Talking, Not Voting

For West Irian

Indonesia announced officially in February that West Irian’s act of determination, due in August, would be decided on the basis of “musjawarah”, or dis cussion, among about 1,000 West Irianese.

The decision would be made over two or three weeks by consultative assemblies in each of the territory’s eight regions.

One representative would be ap pointed for every 750 people in the territory’s 800,000 popula tion.

In Canberra, Australia’s new Minister for External Affairs, Mr. G. Freeth, indicated that Australia would accept this limited act of self-determination for West Irian. He said: “They (the West Irianese) are virtually in primitive, Stone Age con ditions. They would barely under stand what an act of self-deter mination was”.