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West Papua calls for independence despite Indonesian warnings |
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June 4, 2000 JAYAPURA, JUNE 3 (AP) - A landmark congress of West Papua activists on Saturday demanded full independence from Indonesia despite Jakarta's warning that the restive province will not be allowed to break away.
A draft document read to about 3,000 cheering and applauding delegates called for an immediate declaration of independence as well as U.N. recognition of a new West Papuan state by Dec. 1.
Conference organizers said a formal statement of secession was expected to be included in a final communique when the congress ends on Sunday.
The congress was to have closed Saturday but was extended by 24 hours after debate and speeches dragged on in a hot and crowded indoor sports stadium decorated with secessionist flags.
"The aspiration of the people of West Papua is to be independent," said delegate Thoha Al-Hamid in a telephone interview.
Hours before the call for independence was made, Indonesia's head of state delivered a fresh warning to the province, which is also known as Irian Jaya.
President Abdurrahman Wahid said his 8-month-old reformist government would reject any call to break away, the Suara Pembaruan newspaper reported.
Wahid and several senior government officials criticized the congress last week as not truly representing West Papua's 2 million people.
The call for independence in West Papua is the latest challenge to Indonesia's national unity.
On Friday, Wahid's government entered into a cease-fire with rebels in the northwestern province of Aceh, which also wants to break away.
Wahid, who came to power as a democratic reformer last October, has offered it and other provinces greater powers of autonomy. But he has repeatedly stressed that he will not allow the breakup of Indonesia, a huge archipelago grappling with massive social and economic problems.
West Papua, a mineral-rich and jungle-covered former Dutch colony, was annexed by Indonesia in 1963. This was formalized by the U.N. in 1969 following a vote by community leaders.
Independence activists now say that this process of self-determination was a sham and should be overturned by the world body.
Small bands of rebels fights have waged a limited guerrilla war against Indonesian forces over the past three decades. Residents in Jayapura, about 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) east of Jakarta, said the situation in the town was tense Saturday.
Thousands of spectators, including tribes people from remote villages congregated outside the congress venue while police kept watch. Many shops and offices were closed.
The official Antara news agency said that dozens of settlers from other parts of Indonesia have sought refuge at a military base near Jayapura's airport for fear of anti-Indonesian protests.
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