Papua lawmaker autonomy to fail without mediation

CANBERRA, Aug 7 (Reuters) Indonesia's military continues to crack down on Papua and an autonomy deal for the restive province will fail without international mediation, a senior Papuan lawmaker said today.

Indonesian security forces were creating chaos in Papua to control rich mineral and natural resources, Agus Alua, the chairman of the indigenous Papuan People's Council set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, told Australian lawmakers.

''The army and the police, they do not support the president,'' Alua told Reuters before meeting Australian foreign ministry officials and lawmakers at Parliament House in Canberra.

''Special autonomy deal cannot save Papua or Papuans, because the military has its own agenda going on,'' he said.

Independence activists in Papua - which is made up of two provinces on the western half of New Guinea island - have waged a campaign for more than 30 years to break away from Indonesia, while a low-level armed rebellion has also simmered for decades.

Yudhoyono has pledged to end the conflict in Papua and speed development under the 2001 Special Autonomy Agreement, which human rights critics say has not been implemented.

Alua, whose representative council was meant to give Papuans a say over their own affairs, said a pledge of billions of rupiah in support from Yudhoyono's government meant little when the military, known as TNI, was determined to prevent autonomy.

''The troops are working strongly to fully control the land and the Papuan people in their villages, therefore Papuan people in their homeland cannot move anywhere freely to look for food, for hunting, fishing, traditional religion,'' a briefing paper given to Australian lawmakers by Alua said.

Indonesian troop numbers were on the increase in Papua, he said, particularly intelligence soldiers used to keep check on separatists. Torture of separatists also continued to occur.

Security forces have consistently denied rights violations and National Police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto recently said no one was immune to human rights law.

Alua said he wanted Australia, which supports Indonesian sovereignty over Papua, to push Jakarta to introduce autonomy more actively and take on a mediation role.

Jakarta took over Papua from Dutch colonial rule in 1963.

In 1969 its rule was formalised in a vote by community leaders which was widely criticised as political theatre.

In June UN envoy Hina Jilani said concerns persisted over the actions of security services despite assurances from the military commander and the chief of police in Papua.

REUTERS RN KP0855