PS Koanapo says issue of West Papua now gone beyond the region

By Jonas Cullwick Sep 16, 2017

The issue of West Papua self-determination and violations of human rights has now progressed beyond the South Pacific islands region, says the Parliamentary Secretary (PS) for the Prime Minister’s Office, Johnny Koanapo. He said the issue that had Vanuatu as its lone advocator for many years and then Solomon Islands during the last two years now has the support of six other countries of the region from Micronesia and Polynesia.

PS Koanapo met the media with the intention of the government is to brief the people on how much work government has undertaken on the issue of West Papua.

“I wish to say that the government has done a lot of work on the issue of West Papua since the Charlot Salwai government came in in 2016 and the issue remains high on government’s international political agenda.

“There are a lot of arguments that government has not done enough on the issue of West Papua, but when we look at the events that government through the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers have endorsed Vanuatu’s participation, there were many.”

In March this year, the Council of Ministers under the leadership of Prime Minister Salwai, appointed Honorable Ronald Warsal (Minister of Justice and Community Services) to attend the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva and Koanapo went with him when Vanuatu delivered a statement on behalf of the Pacific Islands Coalition for West Papua.

“May be, many people who have been dealing with the issue of West Papua, especially our former leaders like Barak Sope, Donald Kalpokas, the late Edward Natapei, Joe Natuman former Prime Minister now Deputy Prime Minister, have been walking with the people of West Papua for a very long time.

“And when we look at the political backup the people of Vanuatu give to the colonized people of West Papua, there’s only one country in the world that has been standing behind people who living under colonization by Indonesia. That country is Vanuatu. Vanuatu is the only country in the Pacific that is standing behind the people of West Papua.

“And then at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders’ summit held in 2015 in Honiara, at that time Solomon Islands government through Prime Minister Manasseh Sogovareh came on board. And then as PM Sogovareh said to me when I represented government at that time when I was Director General of Foreign and also represented the country at the minister’s level that the position or stand the government of Solomon Islands is taking is inspired by the position and stand the Vanuatu government has taken since day one on the since to West Papua to this day.

“So, instead of just one I the Pacific, there was two. That’s the Vanuatu government and the Solomon Islands government. Then the Solomon Islands government spearheaded with the support of Vanuatu on the margins of the meeting of June July last year when PM Charlot Salwai attended the establishment of what we call the Pacific Islands of West Papua (PIWP) and then other countries of Micronesia and Polynesia have come on board. Altogether eight countries – Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu, Kiribati and Tonga. So, Vanuatu, as the lone fighter, now has seven countries behind it for backup on the issue of West Papua.

“As a result in March this year, government through the Council of Ministers appropriated for Vanuatu’s participation at the Humans Rights Council meeting this year in Geneva. So, Minister Warsal and I went to the meeting where Honorable Warsal delivered a very strong statement. It was a political statement on behalf of BIGWIP members in the Pacific.

“I also wish to mention that when we have this coalition, Vanuatu’s strategy is for us to try shift advocacy for the issue of West Papua beyond the region. When we were introducing the issue at MSG, Vanuatu was the only country behind it.

“I am briefing us today as a former director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who has been behind much of the speeches and writings, to say that I’ve never seen before a government that has taken the issue of WP so strongly as the government of Charlot Salwai and Joe Natuman is making today.

“There are reasons for this. In the past governments tended to take different kinds of approaches. Some prefer for us to take a stronger diplomatic approach at the international level to lobby. Some prefer we have more dialogue with the colonizing power, Indonesia since 1962 to today that they continue to colonize the people of West Papua.

“So, the government of Charlot Salwai also appointed a special envoy. This special envoy was our Ambassador at the European Union, Ambassador Roy Micky Joy, to help lobby at the European Union jurisdiction and he also helped to lobby at the African Union. And he also helped to lobby at the Caribbean. We have divided this task and it is the first time.

“During my 16 years in office at the Foreign Affairs, I see that this government is very serious about the issue of West Papua.”

“Maybe the Opposition has some views that government may not be advancing, but I have not seen any opposition in the past with the credentials to advance this issue, except this government today has moved this issue on more than ever. I say this with a lot of confidence that the issue of West Papua today has already moved beyond the region,” the PS for the PM’s Office said.

“This government when it came in, it took this issue from being a bilateral issue just of Vanuatu, but a regional issue, which we have moved beyond the level of MSG in which we have differences of opinion on how we deal with the issue of West Papua because the diplomatic of Indonesia is strong. This made Vanuatu the only country in MSG to push the issue ahead. But the issue has now moved beyond the jurisdiction of MSG,” he said.

“It has moved to the level of the Forum and has become a regional issue. And if you see how the issue was listed in the South Pacific Islands Forum meeting last week to deal with out of 14 issues, one of them is West Papua.”

“I wish to take this opportunity to commend the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor, a very proactive SG who understands the situation of the people of West Papua who are colonized and continued to face human rights abuses on the own land. I note too that when we were at the Pacific Islands Forum last year, PM CS made a lot of bi-laterals with many countries and he talked about the issue of West Papua, for it to come before the Forum Leaders retreat. And at the retreat, PM Salwai took the lead on the issue of West Papua. Because the PM of Solomon Islands was not present so PM Salwai had to do the lobby and he continued to put the issue on the table and he continued to advocate for the issue to come before the United Nations.

“On the level of the work that the government has done, PM Salwai also appointed me as his Special Emissary for me to undertake shuttle diplomacy in the region, starting last month when the Pacific Islands Foreign Ministers meeting was held in Suva, I went there special emissary of the PM to present a case at bi-laterals of member countries to talk about the importance of how PM Salwai and PM Sogovareh see the issue of West Papua.

