SOURCE:
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090519/tuhome.htm
West Papuans want to go home
By Harlyne Joku
I want to go home no one is forcing me to return to West Papua, Indonesia. My family and I have made this decision, Reuben
Kekiri, a West Papua who lives at Eight Mile outside Port Moresby said yesterday.
Mr Kekiri is one of those 708 West Papuans who had voluntarily given their names on a list to the Indonesian government to be
repatriated to Indonesia.
Asked whether security will be granted for his family when they arrive there, Kekiri says he believes God will take care of
them.
Kekiri said he had lived in PNG for 31 years and believed it was time to return to his homeland and live the rest of his old age
there.
Many (West Papuans) have died in PNG only to be carried by their children to be buried back in their homeland.
As for me, I want to grow old and die among my own brothers and sisters, he said.
He said that last years incident at Eight Mile when West Papuan families including his were threatened with eviction had
prompted him to return.
They treat us as if we do not have our own land when we have, he said.
Another private PNG citizen who is formerly from West Papua, Clement Runawery said he did not object the PNG -Indonesian
governments program on repatriation but stressed there must be no enticement involved.
West Papuans must feel free to return. There should not be enticed to return, Mr Runawary said.
He said that the PNG and Indonesian governments had never made a public engagement on repatriation.
Mr Runawary said independent bodies such as UNHCR and the Red Cross should be involved to monitor the repatriation process.
Both made the remarks in reaction to a statement released from Jakarta, Indonesia last week that the Indonesian President
Bangbang Yudyono and Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare had met in Manado Indonesia and announced that 708 Indonesian migrants
living in PNG would be repatriated back to Indonesia.
Mr Runawary said there are about 3,000 West Papuans living in PNG who have chosen to make PNG their home.
They are silently contributing towards the development of PNG, he said.
He said he believed only 50 out of the 708 West Papuans would be repatriated back to Indonesia because many feared for their
security.