Irian Jaya Indonesia

Were it not for the U.S.-owned mine that shares the snowcapped mountains with the wreckage of allied bombers from World War II and tribesmen who have clung to Stone Age traditions, chances are no one except a few anthropologists and a handful of missionaries would give much thought to Irian Jaya, Indonesia's most remote province.

Crowds sang hymns and waved separatist flags as they accompanied the body of a slain independence leader to his home in Indonesia's restive Irian Jaya province. Thousands of mourners filled the 27-mile winding road from the provincial capital, Jayapura, to the town of Sentani, where Theys Eluay lived until his death Saturday. Hundreds of police and soldiers lined the procession's route, anxious to avoid a repetition of the rioting that shook the town after the slaying.

Delegates to a historic people's congress in resource-rich Irian Jaya ended their weeklong conference Sunday with a formal declaration that the province is not part of Indonesia and should be recognized as an independent nation. The declaration, issued at a congress that opened with a youth choir singing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," heightened the growing sense of optimism among many of Irian Jaya's 2 million people but was unlikely to engender any support in Jakarta, the capital.

Indonesia's parliament approved an autonomy package for the rebellious province of Irian Jaya, giving the territory greater power and revenue in a bid to appease decades-old demands for independence. Legislators said the package for the vast, resource-rich eastern province also known as Papua would be greeted positively by many of Irian Jaya's 2 million people.

Indonesia's parliament approved an autonomy package for the rebellious province of Irian Jaya, giving the territory greater power and revenue in a bid to appease decades-old demands for independence. Legislators said the package for the vast, resource-rich eastern province also known as Papua would be greeted positively by many of Irian Jaya's 2 million people.

Crowds sang hymns and waved separatist flags as they accompanied the body of a slain independence leader to his home in Indonesia's restive Irian Jaya province. Thousands of mourners filled the 27-mile winding road from the provincial capital, Jayapura, to the town of Sentani, where Theys Eluay lived until his death Saturday. Hundreds of police and soldiers lined the procession's route, anxious to avoid a repetition of the rioting that shook the town after the slaying.

U.S. Reaches Settlement With Mining Firm: Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. government finance agency, and New Orleans-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. settled a bitter dispute after the mining company agreed to establish a $100-million trust fund to finance environmental cleanup measures at its giant copper mine in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. In exchange, OPIC agreed to reinstate the company's $100-million political risk insurance through the end of the year.

Fluor Daniel said Monday that it has won a $300-million contract to expand a copper mining operation in Indonesia but confirmed that another contract--estimated to be worth $450 million--for construction of a cereal plant in Tennessee has been put on hold. The Indonesia project is the second major copper mining contract that Fluor Daniel, the primary engineering and construction arm of Fluor Corp., has won in 12 months.

With developing countries in the Pacific Rim expected to spend $1 billion on infrastructure projects through the year 2000, small wonder that Irvine-based Fluor Corp. Chairman Les McCraw is playing a role in this year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings. Roughly half of the company's $8 billion now come from Asia and other developing regions such as Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. Fluor is the parent of Fluor Daniel, an engineering and construction company, and A.T.

Security forces battled independence activists armed with bows and arrows in Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province, leaving at least 31 people dead, human rights workers said Saturday. John Rumbiak, a spokesman for the Irian Jaya-based Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy, said many of the victims were shot to death by police after a clash Friday.

Were it not for the U.S.-owned mine that shares the snowcapped mountains with the wreckage of allied bombers from World War II and tribesmen who have clung to Stone Age traditions, chances are no one except a few anthropologists and a handful of missionaries would give much thought to Irian Jaya, Indonesia's most remote province.

Delegates to a historic people's congress in resource-rich Irian Jaya ended their weeklong conference Sunday with a formal declaration that the province is not part of Indonesia and should be recognized as an independent nation. The declaration, issued at a congress that opened with a youth choir singing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," heightened the growing sense of optimism among many of Irian Jaya's 2 million people but was unlikely to engender any support in Jakarta, the capital.

For a country that has been promoting 1991 as "Visit Indonesia Year," the current State Department advisory regarding travel to that country comes at the worst of times. Although the advisory refers only to two remote areas of Sumatra and New Guinea and specifically says that the country's main tourist areas are not affected, the warning nonetheless has angered Indonesian government and tourism officials.

Mourners wept and flung themselves across the casket of an independence movement leader who was buried in Indonesia's restive Irian Jaya province Saturday, a week after his suspicious death. More than 10,000 people came to Theys Eluay's funeral. Hundreds of police and soldiers stood guard at the peaceful ceremony in Eluay's hometown of Sentani, while others manned roadblocks, confiscating knives and slingshots from the crowd.