Saturday, October 21 7:38 PM SGT Papua separatist leader promises no more blood

Saturday, October 21 7:38 PM SGT
Papua separatist leader promises no more blood
JAKARTA, Oct 21 (AFP)

The man spearheading the independence movement in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province on Saturday played down fears of further bloodshed in the remote area over flying the separatist Morning Star flag.

"There will be no more bloodshed," Theys Eluay, chief of the Papua Praesidium Council, told AFP.

Eluay's low-key line runs counter to fears expressed by human rights workers and other separatist supporters, who are nervous a new hardline approach by Jakarta against flying the separarist flag will cost lives in the province, also known as West Papua.

Attempts by police to remove the Morning Star flag from the hinterland town of Wamena on October 6 sparked riots that killed six Papuans and 31 non-Papuan settlers.

The central government reacted by declaring a full ban on the flag, and police set a staggered series of deadlines for its removal, starting with the provincial capital Jayapura on October 19.

When it announced the ban the Indonesian cabinet said the flag had become a symbol of separatism.

Separatist civilian guards grouped under the Papua Taskforce earlier this week declared they were ready to die in defence of the flag, and warned any casualties among Irian Jaya's settler
population would be "the responsibility of police."

Citing fears of violence, police last Tuesday backed off on the deadline and promised to let the Morning Star flags fly until Praesidium leaders secure a direct order from Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Eluay is now in Jakarta to pursue talks with Wahid.

"If the flags have to come down, it will be done in a decent way," Eluay said, when asked about pledges of martyrdom by Taskforce members vowing to keep the Morning Star hoisted.

Taskforce commander Boy Eluay -- Theys' son -- said on Thursday even if Wahid ordered the removal of the flags, thousands of Taskforce members would be ready to become "martyrs and victims" to keep it flying.

"We won't fight, but we are ready to be made victims of in defence of the Morning Star," Boy Eluay told AFP by phone from the provincial capital of Jayapura on Thursday.

Theys Eluay said he had yet to formally request a meeting with Wahid.

"On Monday we will send a letter to the palace requesting a meeting," Eluay told AFP on Saturday.

Wahid has been out of the country since the suspension of the ban and no meeting has yet been scheduled, although a palace spokesman has said he will "probably" meet the Praesidium leaders.

The president was due to return from a trip to Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore at around midnight (1700 GMT) Saturday, a palace spokesman said.

Wahid first authorised the flying of the Morning Star flag in December last year, on the condition that it flew alongside and beneath Indonesia's national flag.

Two Morning Star flags are still flying in Jayapura, and dozens remain hoisted in towns outside Jayapura, most in violation of Wahid's condition, police there have said.

Anthropologists say the flag has come to symbolize an end to misery and an era of freedom for Papuans, many of whom believe that the act of flying it will summon a saviour figure.

Papuans have made increasingly vociferous calls for independence in recent years, climaxing with a mass congress in June this year at which they demanded Jakarta recognise that they had been independent since December 1961.

Independence leaders say a UN-conducted "act of free choice" in 1969, which led to the former Dutch territory becoming part of Indonesia, was unrepresentative.

Wahid has pledged not to tolerate separatism in the province, promising broad autonomy instead by the end of the year.

Irian Jaya's 2.5 million people are mainly Melanesian Christians, who fall into some 250 tribes.

The Age (Melbourne)
Ready to fight to death for the Morning Star
By Chris McCall
Jayapura
Sunday 22 October 2000

He walked for a month to get to the central highlands town of Wamena to defend his flag. Now he is probably crippled for life - but his flag still flies.

Thousands like 19-year-old Yesaya Pupup have vowed to stop Indonesia from bringing down the long-banned Morning Star flag, the symbol of West Papuan independence.

History might remember them as anonymous defenders of a lost cause, but they believe in that cause, even if it means death.

Yesaya last year trekked to Wamena in the Baliem Valley from his home near the Papua New Guinea border to the east. His aim was to defend the flag. Now he is recovering from a bullet wound to the leg in a poorly equipped public hospital in Jayapura.

