-act@igc.apc.org, u.braun@xcc.de, slliem@xs4all.nl, taylorjb@vax.sbu.ac.uk, jonathan.head@bbc.co.uk, tapol@gn.apc.org

Received from Joyo Indonesian News

also: Papua leader meets police summons [note the last 6 paragraphs on
history of W. Papua]

Xinhua News Agency and Indonesian Observer
June 27, 2000

Indonesia to Build Navy Base in Papua Province

JAKARTA,

The Indonesian Navy will soon build a naval base for 3,000 members of its
marines in the district of Sorong in Papua (Irian Jaya) Province.

A navy spokesman in Sorong, Lieutenant Muksin, said the decision to build
the
naval base also shows that Sorong will be the center to manage marine bases
across the province of Papua.

All the 3,000 mariners will be deployed across Papua, but 800 of them will
be
stationed in Sorong, Muksin was quoted by the Indonesian Observer Tuesday as
saying.

Muksin said the naval base will consist of a combat marine regiment
including
cavalry, artillery and the navy's special troops.

He emphasized that the establishment of the naval base is for security
reasons and has nothing to do with political issues.

Sorong was chosen as a marine center because the district is located in the
western part of the province and close to the restive provinces of Maluku and
North Maluku, Muksin said, adding that Sorong also has the infrastructure to
support a naval base.

To realize the plan, he said, the navy will send a company of marines from
Surabaya in East Java Province to Sorong.

-----------------------

Indonesian Observer
June 27, 2000

Papua leader meets police summons

JAKARTA (IO) — The most senior leader of the Free Papua Movement, Theys
Hiyo
Eluay, yesterday appeared at the Irian Jaya Police headquarters in compliance
with a summons for questioning about the recent Papua People’s Congress.

The congress, held from May 29-June 4, ended with a declaration that West
Papua (Irian Jaya) was no longer part of Indonesia.

Accompanied by hundreds of Papua Task Force members and clad in the
traditional garb of the Sentani tribe, Eluay arrived at the police office at
9:15 a.m. local time, Antara reported.

Eluay, who is presidium chairman of the Papua Council, was also flanked by
his lawyers and two West Papuan flags.

He was reportedly questioned a team from the local police detective unit, led
by Major Uli Siregar and consisting of three other officers, namely Captain
Asep, Junior Second Lieutenant S. Betaubun and Sergeant Iwan S.

Eluay came to the police headquarters after failing to heed three previous
summonses.

"This is his first appearance in compliance with our summonses, while we have
sent him four summonses already," Asep was quoted as saying.

Police had also summoned five other Free Papua Movement figures: Agustinus
Alua, head of the Papua People’s Congress organizing committee; Herman
Awom,
the congress’ secretary; Thaha Alhamid, chief of the congress’ steering
committee; Don AL Flassy, head of the Papuan Independence Committee; and Joh
Mambor, a former political prisoner.

The modern history of West Papua is somewhat controversial, as the Indonesian
government for decades taught people that its heroic Army had liberated the
territory from the Dutch colonists.

A brief impartial history written by AP states that after the Dutch started
to pull out of West Papua in the early 1960s, the US — worried about its
waning influence in Indonesia due to an increase in communist activities —
belatedly pressured the Netherlands to negotiate with Indonesia to find a
solution to the problem.

Former US President John Kennedy dispatched his brother, Attorney General
Robert Kennedy, to both Holland and Indonesia to act as mediator.

In 1962, the Dutch agreed to hand over the territory to the United Nations,
who then, a year later gave the region to Indonesia, with an understanding
that by the end of the decade the West Papuan people would have a chance to
vote as to whether they wanted to remain part of Indonesia.

However pro-independence activists say that the so-called "Act of Free
Choice" six years later, was a sham. All 1,022 village chiefs supposedly
decided to remain part of Indonesia. Since then, rebels belonging to the Free
Papua Movement have been battling Indonesian rule.

