The Australian
W Papuans offer Wahid peace deal
By Jakarta correspondent Don Greenlees
15nov00

WEST Papuan leaders plan to present President Abdurrahman Wahid with a proposal for a peace compact this week, amid widespread anxiety over the potential for a violent showdown over calls for
independence.

A delegation of West Papuan leaders is due to arrive in Jakarta today bearing the proposal for a zone of non-violence to be declared from December 2 and ratified by an international third party.

After the zone's declaration, military personnel would be required to leave their weapons in their barracks and, in return, Papuans would not be permitted to carry their traditional weapons.

The proposal was discussed last week between members of the Papuan Presidium and senior government and security officials in the province, still known in Indonesia as Irian Jaya.

Members of the presidium are attempting to schedule a meeting with Mr Wahid and leaders of the Indonesian parliament in the coming days to seek approval for the proposal.

As with the humanitarian pause in Aceh, they want an international agency, possibly within the UN, to witness the agreement - a concession that Jakarta may be reluctant to make.

But both sides appear anxious to reduce tensions ahead of the December 1 anniversary of the 1961 declaration of an independent Papuan state and the adoption of the Morning Star flag.

According to church leaders and members of the non-Papuan community, fear is running high over the potential for clashes to break out around the December 1 anniversary. Some non-Papuans are temporarily leaving the province or moving into major population centres as a precaution.

The provincial police chief, Brigadier Silvanus Wenas, who has built up good relations with West Papuan leaders, was due to be promoted to a new position in Jakarta three weeks ago but was asked by Mr Wahid to stay on until February.

Brigadier Wenas told The Australian in Jayapura that he was "optimistic" the agreements being proposed could avoid the danger of clashes, particularly over the disputed use of the Morning Star flag.

Under the proposal being put to the central Government by the presidium, one flag would be raised in each of the province's 14 districts but only at the home of a designated local leader.

This is aimed at overcoming Mr Wahid's insistence that the flag be used only as a cultural symbol, rather than as a political symbol. Presidium members will present the proposal for 14 flags as a compromise - if the flag were cultural, they say, it should be raised by each of the 253 tribal groups.