Press Unweleome

In West NG

The TTopicalities department awards the Order of a Cold Bath in the Indonesian Ocean to Lieut.-Colonel Leo Lopulisa for the most mischievous state ment of the month.

Colonel Lopulisa, Indonesian Military Attache in Canberra, visited Papua-New Guinea in April, during which he an nounced that Indonesia was un able to find out fust what Australia was attempting to do in P-NG because too much secrecy surrounded its actions.

He also complained publicly that he had been forced to wait five weeks before Australia gave him a visa to enter P-NG.

If Colonel Lopulisa didn’t know what was happening in P-NG before April he must be both deaf and illiterate to have missed the millions of words of comment that have poured out from politicians, Pressmen and visiting UN missions.

If he didn’t know what the picture was IN April, he must also be blind.

Meanwhile, only a few selected visitors have been allowed to see what has been going on inside Indonesian West New Guinea since it was taken over from the Dutch 12 months ago, and put under tight censor ship, with the Press controlled.

And the visitors don’t include a single Pressman, although we know at least four, representing big organisations, who have applied for visas.

And some, Colonel, have been waiting almost 12 months, not five weeks, for a decision.

What’s all the secrecy sur rounding Indonesian intentions in New Guinea?