Until 1999, the military ran the province with an iron hand. Torture and
murder were reportedly common. Although the government of President
Abdurrahman Wahid provided funding for the Papua People’s Congress, it has
rejected the independence declaration, claiming the event was not
representative of the province’s population.

**************************************************
Paul Barber
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign,
25 Plovers Way, Alton Hampshire GU34 2JJ
Tel/Fax: 01420 80153
Email: plovers@gn.apc.org
Internet: www.gn.apc.org/tapol
Defending victims of oppression in Indonesia and
East Timor, 1973-2000

=======================================================

Subj: ABC Transcript: Indon Presses Ahead With Treason Charges Against W. Papuans
Date: 6/28/00 8:53:02 AM Central Standard Time
From: plovers@gn.apc.org (Tapol)
To: indonesia-act@igc.apc.org, u.braun@xcc.de, slliem@xs4all.nl, taylorjb@vax.sbu.ac.uk, jonathan.head@bbc.co.uk, tapol@gn.apc.org, reg.westpapua@gn.apc.org, u.braun@xcc.de, slliem@xs4all.nl, taylorjb@vax.sbu.ac.uk

Received from Joyo Indonesian News

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Asia-Pacific Report - transcript
June 28, 2000

PROSECUTION OF WEST PAPUA CONGRESS ORGANISORS TO GO AHEAD

Indonesian authorites are pushing ahead with moves to prosecute the
organisers of this month's independence Congress in West Papua, even though
President Abdurrahman Wahid is preparing to meet several leaders at the
presidential palace.

Six Congress organisers have been named as liable for treason, after the
congress declared Indonesia's rule illegal.

But the hardline approach by Indonesian police has been criticised for
sending the wrong signals at a time when West Papuans are detailing human
rights abuses as their reason for breaking away.

>From Jakarta, Bronwyn Curran reports.

CURRAN: Within days of the independence declaration Indonesia's Minister for
Human Right, Hasballah M. Saad was in West Papua launching investigations
into some of the killings and torture cases that make up a long list of
alleged brutalities by the military.

His three day visit to the province was the first by a government minister in
the wake of the congresses demand that Jakarta recognise West Papua's
sovereignty.

Hasballah believes that redressing such abuses is key to taming those calls
for independence.

HASBALLAH M. SAAD: First we have to solve all the human rights violations in
the past.

CURRAN: Hasballah has ordered a team from his ministry to look into ten cases
of alleged violations over the past 30 years.

But punishing people for organising a congress doesn't fall under his
definition of a violation of human rights.

Asked whether he should be protecting the right to freedom of assembly, he
says he has something more important to protect - National Unity.

HASBALLAH SAAD: As a Minister in the Republic of Indonesia I think it's not
appropriate for you to ask that question. It is impossible for me to support
other ideas that are against the Republic of Indonesia. If I do that I am not
appropriate to be a minister of the Republic of Indonesia.

CURRAN: While espousing resolution of human rights violations in West Papua
Hasballah says he also supports calls by his government colleagues for
repressive action against further separatist moves in the Province.

HASBALLAH SAAD: I think that's right because we want to put Papua as a part
of Indonesian state. There's a strong need, and a strong need for all us in
Jakarta to put Papua as part of an Indonesian State because we have a mandate
from all of the Indonesian people to do that.

CURRAN: Among those criticising the Indonesian government's reaction to the
congress is long-time West Papuan observer and academic, Franz Maniagasi. He
warns that using repression to crack down on the momentum for independence
could lead to international condemnation of Jakarta.

FRANZ MANIAGASI: The Indonesian government has failed to understand the
political reality developing among the Papua people. In 38 years of
integration the problems have never been solved in a thorough and correct
way. The government should have found ways to deal with Papua's problems
instead of taking repressive and violent measures, because they don't solve
the problems. On the contrary, they create new problems, like the occurrence
of more human rights violations which are then politicised into an
international issue.

CURRAN: Criticism of Jakarta's reaction to the congress has also come from a
man once perceived as a stooge of the past Suharto government and pro-status
quo forces.

Yorris Raweyai heads a traditionally pro-Indonesian paramilitary youth
organisation called Permuda Pancasila.

