Indonesian tribe is still battling rulers after 37 years
Thursday, October 26, 2000
By DANIEL COONEY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JAYAPURA, Indonesia -- Armed with little more than bows and arrows, spears and a
fierce longing for freedom, tribesmen in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province have
been fighting for independence for 37 years.
They have attacked government buildings and killed hundreds of soldiers and
police officers.
But their struggle won them little under former dictator Suharto, who hit back
at the rebels with an iron fist, killing many and jailing others in the
province, which occupies the western half of New Guinea island.
Suharto was forced from office two years ago, though, and with the year-old
democratic government in Jakarta distracted by separatist and religious fighting
in other regions, Irian Jaya's insurgents are stepping up their battle to
secede.
Bloody clashes with security forces have increased in recent months as the
rebels defy a government ban and raise their "Morning Star"
independence flags in dozens of towns and villages.
As many as 40 people were killed in fighting at Wamena in the province's remote
highlands after security forces pulled down separatist flags. A few of the dead
were rebels, but most were settlers from elsewhere in Indonesia, killed by rebel
arrows and machetes.
Living in dense jungles and rugged mountains, Irian Jaya's people have had
little exposure to the outside world. Many of the 2 million tribesmen -- a tiny
fraction of Indonesia's 210 million population -- live a nearly Stone Age
existence. They hunt crocodiles and wild boar, and speak at least 200 local
languages. Unlike the mainly Muslim rest of Indonesia, most villagers are
Christians, although many in remote areas
still practice traditional animist religions.
The mineral-rich province is home to one of the world's largest gold mines, run
by Louisiana-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. But separatists
complain that the indigenous people see little of the wealth gained from their
natural resources.
Indonesia occupied the region, a former Dutch colony, in 1963. Its sovereignty
was formalized in 1969 through a referendum of village chiefs, but
pro-independence activists said the vote was rigged and have been battling
Indonesian rule ever since.
Suharto encouraged people from other heavily populated Indonesian islands to
migrate to Irian Jaya in an attempt to counterbalance the indigenous
separatists. The move only galvanized the rebel movement as locals saw newcomers
as depriving them of work and education.
After Suharto's 32-year regime fell in 1998, Jakarta's attitude toward its
distant province softened.
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who came to power as a democratic reformer last
fall, promised the province greater autonomy and a larger share of revenue from
the exploitation of its abundant natural resources.
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