Those Stateless People In Png

From a Port Moresby correspondent

There are some hundreds of Irianese, or, as they prefer to call themselves, West Papuans, in Papua New Guinea. Not all of them are refugees. A substantial number came to PNG from what was then Dutch New Guinea. before the Indonesian take-over of that territory. They came with the approval of, and under the sponsorship of, the Dutch Administration for the purpose of extending their education. While they were pursuing their studies here, In-

donesia took over their homeland, and, when their education was completed, they asked and were allowed by the PNG colonial ad ministration to stay on and take jobs here.

Others are political refugees who crossed the border, most of them between 1963, when In donesia took control of their coun try, and 1969, when the so-called “Act of Free Choice” confirmed Indonesia’s occupancy of it, and they were given permits to remain

in PNG. Since 1969 only a trickle of border crossers have made it and been successful in securing permits to remain.

Both these groups have proved themselves to be hard-working, in telligent and well-behaved people.

Some of them are highly-educated and fill positions of trust and responsibility here. Almost all of them have now forfeited Indone sian citizenship under Indonesian law, and if not granted PNG citizenship will become stateless persons, with all the worries and uncertainties which that involves.

Only those of their children who have been horn in PNG can claim citizenship as of right, but until recently they have been led to believe that their applications for naturalisation would be successful.

Out of the blue came a recent government announcement that they would not be allowed to become PNG citizens, and it appears to be a very firm decision.

It is difficult to believe that the reason for this apparent volte-face by the Somare government is other than a desire to appease Indonesia.

Understandably, the PNG Government is very sensitive about its relations with Indonesia.

It’s all very well for the “Pacific People’s Action Front’’, based in far-away Fiji, to condemn the PNG Government for its harsh decision. But Fiji doesn’t have to live cheek-by-jowl with an aggressive and expansionist nation of 120 million people. However, it remains to be seen whether this ex ercise in appeasement will be any more successful than similar exer cises have been in other places and at other times.

Less than a year ago, Prime Minister Somare, addressing the Assembly of the United Nations, declared that Papua New Guinea would not allow her friends to choose her enemies for her. Brave words indeed. * Sir Maori Kiki seemed to budge slightly on the issue when he said later that the Citizenship Ad visory Committee would consider the situation of the West Irian refugees.