Half Papuan he's also been elected to the pro-Independence Papua Praesidium,
a body chaired by independence leader Theys Eluay.

Yorris wasn't at the congress though, he was locked in a Jakarta police cell
for six weeks as police investigated his alleged involvement in the fatal
1996 attack against the then headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party,
in which supporters of the breakaway faction led by Megawati Sukarnoputri
were killed.

Yorris refuses to state whether he supports independence or a continued
integration with Indonesia, rather he advocates mediation and compromise
between Jakarta and the independence leaders.

He's straightforward though in his condemnation of efforts to charge congress
leaders with treason.

YORRIS RAWEYAI: The Indonesian national anthem was sung at the opening of the
congress before the Papua song. How can the government say that's a
separatist action? Planning of the congress was done openly, the plans were
presented to the president and the central and local governments. It was
obvious from the beginning that the congress was going to result in something
controversial, so why give permission for it in the first place?
And why have the local military commander, police chief and governor attend?
They represent the government, don't they?

CURRAN: While police have questioned five of the six congress organisers
named as suspects of treason, chief organiser Theys Eluay has so far resisted
their summonses.

Instead he plans to meet President Wahid in the next few days to personally
convey to him the congress' declaration of West Papua's independence.

Meanwhile Indonesia's parliament is preparing to pave the way for the
enactment of a new state security bill, which one minister says would enable
faster invocation of harsh emergency laws.

Parliamentarians cite the need to contain the mounting separatism in West
Papua as one of the reasons for fast tracking the controversial bill, a
further signal of Jakarta's unrelenting determination to get tough with
separatists.

**************************************************
Paul Barber
TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign,
25 Plovers Way, Alton Hampshire GU34 2JJ
Tel/Fax: 01420 80153
Email: plovers@gn.apc.org
Internet: www.gn.apc.org/tapol
Defending victims of oppression in Indonesia and
East Timor, 1973-2000

=======================================================

Subj: KABAR-IRIAN: [EN] Smugglers in cahoots with Malaysian Army
Date: 6/25/00 3:57:22 PM Central Daylight Time
From: admin@irja.org
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VIA Indonesian Conservation Database
(Edited for brevity -IRJA.org)
Smugglers in cahoots with Malaysian Army

Source: Indonesian Observer, June 22, 2000

JAKARTA

Two log smugglers arrested in East Kalimantan claim they were working in
cahoots with certain members of the Malaysian Army, an official said
yesterday.

Denial

The Malaysian government has denied that members of its military are
involved in wood smuggling. But the two arrested smugglers are adamant
that all Indonesian smugglers at the border areas are under the protection
of the Malaysian military.

Special donation

Head of the Indonesian Plywood Association (Apkindo) Abbas Adhar praised
Indonesias efforts to stop the smuggling of logs from Kalimantan into
Sabah and Sarawak. "Log smuggling has reached an alarming level," he said,
adding that Apkindo will donate money to help curb the illegal trade. "We
just hope that our donation of Rp5 billion [US$580,380] to the Ministry of
Forestry and Plantations will be sufficient to enable police to raid
timber smugglers more frequently, so they will be too scared to carry out
their evil deeds any more," said Abbas. According to Suripto, about 80,000
cubic meters of illegally logged timber goes from East Kalimantan to
Malaysia every month. He said about another 15,000 cubic meters are
smuggled in from West Kalimantan every month, and 70,000 from
Riau. Large-scale illegal logging also takes at several areas in Irian
Jaya, but there are no accurate figures available. Log smuggling from
Kalimantan to Malaysia has caused the state to lose about Rp5 trillion
(US$580.4 million) over the past 10 years.
----------------------------------------------------

KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
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Subj: KABAR-IRIAN: [EN]WEST PAPUA: Report of the Special Envoy of the State Secretary (Sekneg)
Date: 6/25/00 2:50:59 PM Central Daylight Time
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Jakarta, 25 June 00
Dear Dr. Tamrat,
We have earlier informed you that a Special Envoy will be sent to
Jayapura for the evaluation of the proceedings of theCongress as to give
an objective report to the President.

