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Indonesia Vows to Take Measures Against Separatist Activities in Papua
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid Monday vowed to take some measures against all activities aimed at declaring an independent Papua.
He said the military will take stern measures to pacify the Papuan region.
Commenting on the Papua National Congress which just ended on Sunday in Jayapura, capital of West Papua (formerly called Irian Jaya), the president stressed that the government will not recognize the results of the congress because its organization was not in line with an agreement reached between the government and the congress' organizing committee.
The president said the congress' organizing committee had agreed that only Papuans -- and no foreigners -- would attend the congress.
"But in fact, there were foreigners who attended the congress. And those who wish to remain (with Indonesia) were not allowed to take part in the congress. They were not even allowed to get out of their airplanes at the airport," he told a press conference at the presidential office here.
The week-long congress ended on Sunday with a declaration that West Papua is no longer a part of Indonesia. Some 5,000 people were invited to attend the congress, including Papuans living in the province's 14 districts and Papuan figures living abroad. Foreign observers from the United States, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands and Australia also took part in the congress.
On the congress' wish to invite the Dutch government to interfere, the president said such interference is not expected at all and is not supposed to happen.
Before the opening of the congress, Chairman of the Papua Presidium Thom Beanal affirmed that the congress did not aim to demand independence from Indonesia.
Beanal said the congress would serve as a forum to accommodate the Papuan people's aspirations to have a legitimate platform for their struggle to ensure a better future.
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