On October 6, police in Wamena forced the flag down for a few hours. It triggered the worst violence in the Baliem Valley capital for years and may yet prove a turning point in West Papua's history. Jayapura police say 30 people died. Independence supporters put the number much, much higher.

Yesaya and his fellow patients receive basic treatment. For the first few days, they received none. They were flown to Jayapura by Australian missionaries a few days later. Yesaya has a bandage around the ankle, where he was wounded, and he is expected to have a permanent limp.

Three wounded officers from the Indonesian Brimob riot police were in the same ward soon after the violence. They had arrow and spear wounds. They have been moved.

Papuans blame Brimob for the violence, saying they came to cut the pole of the Morning Star flag with a chainsaw. Around 500 young people were ready to die to keep the flag aloft, Yesaya recalls.

He says the Papuans were saying prayers while police were shooting, taking down the flag and cutting the pole with a chainsaw. A few hours later, hundreds, possibly thousands, of Papuans charged down from the hills around Wamena and counter-attacked, many wearing
nothing more than a traditional penis gourd.

"You could not count them," says Yesaya.

Police took up positions in shop kiosks, shooting at will. Several were captured by the Papuans and taken to nearby houses and killed. Traders from other parts of Indonesia took refuge in churches. The incident went on from 8am to 6pm. The next day, a new Morning Star
flag was flying over Wamena - and still is.

Yoris Essegem, 25, was one of those who joined the masses who ran in to Wamena. He was shot in the back. After the fighting, he went to the town's hospital for treatment. There was no one to treat him. Instead of one wound, he now has three as a result of relatives trying twice, unsuccessfully, to remove the bullet.

Hospital staff in Wamena, mostly from other parts of Indonesia, fled after the fighting. No one dared to fly in to replace them, fearing any link to Brimob could mean death.

Two weeks later, Wamena is still said to be tense. Papuans want all police withdrawn from the Baliem Valley. Jakarta is unlikely to approve such a move. Parts of the valley have long been a stronghold of the rebel Free Papua Movement.

The atmosphere in Irian Jaya, as Indonesia calls its easternmost province, has changed since the Wamena violence. The separatist Papuan Guards claim to have thousands ready to defend the flag. The issue will not go away.

As a separatist leader, Theys Eluay is urgently seeking a solution in Jakarta. The West Papuans are gearing up for December 1, the day in 1961 when Dutch colonialists allowed them to first raise their flag. For Indonesia, flying any flag except its own remains a crime
and Jakarta's politicians are determined it will stay that way.

LEMBAGA STUDI DAN ADVOKASI HAK ASASI MANUSIA (ELS-HAM)
Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Ihrstad)
Jln. Kampus ISTP - Padang Bulan, Jayapura - PAPUA BARAT
Telp/Facs: 62-967-581600/581520; email:
elsham_irja@jayapura.wasantara.net.id

UPDATE SITUASI SOSIAL POLITIK DI PAPUA BARAT
"Situasi Semakin Tidak Pasti, Yapen Waropen Tolak Turunkan Bendera Papua
Barat dan Wamena masih diisolasi"

(Jayapura, 21 Oktober 2000)

Ketidak-pastian

Rakyat Papua semakin tak pasti tentang nasib bendera Papua Barat "Bintang Fajar" dan penyelesaian masalah Papua. Meskipun wakil-wakil Presidium Dewan Papua (PDP) pada pertemuan tangal 17 Oktober berhasil "menekan" Muspida Propinsi Papua dan "memaksa" mereka tidak menurunkan bendera pada tanggal 19 Oktober - yang merupakan batas waktu, namun hal itu meninggalkan sejumlah pertanyaan membingungkan yang sampai sekarang belum terjawab secara jelas. Alasannya bahwa PDP harus bertemu lebih dulu dengan Presiden Gus Dur. Padahal keputusan untuk melarang pengibaran bendera Papua Barat "Bintang Fajar" sudah diambil pada rapat Kabinet pada tanggal 11 Oktober yang dipimpin langsung oleh Wakil Presiden, Megawati Sukarno Putri. Itu berarti Presiden Gus Dur pun harus mematuhi keputusan rapat kabinet - menyetujui pelarangan pengibaran bendera. Bahkan nampaknya tragedi "Wamena" 6 oktober lalu telah mendorong penguasa di Jakarta mengancam akan mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap para aktivis gerakan separatis di Papua Barat.