Please find attached (at the bottom of this message) hereby the Report
which is self explanatory and which would give additional information to
the Secretary General on the process that is now taking place in regard to
the follow-up of the Congress in West Papua. Thank you and God bless you!
With kindest Regards, Peter

THE SPECIAL ENVOYS OF THE STATE SECRETARY
FOR (WEST) PAPUA PROBLEM
Coordinating Address: PGI Guesthouse, Jl. Teuku Umar 17, Jakarta
Ph. 62 21 390 9427, 62 21 7503853

To
Your Honorable
Mr. Abdurachman Wahid
President of the Republic of Indonesia
Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara
JAKARTA PUSAT Jakarta, 22 June
2000

Your honorable,

We hereby inform you that the Special Envoys of the State Secretary for
West Papua Problem, consisting of:

1. Mr. Izaak Hindom, Member of the DPA (Supreme Council)
2. Drs. S.P. Morin, member of the DPR-RI (House of Representatives)
3. Prof. Dr. Nazaruddin Syamsuddin, Lecturer of Universitas Indonesia
4. Mr. Manuel Kaisiepo SH, Senior Reporter of KOMPAS DAILY
5. Dr. Karel Phil Erari, Head of Department of Research and Development of
PGI (Indonesian Council of Churches)
6. Drs. August Kafiar MA, Vice President of PT Freeport (Indonesia),

have visited Jayapura between 17 - 21 June 2000 with the mission to
carry-out direct discussions with all parties who are responsible for the
execution of the 2nd (West) Papuan People Congress on May 30 - June 4,
2000 in Jayapura.

This visit is part of a process to comprehend the content and the goal of
the 2nd West Papuan People Congress so that the President will obtain a
comprehensive and objective information, there included recommendations to
the President as the basis to reconsider further (government) policies (in
regard of West Papua).

We attach hereby a Special Report of the notes taken during the process of
monitoring and discussions, with an Executive Summary to be forwarded to
the President.

Yours faithfully,
Karel Phil Erari
Team Coordinator

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Report and Recommendation in regard to the 2nd (West) Papuan People
Congress

1. The Special Envoys of the State Secretary, which is mentioned in the
covering letter, now called "The Team" has carried out 3 main discussions,
i.e. with the Vice Governor I of The Province of (West) Papua, with 25
members of the Presidium of (West) Papuan Council and with 3 Vice Chairmen
of the DPRD tingkat-I, Propinsi Papua (the Provincial Legislature) on June
19 - 20th, 2000. Aside from the 3 main discussions, the Team also has
listened to a number of inputs from community groups, specifically in
regard to the impact of the Resolution of the Congress, which has become
now the central issue in the whole community.

2. In the discussion with the Vice Governor-I as the representative of the
provincial government, the Team obtained the picture that in principle the
provincial government highly appreciate the process of democratization
which is expressed by the (West) Papuan People Congress, and which
demanded a total reformation in the mechanism of development and in the
government of the Province of (West) Papua, so that the right of the
people should be recognized and the people should be enabled to
participate indiscriminately in the development of their villages and
environment. The Government of the Province of (West) Papua will
continuously endeavor for the immediate implementation of the Special
Autonomy policy, through a process that is open (transparent) so that the
people could jointly decide on the best option for them.

The Team found that the synergy in the Provincial Government is not yet
effectively maximized because of the absence of a definitively appointed
Governor and part of the facilities of the Governor's Office (the
Department of Finance) was burned down (approximately a month back). The
discussion with the Vice-Chairman of DPRD tingkat I (Provincial
Legislature) revealed that the result of the Congress was not yet formally
issued (to the Office of Legislature) for further analysis.

3. During the meeting with the Presidium of the (West) Papuan Council, the
Team obtained a complete explanation on the process, the content and the
agenda as well, of the (West) Papuan People Congress, including the
mandate given by the Congress to the Presidium.

