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Independence leader held on rebellion count

Source
South China Morning Post - November 30, 2000

Agencies in Jakarta and Jayapura – Police in Irian Jaya yesterday arrested Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay for allegedly fomenting rebellion as the troubled province geared up to commemorate the 39th anniversary of its failed effort to win independence.

Irian Jaya police chief Brigadier-General Sylvanus Wenas said Eluay was arrested for "subversion, plotting to secede from Indonesia". He added: "We will try to complete [Eluay's] interrogation quickly because we have to file the case as soon as possible. If someone wants to separate from his country, that's a criminal act."

Speaking by telephone from his cell at Jayapura police headquarters, Eluay said the accusation against him "is not fair, it is wrong and I deny [it]". He said he had warned his people not to riot. "I already told the people not to do anything. They have to stay calm, they must not react."

Eluay arrived at police headquarters dressed in a sarong and wearing a hat with a stuffed bird-of-paradise – the symbol of New Guinea island – perched on its crown. He was accompanied by about 50 members of a pro-independence security taskforce.

After several hours of questioning, Eluay had tried to leave the station, demanding that Brigadier Wenas meet him. "I am being treated like an animal here," he shouted. "I am a leader here, this is my country."

Residents and legal activists said the situation in the province was tense. Separatist groups plan to stage protests tomorrow to mark what they claim was a declaration of independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961. John Rumbiak, a local human rights advocate, said he feared independence supporters might resort to violence if their leaders remain detained. "This could provoke unrest and this could be used by security forces as an excuse to crack down further on the independence struggle," he said.

Demyanus Wakman, a legal activist in the capital, Jayapura, said Eluay had been questioned and detained over his activity as chief of the pro-independence Papuan Presidium Board and for ordering the flying of the Morning Star separatist flag across Irian Jaya last December.

On October 12 this year, Indonesian authorities officially banned the flying of the Morning Star in Irian Jaya after bloody clashes between independence supporters and security forces left at least 30 people dead.

Eluay's interrogation and detention follows the arrest on Monday of the independence movement's secretary-general, Thaha Hamid. Police said he had also been charged with subversion, a crime that carries a maximum 20-year sentence.

Brigadier Wenas said police had named three other senior Papuan leaders – Herman Awom, John Mambor and Don Flassy – as suspects in the subversion case.

The freedom movement in the province – known as West Papua under Dutch colonial rule but renamed Irian Jaya after the Indonesian occupation – has blossomed since East Timor broke away from Indonesia last year.

Indonesia formally annexed Irian Jaya in 1969 after a UN-sanctioned "Act of Free Choice", in which about 1,000 tribal leaders were canvassed on whether they wanted integration.

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