Sementara itu sikap rakyat di Papua untuk tidak menurunkan bendera semakin kuat. Di Jayapura, misalnya Komandan Satgas Papua di gedung Dewan Kesenian Irian Jaya (DKIJ), Alexander Baransano, mengatakan bahwa dirinya akan mengerahkan massa Satgas Papua untuk mempertahankan bendera tidak diturunkan. Hal yang sama juga dinyatakan Satgas Papua dan rakyat pro merdeka di Merauke, Selatan Papua Barat. Ada sekitar 50 Pos Komando (Posko) yang tersebar di Merauke kota, belum terhitung yang berada di luar kota.
Pada akhir September Kapolres Merauke mengeluarkan sebuah surat kepada Panel PDP untuk turunkan bendera tetapi hal itu ditolak. Pertemuan kembali terjadi pada 13 Oktober lalu antara wakil-wakil rakyat pro merdeka dan penguasa setempat dan rakyat tetap memutuskan akan mempertahankan bendera. Di Kabupaten Yapen Waropen juga mengalami hal yang sama. Satu kabupaten yang belum pernah mengalami "kekerasan" yang serius ini dilaporkan bendera dikibarkan rakyat mulai dari kota sampai ke desa-desa terpencil. Dan rakyat telah menyatakan akan tetap pertahankan bendera kalau aparat bersikeras hendak turunkan. Bahkan sudah ada sekitar 100 personil dari suku Baudi di padalaman Mamberamo dan 80 personil dari suku Dani sudah turun ke Serui, ibukota Yapen Waropen untuk mempertahankan bendera.

Seperti terus-menerus dilaporkan ribuan aparat keamanan telah dikerahkan ke Papua Barat sejak bulan Agustus ketika Sidang Tahunan MPR berlangsung. Pasukan itu terdiri dari Brimob, Kostrad, Kopassus, dan Kodau termasuk ribuan pasukan dari Kodam-Kodam lain. Tidak ketinggalan 3 buah pesawat Sky Hawks A 4-4 buatan Amerika Serikat yang telah berbasis di Biak sejak 5 Oktober dari mana kemudian melakukan penerbangan ke berbagai tempat di Papua Barat mengintimidasi rakyat. Rakyat Papua Barat trauma melihat pesawat-pesawat tempur tersebut mengingat di tahun 1977 pesawat-pesawat buatan Amerika Serikat Broncho terbang dan melakukan pemboman di lembah Baliem dan Pegunungan tengah Papua Barat. Ribuan rakyat terbunuh dalam operasi militer besar-besaran yang digelar ABRI waktu itu.

Rakyat Papua telah pecah antara penduduk asli Papua dan migran. Tragedi Wamena dan pola penanganan masalah yang ditempuh Polda Papua dengan menyerukan agar para migran bersatu dan akan didukung polisi melawan penduduk asli Papua telah membangun suasana saling curiga di antara penduduk. Polda telah menyerukan juga kepada kaum migran untuk membangun sistem keamanan lingkungan (siskamling). Rakyat resah karena setiap saat ada saja rumors yang terus-menerus menakutkan. Ribuan pengungsi (terutama kaum migran) sudah mencari tempat-tempat yang aman, terutama di basis militer atau polisi.

Di Wamena situasi berangsur normal, tetapi wilayah itu masih diisolasi dari pihak Polda Papua sehingga 'Tim Pengacara Hukum dan Ivenstigasi' dari ELS-HAM, LBH Jayapura dan Justice and Peace Keuskupan Jayapura belum diijinkan masuk ke wilayah itu. Pilot-pilot dari penerbangan swasta 'missionaris' menolak menerbangkan tim karena takut diintimidasi aparat keamanan. Sehingga para tahanan yang ada diperiksa tanpa penasehat hukum dan
juga kebenaran tentang peristiwa yang terjadi pada 6 Oktober lalu belum bisa diungkap secara jelas.

