Jakarta – Leaders of the pro-independence movement in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya said Wednesday that President Abdurrahman Wahid had not objected to their bid for independence.
Theys Eluay, the president of the Presidium of the Papuan People, told a press conference here that Wahid "did not reject" a call for independence issued at the end of a week-long Papuan People's Congress last month. Eluay said that several Papuan leaders, including himself, had met with Wahid late on Tuesday night to report on the results of the congress.
"We came [to see him] simply just to convey the results of the Papuan congress. He [Wahid] said 'fine, I will study it further ... let us build the steps ahead through constant dialogue'," Eluay told AFP on the sidelines of the press conference.
"He [Wahid] did not reject it, he said he would further study the results of the congress," Eluay added. At the press briefing, Eluay also said that Wahid did not show "any cynical tone, or reject the result" of the congress.
The congress ended in Jayapura on June 4 with a resolution saying that West Papua – as the pro-independence lobby refers to Irian Jaya – had been a sovereign state since it was proclaimed on December 1, 1961, and that its incorporation into Indonesia in 1969 was legally flawed and therefore null and void. The congress has also called on Jakarta to recognize the sovereignty of West Papua.
However Wahid has since said publicly that his goverment did "not recognize the congress," and called it "illegitimate", saying that it had failed to represent the entire spectrum of society in Irian Jaya.
Eluay refused to comment on a police summons for the congress organizers to be questioned on treason charges for advocating separatism, saying that the press briefing was only to discuss the meeting with Wahid.
He said that his group would "always be ready to support Wahid's "leadership as president of the Republic of Indonesia," because "through him we have reached a degree of progress."
He cited Wahid's donation of one billion rupiah (111,000 dollars) for the congress, and his promise (later retracted) to open the congress, as the group's reasons for supporting the president.
The presidium's mediator, Willy Mandowen, said Wahid was "the only one who still regards Papuans as his people while others have forsaken us." Mandowen also said his group would intiate a campaign to raise the independence "Morning Star" flag throughout the province, starting from July 14 to August 2.
Meanwhile, the group's vice president, Tom Beanal, warned Wahid's political opponents in Jakarta against trying to topple the president. "No matter what, we are going to fight alongside him, but if anyone tries to rise to power, the first thing that we will do is to separate ourselves from Indonesia," he said.
But Eluay said that people of Papua "will not rely on Gus Dur (Wahid's popular nickname) as the person who will grant independence" for the mineral-rich province.
"We are fighting without weapons ... every Papuan is fighting for independence through prayers to Jesus Christ," he said. "He is God's greatest gift for this country," Eluay added.
Since the congress ended, calls have mounted in Jakarta for the government to take a firmer stance against separatists in regions such as Irian Jaya and Aceh, another province where there is strong pressure for self-rule.