3.1. From the explanation obtained during the above-mentioned specific
meeting, including the inputs from various groups, the Team concluded that
the 2nd (West) Papuan People Congress was a forum had included all
delegates from the indigenous communities of Irian Jaya (West Papua) and
should therefore be recognized as representing the whole indigenous people
of Irian Jaya. The Congress was also attended by delegates from the other
ethnical groups of Sumatera, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Java, NTT-NTB and
Maluku. The (West) Papuan People Congress was an open (public) event, but
under strict security supervision from the Satgas Papua (West Papuan Task
Force). Delegates from the Provincial Government and Legislature attended
continuously, and the Congress was also witnessed by
(political) observers, domestic and foreign journalists, there included a
diplomat from the US (Embassy). The presence of the Governor of West Sepic
(Papua New Guinea) as a celebrity was also due to his kinship with the
people of Skou, a village in the district of Jayapura. The group who are
faithful to NKRI (The Unitary Republic of Indonesia) at that point of time
conducted a seminar in Jakarta.

3.2. The primary mandate of the Congress was to assign the Presidium to
report to the Central Government through the President, that the People of
(West) Papua desires to attain the recognition of their right to be
independent as a sovereign nation, which they had acquired from the
Kingdom of the Netherlands on the 1st of December 1961. The Congress
rejected the idea to form a transitional government upon pressure from a
faction and assigned the Presidium to conduct dialogues at the National
and International forums. The main agenda of the dialogs are to examine
the legality of the process of the New York Agreement in 1962 which had
given the task to the Indonesian Government to carry out the Act of Free
Choice and which is presumed legally liable, full of intimidation,
dishonestly and ambiguously.

3.3. The Team concluded that the Congress of the People of (West) Papua is
still in the corridor of democracy and transparency to reveal a truthful
historical fact. One of the initial factor is the traumatic experience of
Human Rights Violations by Military Operations since 1962 - 2000, and
which had created sufferings of people and hateful feelings towards the
presence of the military personnel and bureaucrats who tend to oppress the
dignity of the Papuans.

Based on the above findings, the Team hereby extends the following
recommendations to the Government for further consideration to:

(a) Invite the delegates of the Presidium to present the results of the
2nd Congress of the People of (West) Papua in a very near future,

(b) Manage the Resolution of the Congress, which contains Political and
Human Rights contents with wisdom (and care). The Team supports to conduct
an open, righteous and transparent dialog with all components of the
people of (West) Papua, either those who are pro-independent and those who
are faithful to the NKRI (Unitary Republic of Indonesia). The Team
proposes to the President to consider establishing a "special team" to
function as mediator and negotiator to sustain the process of Reformation
in West Papua.

The "team proposed" should be assigned to prepare the Dialog concerning
the conflict between the People of (West) Papua and the Government (of
Indonesia) in regard to their demand for independence. The forming of the
"special team" is regarded important, because the issue of Papua Merdeka
(Free Papua) is considered by the Team a "pressing issue" which should be
handled comprehensively and rightly. Technically, the "special
team" should be processed and under the coordination of the State
Secretary.

(c) During the process of preparation and execution of the dialog, the
legal process (police investigations) which are applied to members of the
Presidium should be stopped, to create a situation conducive for a dialog
which is truthful and democratic, to achieve the right solution and
accountable to the People of (West) Papua specifically and to the People
of Indonesia in general.

Jakarta, 22 June 2000.
Signed by: (1) Mr. Izaac Hindom, (2) Drs. S.P. Morin,
(3) Prof. De. Nazaruddin Syamsuddin, (4) Mr. Manuel Kaisiepo,
(5) Dr. Karel Phil Erari, (6) Drs. August Kafiar MA.

KABAR IRIAN ("Irian News") www.kabar-irian.com
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IRIAN JAYA (WEST PAPUA, NEW GUINEA): THE QUEST FOR INDEPENDENCE-June 28-June 29, 2000

THE RECORD June 28-June 29, 2000

E-Mail:isssues@lykos.com

THE RECORD
June 28-June 29, 2000

E-Mail:
isssues@lykos.com