Secara umum iklim sosial pilitik di Papua Barat dewasa ini bagaikan api dalam sekam. Rakyat saling curiga, tak jelas apa yang bakal terjadi. ELS-HAM khawatir kekerasan akan terjadi sewaktu-waktu kalau tidak ada terobosan segera yang diambil pihak netral yang dihormati rakyat dan disegani penguasa untuk menangani soal Papua secara damai, adil dan demokratis.(@)

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

South China Morning Post
Friday, October 20, 2000
Indonesia
Separatists ready to die for bloody freedom symbol
Chris McCall in Jayapura, Irian Jaya

Independence supporters yesterday vowed to fight to the death to keep the separatist flag flying in Indonesia's troubled easternmost province.

A government deadline to lower the rebel Morning Star flag came and went without incident, with the flag still flying across Irian Jaya. But tension remained high, with widespread fears that a bloody day of reckoning had only been postponed temporarily.

Papuan separatist leader Theys Eluay rushed off to Jakarta to seek urgent clarification from President Abdurrahman Wahid on where and when the flag could be flown. They are expected to meet today.

His supporters rejected the Government's orders to lower the flag.

"Papuan people are ready to die for that flag," said Alex Barangano, deputy head of the so-called Papuan Guards. "They can come to get the flag but they have to kill Papuan people first. Of course we will defend it so that the flag is not brought down."

They would resist even if their only weapons were sticks, he said.

A lone man held vigil beside the flag outside the so-called "Papuan Council Building" in the capital, Jayapura, where it flew unhindered yesterday alongside the red and white Indonesian flag. Dozens of Papuan Guards milled around the building, some in paramilitary uniforms.

Dozens of people have been killed in the past two years after government attempts to lower the flag, which resulted earlier this month in an orgy of violence in the hill town of Wamena, capital of the Baliem Valley.

Formerly banned as the symbol of the rebel Free Papua Movement, the Morning Star has become a potent separatist symbol. During a brief period of partial self-rule under Dutch colonialists in the early 1 960s, it was the symbol of a planned independent West Papuan state that ended when the United Nations handed the region to Indonesia in 1963.

After his election last year, Mr Wahid gave permission for the flag to fly. But he reversed his position earlier this month after the flag began appearing in all corners of the resource-rich province. A police spokesman blamed the problem on the separatist Papuan Presidium Council, which Mr Eluay heads.

"The raising of the flag was misused by people, particularly the people from the presidium," assistant superintendant Zulkifli Ar said. "It has become the symbol of Papuans who want to separate from Indonesia. And this is a crime in Indonesia."

Under a deal reached on Tuesday to avoid further bloodshed, a single 'Morning Star' flag can fly in each of the province's 13 districts, but others must be pulled down. But Mr Zulkifli said the presidium had asked to meet Mr Wahid before complying. Provincial police chief Brigadier General Sylvanus Wenas also flew to Jakarta for the talks.

Whether ordinary Papuans will accept the agreement appeared dubious.

One Papuan Guard whose son was killed defending the flag last year in the town of Nabire vowed to defend it. "As a father I am proud because of the struggle that Papua must be free. We were colonised by Holland and I feel that now Indonesia colonises," said Melkias Manimwarba, 61, whose son Wellem, 28, was buried near the flag he fought to protect. "To die is normal."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyodo News
Papua's separatist boss insists on his cause
JAKARTA, Oct. 20 (Kyodo)
By: Sugianto Tandra

The self-styled separatist leader of Papuans in Indonesia's half of New Guinea, Theys Hiyo Eluay, said Friday that Indonesia must end its rule of the gold-rich region, the country's easternmost province, and return the Papua people's sovereignty seized in 1969.

In an interview with Kyodo News in Jakarta, Eluay said all the Papuan people need now is an international recognition of their claims, which they have sought since an independence declaration on Dec. 1, 1961 from Dutch colonialism.

