Vanuatu Government Supports Unitary State of Indonesia
Wednesday, 12 April, 2006 | 20:45 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: The Vanuatu government supports the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

“The existence of one or two Papuans in Vanuatu does not mean that supporting independence,” said Minister Hassan Wirajuda in the Jakarta Convention Center, Tuesday, when signing a bilateral cooperation MoU with the Vanuatu government.

The ministerial meeting was with Sato Kilman, the Deputy Prime Minister and also Vanuatu Foreign Affairs Minister.

According to Hassan, Vanuatu does not want Papuans from Indonesia being in Vanuatu to disrupt relations between Indonesia and Vanuatu.

“Vanuatu will do what it can to strengthen its relations with Indonesia regarding the presence of Papuans in its territories,” said Hassan Wirajuda, quoting the Vanuatu Foreign Affairs Minister.

Vanuatu, Hassan continued, is very enthusiastic about building a closer relationship with Indonesia.

The Indonesian Foreign Minister also said that this Papuan presence in Vanuatu should not be allowed to become a distracting factor in the Indonesia-Vanuatu relationship.

Hassan said there were no regular meetings of Papuan people in Vanuatu that promoted Papuan independence.

“The (Vanuatu) government now has a commitment to the importance of maintaining its relationship with Indonesia,” he said.

Rudy Prasetyo