By Lindsay Murdoch Herald Correspondent In Jayapura
JAYAPURA, Papua, Indonesia (May 31, 2000 – Sydney Morning Herald)---Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Mr. Alwi Shihab, has accused unnamed Australian non-government organizations of inciting violence in its troubled province of Papua.
But there are no Australian non-government organizations (NGOs) operating in the vast and remote Indonesian province, where demands for independence are growing.
The Indonesian Observer quoted Mr. Shihab as saying that "Indonesia's foreign policy places Australia as an external factor that endangers its national integrity, especially in Papua."
He said: "Australia endangers our national integrity through upheaval ... provoked by Australian NGOs ..."
Mr. John Rumbiak, the head of the province's main human rights group, ELS-HAM, said Mr. Shihab's comments indicated that Jakarta wanted to destabilize an independence congress being held in the capital, Jayapura, this week...