The international community recognized a U.N.-supervised Act of Free Choice in July 1969, which integrated Papua into Indonesia, although many human rights organizations and the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) rejected the referendum as fraudulent.

Eluay, a novice independence campaigner, said, however, his people will not use force to win recognition.

''If the (Indonesian) government uses violence, go ahead. We will not. The world will see who will use violence. Only the wrong use violence,'' said the chairman of the Papuan Council Presidium who flew to Jakarta on Friday to meet President Abdurrahman Wahid over flying of the banned separatist flag in the region.

Eluay, 63, was a barely popular Papuan figure until less than two years ago when he and Yorrys Raweyai, a notorious figure in the Jakarta underworld who was close to former President Suharto's youngest son Hutomo ''Tommy'' Mandala Putra, spoke out for independence in Papua, then known as Irian Jaya.

But his apparent friendship with the former Suharto ally has raised concerns among human rights activists in Papua, who accuse him political opportunism and only seeking to foment troubles in the province.

However, Eluay's campaign for freedom has won the hearts of many Papuans, but some human rights activists charge his supporters are mostly undereducated, ''politically blind'' and oppressed after 30 years of authoritarian Suharto rule.

Most Papuans, around 1.2 million of the 2 million in the region four times larger than Java, still living in traditional tribal communities.

Even so, Eluay claims to have raised an independence militia called SATGAS PAPUA (the Papuan Task Force) of some 20,000.

He denied, however, any link with the OPM or with the Indonesian military.

On Oct. 6, at least 30 people were killed and 45 wounded, mostly by local tribesmen who used poison-tipped weapons to vent their anger against the Indonesian police who had forcibly lowered a separatist flag in Wamena town, about 3,400 kilometers east of Jakarta, that had flown since Dec. 1 under Eluay's orders.

But Eluay on Friday blamed the violence on Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri who authorized the police to use force to lower the separatist flags flying in Papua.

Wahid had tacitly allowed the hoisting of the flags, Eluay said.

Some Papuan figures based in Jakarta have said Eluay's relationship with Wahid has gone sour since his group declared separatism as a platform during a congress last June in Jayapura even though the congress was funded mostly by Wahid's administration.

Jakarta did not recognize Eluay's resolution to separate from Indonesia, which internationally was acclaimed only by the three Pacific countries -- Vanuatu, Tonga and Nauru.

- -- 2000 Kyodo News (c) Established 1945
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AsiaWeek.com
From Our Correspondent: Deaf Ears in Jakarta
The lessons of East Timor have not been learned
By Warren Caragata
October 18, 2000
Web posted at 6:30 p.m. Hong Kong time, 6:30 a.m. EDT

The recent sad events in Wamena, in the highlands of the Indonesian province of West Papua, show all too clearly that the authorities have not learned the lessons of their experience in East Timor. It is a simple lesson really: You don't make lasting friends by
beating them up. Or, as my grandmother used to tell me, you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar. Taken out of the schoolyard and into the realm of politics and nation states, the lesson is that the allegiance of the people can never be won by murder and mayhem.

These twin evils most definitely did not work in East Timor. During Indonesia's 25-year occupation, perhaps as many as 200,000 people died, a quarter of the population. Almost every family in East Timor is touched by tragedy. So it was not surprising that last year, when they finally had the chance, the Timorese voted overwhelmingly to toss the Indonesians out.

If East Timor had been the only center of separatist sentiment in Indonesia, Jakarta might be forgiven for choosing not to heed the lesson. After all, the country now confronts so many other problems, including economic collapse and efforts to create a functioning democracy in a country that has known dictatorship for much of its post-colonial history.

But Indonesian politicians do not have the luxury of being able to ignore the lesson, with active separatist movements in Aceh and West Papua. Unless they swiftly put aside threats and bluster and guns, they will find themselves unable to keep their country from breaking apart. That would be a problem not just for Indonesia, but for its neighbors. Last month, Malaysian deputy prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said foreign ministers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are worried about instability in Indonesia. The U.S., Australia and Japan are also concerned about the effect of an Indonesian breakup, given the country's strategic position across sea lanes linking the Pacific and Indian oceans.

