Repatriation of West Papuans soon

By HARLYNE JOKU
Indonesian government departments are currently working on a comprehensive programme to carry out repatriation of West Papuans abroad including Papua New Guineans, the Indonesian Ambassador Bom Soerjanto said yesterday.
Mr Soerjanto further appealed to West Papuans interested in being repatriated back to the Papua province to be patient while waiting for the programme to be applied.
He said the Indonesian president’s office would be issuing instructions regarding repatriation soon.
He made similar remarks on New Year’s eve in response to queries raised on the progress of the repatriation exercise.
It was reported in the media that repatriation would take place last month.
But Mr Soerjanto said that it would be a long process.
He said the repatriation programme was not a new issue and had been discussed since the middle of last year.
“Now the recent status was that the ministry for social welfare and government departments were working out a comprehensive programme,” Mr Soerjanto said.
He added that the programme was a humanitarian one that needed processing and must be well planned.
“Many departments and institutions in charge will be involved, including the provincial Papuan government especially for the temporary settlements, naturalisation status, training and education programmes,” he said.
Mr Soerjanto added that the PNG Government was supportive of the repatriation programme.
Recently, the Pacific Magazine reported that Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had asked Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the climate conference in Bali to allow Papuans to travel freely between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.