Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 November 2004
74 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the efforts he has made to support better dialogue with Indonesia in order to promote the aspiration of the people of West Papua for independence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30098/04]
View answerAs has been stated in the House on many occasions, the view of the Government is that the most productive approach to dealing with the situation of the people of Papua is through contact with the Government of Indonesia. The Government avails of every opportunity to encourage the Government of Indonesia to strengthen its efforts to address the legitimate concerns of the people of Papua. In this regard, I welcome the commitment expressed by President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, prior to his election in September, to implement the special autonomy law for Papua. The law dates from November 2001 but has not yet been implemented. It provides for a greater degree of autonomy for Papua than for Indonesia's other provinces.
My predecessor met with the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr. Noor Hassan Wirajuda, on the margins of the UN General Assembly, on 23 September 2004. Deputy Cowen used the occasion to express Ireland's continuing concerns on the situation in Papua. These concerns had previously been raised with Minister Wirajuda in April 2004 during an EU Troika meeting and again in January 2003 on the occasion of the EU-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting. Minister Wirajuda took note of our concerns, and expressed his belief that the special autonomy law will satisfy the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of the people in Papua. He said autonomy remains the settled policy of the Government of Indonesia. My predecessor made it clear that we would carefully monitor the situation in this regard.
The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council of 11 October 2004 adopted conclusions on Indonesia which reiterated the EU's respect for the territorial integrity of the Republic of Indonesia and welcomed President-elect Yudhoyono's intention to implement the special autonomy law for Papua. Officials of my Department regularly discuss the situation in Papua with their counterparts from Indonesia and representatives of various Papuan non-governmental organisations and third countries such as Australia and the United States of America. Ireland, together with our EU partners, will continue to support the development of a strengthened partnership and effective dialogue between the EU and Indonesia. As I have said, the Government sees this as the most effective framework at this time to address our concerns about the situation in Papua.
