The Jakarta Post, September 02, 2004
PNG sends troops to Indonesia border after separatist clashes
PORT MORESBY (AFP): Papua New Guinea has deployed troops to its southern
border with Indonesia after reports of clashes between villagers and separatists from
across the border, the government said.
The move comes just days after neighboring Australia began a police mission to
restore law and order in the Pacific country under a more interventionist regional
stance pushed by PrimeMinister John Howard.
It was the first time in 17 years that soldiers had been dispatched to the area,
Minister for Border Affairs Peter Barter said late Wednesday.
Members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) reportedly clashed with locals near the
remote settlement of Weam, Barter said. A platoon from the Papua New Guinea
Defense Force had been deployed and would stay there two weeks to investigate,
Barter said.
Indonesia's long and porous border with PNG has been a source of tension between
the two countries ever since Jakarta gained control of New Guinea's western half in
1963.
Separatist rebels wanting an independent West Papuan state use PNG as a base,
exploiting deep-felt public sympathy and ethnic ties that straddle the border.
"There seems to be some perception that there are OPM elements along the southern
part of the western border. There may also be a wish to have a defense presence in
the region," one diplomat in Port Moresby said.
There have also been reports of tribal fighting on the PNG side of the border recently,
said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The presence of large, semi-permanent camps of West Papuans in PNG territory has
regularly caused headaches for the government, many members of which are from
other parts of PNG. It is only one of a vast array of lawlessness problems which the
impoverishednation is struggling to overcome.
A first party of around 18 Australian police arrived on Sunday and is currently
undergoing training in Port Moresby before some move on to other areas, including
the troubled offshore island ofBougainville.
Australian officials have firmly ruled out any deployment near the sensitive Indonesian
border.
Although PNG has largely turned a blind eye to theseparatists' presence since
independence from Australia in 1975, they are hard to control. Fights with locals have
been common and Indonesia mounts constant pressure on the issue.
Barter also said he was concerned about reports of cross-border poaching of fish,
crocodiles and other wildlife. Both sides of the southern border contain protected
wetlands.
The former Dutch colony of Western New Guinea was incorporated into Indonesia in
1963 at the height of the Cold War in a controversial U.S.-backed move.
In 1969 Indonesian rule was "confirmed" in a vote among around 1,000 tribal chieftains
marred by widespread intimidation. The result was nevertheless accepted by the
United Nations and most foreign countries. (**)
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