A truce between the government and GAM, the Acehnese separatist movement, has brought some measure of peace to that province, even though it is a calm regularly punctuated by shootings and bombings. But the riots in Wamena, the capital of the popular tourist center
of the Baliem Valley, have drawn renewed attention to the Indonesian half of New Guinea. Irian Jaya, as the province is also known, was incorporated into the republic in 1969 after a
U.N.-sanctioned but highly suspect vote, which involved only 1,025 tribal chiefs.

Some 40 people were killed last weekend in Wamena. The incident began when police hauled down the Morning Star flag used as a symbol of the independence struggle. In the resulting melee, police killed at least one person, with some reports indicating that as
many as five died. The next day, locals took bloody revenge against settlers from outside the province. Almost half the population of West Papua are migrants, angering many Papuans, who fear being made strangers in their own land.

The official reaction to the riots showed that the lesson of East Timor has been ignored. The government has now backtracked on its promise to allow the Morning Star emblem to be displayed. The flag "has been misused as an emblem of separatism, therefore we decided
to ban its existence," said cabinet secretary Marsilam Simajuntak. Golkar leader and House speaker Akbar Tanjung said the government has to crack down on separatism. "We cannot compromise on such movements," he said.

It is not as if there are no Indonesian voices urging restraint. There are. The Human Rights Commission said the government should abandon attempts at repression and engage Papuan leaders in dialogue. Human-rights groups said the police must explain why they
ripped the flag down, in violation of stated policy. But, unfortunately for the people of Papua and for Indonesia's much-vaunted, but badly frayed, territorial integrity, those voices are drowned out in a clamor to put the Papuans properly in their place.

Such bloodshed over a piece of cloth. A flag is only a symbol, potent though it may be. But governments can never eradicate by force an idea or the symbol of an idea. That is a fact dictators around the world, over the ages, have finally discovered, to their surprise. Ideas are changed through debate and by experience, never by guns. How many hard-core separatists there actually are in West Papua is not clear. But what is obvious after last week's events is
that their numbers now will have grown.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday, October 21, 2000
Defending the symbol of resistance
- -- West Papuans' defiance of a ban on flying their flag may lead to violence. Herald correspondent Lindsay Murdoch reports from Jayapura.

Dusk. Black-clad militia block one of the main streets of Jayapura, a shabby, bustling port town built on steep hills.

A militia commander orders the lowering of the separatist Morning Star flag. On-lookers stiffen and salute on command, along with the militia. The flag, the symbol of resistance to Indonesia's rule of West Papua, is hoisted up the pole again before dawn and flutters throughout the day, just as it does in most of the province's towns.

There are fears in West Papua, Indonesia's largest but most underpopulated and underdeveloped province, that flying the flag in defiance of a government order for its lowering will trigger a bloody civilian uprising.

The province's leaders are angry and frustrated, and many of its people from 250 tribal groups are spoiling for a fight.

The enfeebled Government in Jakarta, fearing that West Papua could follow East Timor, has deployed thousands of fresh troops across the province formerly called Irian Jaya.

"Things are really bad," said John Rumbiak, the head of ELS-Ham, a rights advocacy group. "People are resisting the ban on the flag. If nothing changes, if no steps are taken, such as a call for restraint from the troops, or if the President does not explain things to the people, then I expect violence." It almost came on Thursday.

On the day provincial police chief Brigadier-General Sylvanus Wenas learned he was being transferred back to Jakarta, he decided not to enforce a deadline for the lowering of the flag. "I do not support using force to lower the flag at this time," he said. "It would cause many victims."

As General Wenas packs his bags, he knows that violence here appears inevitable.

"I am very happy to be leaving," he said.

The Government has dramatically and inexplicably toughened its policies towards West Papua.

When President Abdurrahman Wahid took power last year, he articulated a tolerant approach to solving the province's problems, promising among other things that peaceful expression of
pro-independence views would not be punished. The separatist flag, he said, could fly as long as it was alongside but below the Indonesian flag.

But since an October 3 Cabinet meeting chaired by Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri, a strong nationalist, the tone from Jakarta's corridors of power has become less sympathetic.

The flag - which has increasingly come to symbolise the injustice and suffering Papuans have endured under Indonesia's sometimes brutal rule - has been banned. It seems the Government in Jakarta is reverting to brutal methods used during former president
Soeharto's 32-year rule to try to solve the problems of West Papua.

On October 3 Papuan pro-independence leaders and government officials agreed force would not be used to pull down the flags until Papuans had a chance to again meet Mr Wahid, who has publicly backed the Cabinet decision.

Three days later police with chainsaws set about cutting down and shredding Morning Star flags flying in the highlands town of Wamena. Enraged locals went on a rampage, targeting Indonesian settlers. As police retreated to their barracks about 40 people were killed and scores hurt.

In a letter to Mr Wahid 11 days ago, independence leader Theys Eluay said: "Without dialogue and agreement between Mr President and the Papuan peoples, we conclude that the flag removal order was an act of provocation by the central government to justify a racial
disturbance to benefit central government's politics, and as an instrument to legitimise the killing and genocide of the Papuan peoples."

Papuans are largely on their own in this struggle, unlike the East Timorese independence movement that won the backing of many countries.

The former Dutch colony became Irian Jaya in 1962 after a limited invasion by Indonesian forces. The United Nations recognised Jakarta's sovereignty after a 1969 UN-conducted "act of free choice", which many Papuans say was rigged.

Talks have been under way in Jayapura about a deal that would see a restricted number of flags flying at agreed locations.

But even if Mr Wahid agreed to the compromise, which seems unlikely given his latest statements, many Papuans would not.

Mr Eluay's supporters rejected a suggestion he made this week for the flags to be lowered to avoid a bloodbath. Mr Rumbiak quoted locals: "All we know is we are going to have our independence ... we will not pull down our flag, and we are going to defend it."
===================

Indonesian Observer
Saturday, Oktober 21 - 2000
House backs special autonomy for top four richest provinces

JAKARTA (IO) =97 Legislators say the nation�s four richest provinces in terms of natural resources =97 Aceh, West Papua (Irian Jaya), East Kalimantan and Riau =97 should be granted special autonomy to deter them from proclaiming independence.

All Indonesian provinces will be granted greater control over their governmental affairs when regional autonomy legislation is introduced next year.

But that won�t be enough of a sweetener to placate the four provinces that feel their wealth is being unfairly siphoned off by the central government, members of the House of Representatives said yesterday.

President Abdurrahman has already promised special autonomy for West Papua and Aceh.

Legislators said the same status should also be given to Riau and East Kalimantan.

House member Hari Sabarno yesterday said most provinces will continue to require financial assistance from the central government once the regional autonomy legislation is in place.

=93As far as we know, only four provinces are rich enough to be independent, ten are so-so, while the rest are poor,=94 he was quoted as saying by Antara during a visit to Cirebon, West Java.

He and other legislators were in Cirebon for a meeting with local politicians, students and activists, to socialize the results of the August session of the People�s Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Hari said the central government will have to continue providing assistance for provincial governments to pay the salaries of civil servants and other administrative costs.

=93Such subsidies could cause serious national problems if the government simply takes loans from the World Bank or IMF to subsidize provinces that have zero ability to repay such loans,=94 he said.

Commenting on unrest and the rise of separatism in Aceh and West Papua, Hari said the problems are due to the unjust conditions that the two provinces suffered for decades under the regime of ex-president Soeharto. =93The solution is simple, treat them justly.=94

He acknowledged that although Aceh has been classified as having special status ever since the era of founding president Soekarno, it has meant very little in reality.

The central government intervened so much in Aceh that the people there are angry and keen to fight for independence, he added.

=93Making their province a special military operation zone created another nightmare for them,=94 said Hari, referring to the nine-years that the military had a free hand in running Aceh.

MPR and House members will continue to convey the results of this year�s meeting of the nation�s top legislative body to metropolitan areas, as well as to some foreign countries.
============

The Jakarta Post.com
Across The Archipelago
October 21, 2000
Another Wamena riot victim found

WAMENA, Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya Police chief Supt. D. Suripatty said on Friday that another victim of the bloody Wamena riots had been found floating in Uwe River, Woma village.

Suripatty said local residents found the body of a 35-year-old teacher named Mashudi on Thursday and sent it to Wamena General Hospital for an autopsy.

The latest discovery from the Oct. 6 riots brings the death toll to 31 people.

Antara quoted the head of the Jayawijaya Health Agency, A. Rumsayur, as saying after the autopsy that Mashudi's death was caused by a hard blow to the back of the head.

The victim's family and friends at the hospital assume that Mashudi's body was dumped in the river by the killers. (lup)
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The following is a summary of a statement issued Saturday 21 October by ELS-HAM, the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy

Uncertainty, Yapen Waropen wont pull down flag, Wamena still isolated

West Papuans are feeling more uncertain than ever about the fate of their flag and the future of Papua. Even though the Papua Presidium Council succeeded at a meeting on 17 October in 'persuading' the provincial authorities not to force them to pull down the flag on 19 October, a number of questions still remain.

The reason given for postponing the deadline was that the Council should first hold a meeting with President Wahid, yet the decision to ban the flag was taken at a cabinet meeting on 11 October which was chaired by vice-president Megawati. This means that the president must also fall in line with the decision to ban the flag. The Wamena tragedy of 6 October pushed the central government into threatening stern measures against separatist activists in West
Papua.

Papuan people are more determined than ever not to take down the flag. The head of Satgas Papua in Jayapura has announced that he will mobilise large numbers of people to keep the flag aloft. Satgas Papua in Merauke has said the same thing. In Merauke town, there are about fifty command posts, and even more in surrounding districts. At the end of September, the Merauke chief of police wrote to the Presidium Panel saying that all flags should be taken
down but the order was rejected. and at a meeting with local authorities on 13 October, the local people reiterated this position. The same holds true for Yapan Waropen. This is a district
where there has been no violence as yet and many flags are being flown in the town and in many nearby villages. People there say they have no intention of pulling down the flags.

Meanwhile, thousands of security forces have been mobilised since August, including Brimob, Kostrad, Kopassus and air borne troops. In addition, three US-made Skyhawk A-4 have been based in Biak since 5 October, from where they have been making flights to various parts of Papua to intimidate the people. The sight of these planes is very traumatic for Papuan people who still vividly remember the bombing sorties conducted by OV-10 Broncos in 1977, in
the Baliem Valley and the Central Highlands. Thousands of people were killed during major military operations by ABRI (as the Indonesian armed forces was then known).

Divisions are growing between Papuans and immigrants. The Wamena tragedy and the way the police handled it, calling on the immigrant community to close ranks and assuring them of the support of the police, has helped to sow mutual mistrust between the communities. The local police urged the migrant community to create their own self-defence system (siskamling). People are frequently struck by fear because of the spread of rumours. Thousands of refugees, mostly migrants, have sought refuge with the military or the police.

In Wamena, things are gradually getting back to normal but the region is still isolated by the local police, with the result that ELS-HAM's investigation team and monitors from the LBH and the diocese are still not being allowed to enter the area. Pilots of missionary aircraft are refusing to allow our people onto their planes because they are afraid of the military. As a result, detainees in Wamena are being interrogated without the support of legal advisers and it is still impossible to discover the true facts about what happened on 6 October.

The social and political situation in West Papua is now at boiling point. Thee is a lot of mutual mistrust and no one knows what is likely to happen. ELS-HAM is afraid that violence could erupt at any time unless neutral parties that have the respect of the people are brought in to handle the Papuan problem in accordance with the principles of peace, justice and democracy.

TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign
111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon CR7 8HW, UK.
tel +44 020 8771 2904 fax +44 020 8653 0322
tapol@gn.apc.org www.gn.apc.org/tapol