“I also wish to mention to the people of Vanuatu to understand that when the government of today says that we are shifting the issue of West Papua beyond MSG and beyond the region, it simply means also the level of work government is making outside of the region. In around June this year, at the ACP Ministerial meeting in Brussels, the government assigned me to attend this ministerial meeting with Minister Ralph Regenvanu, and because Minister Regenvanu was engaged with other assignments, I undertook this assignment on behalf of Vanuatu where I tabled the issue of West Papua for the first time in history as an agenda at the ACP Ministerial in Brussels, Belgium.

“I also wish to place on record for the people of Vanuatu to know that government also assigned Ambassador Roy Mickey Joy to do this work in his capacity at the Committee of Ambassadors at the process of ACP to table the issue of West Papua at the Committee of Ambassadors level. The Committee of Ambassadors is comprised of Ambassadors and senior officials of countries based in Brussels to continue to discuss the agenda and formulate resolutions to come to the Ministerial level and at the Ministerial they took up this agenda before it reached the leaders’ level.

“It was the first time too I lobbied with the Secretary General of ACP to continue to maintain this agenda item at the ACP.

“I believe strongly that the government will continue to participate at upcoming ministerial meetings and this issue continues to feature prominently in the agenda of ACP.

“At the same too, with the help provided by the Vanuatu government mission in Brussels, we see a website totally dedicated to ACP and European members to access information on what is happening in West Papua. We all know that today West Papua is a flashpoint, an area of conflict between Melanesia and the Asians, but not country is willing to take this up. We all know too that West Papuans today face a reality of genocide including cultural genocide where thousands of Indonesians everyday flock into West Papua with their immigration policy, which means that the Melanesians will find themselves already a minority in their own land. This is the reason why the people at the time of the New Hebrides were afraid of at that time pushed to have our independence because our land was alienated so much that we were afraid of losing it and our identify. This is an opportunity that the West Papuans have today.

“West Papuans continue to be exposed to human rights abuse and it is sad to see that not every country want to take up this issue.”

“I wish to assure the people of Vanuatu that PM Salwai is making everything necessary and we work under him, the PM assigns us with the mandate to make sure that the voice of the voiceless is heard around the world. And today for the first time, in the last two months the lobby pushed by Vanuatu has reached the Caribbean and today I also wish to say that seven countries in the Caribbean out of 15 are behind the issue of West Papua today. And we continue to lobby with the African Union and I believe that in the coming months the government of Vanuatu will continue to push in the African Union so the countries of Africa are more aware of the issue of West Papua.

“Interestingly, when I conducted a bilateral in June with the government of Belgium, they said they were never aware of West Papua. The issue of West Papua is an issue hidden under a carpet because the press was never allowed to go freely to see the people and to hear from them what happened and their views on the destiny they see for themselves. It is a sad reality that is there.

“The issue now has progress to the international stage and I say this with a lot of confidence that the issue has never taken so much international attention as it is today simple because the government is serious about, there is no second opinion on it as to whether the government will take up the issue or not.

“The government has taken on this role because it is a global country and we are global citizens with obligations to defend such things as human rights, which are parts of the rights of a human being.

In addition to all these, the Prime Ministers of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands are organizing a side event at the UN General Assembly in New York next week to continue to lobby for West Papua, so that when leaders make their political statements at the GA these will reflect these efforts.

Jonas Cullwick, a former General Manager of VBTC is now a Senior Journalist with the Daily Post. Contact: jonas@dailypost.vu. Cell # 678 5460922

September 16, 2017 0

Wansolwara student journos report on West Papua human rights struggle

Student reporter Vilimaina Naqelevuki (left) and Wansolwara chief-of-staff Heather Traill interview Papua New Guinea journalist Alexander Rheeney about West Papua via Skype. Image: Wansolwara

By Vilimaina Naqelevuki in Suva

Media access to West Papua, where more than half a million of its indigenous people have reportedly been killed over five decades, remains restricted.

Full support … West Papuan Independence leader Benny Wenda (in red shirt) holds the banned West Papuan Morning Star flag with key supporter Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare during his visit last year. Image: bennywenda.org

News coverage of the alleged genocide is extremely difficult because of the restrictions on local and foreign media.

Some West Papuan journalists have also died in their effort to tell the truth about the deaths that largely occur in remote rural areas.

This makes news coverage of the alleged atrocities in the Indonesia-occupied land extremely difficult.

West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda, in an online interview, told Wansolwara the restrictions allowed for the atrocities to remain “silenced”.

And even if access was granted after the labyrinthine effort, “journalists cannot go freely to report on politics in West Papua,” he said.

“They will get followed and questioned by Indonesian intelligence and West Papuans will suffer intimidation and threats if they speak to journalists.”

Recent prominence

Papua New Guinea Media Council president Alexander Rheeney said West Papua’s struggle of more than 50 years had only been given prominence in the region’s mainstream media in recent years.

Papua New Guinean journalist Alexander Rheeney, who is also president of the PNG Media Council. Image: PNG Media Council

Less than 10 years ago, the mainstream news media – in neighbouring countries like Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, ignored the situation in West Papua. It was effectively a media “black hole”.

Rheeney said it was more challenging for Pacific journalists whose governments recognised the sovereignty Indonesia had over West Papua.

“The media in PNG have reported on West Papua and all the human rights abuses but not as much as we would want it to despite the fact that PNG and West Papua share a land order,” he said.

The increasing coverage by Pacific news media should be commended, said journalism educator Professor David Robie.

Professor David Robie speaking at the Free Media in West Papua seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia, last month. Image: Alves Fonataba/PMC

Dr Robie, director of the Auckland-based Pacific Media Centre, who has regularly written and published news on West Papua’s struggle for more than three decades, said it was a huge relief that the Pacific was “finally waking up to the issue of West Papua”.

“This an issue of Melanesian solidarity, Pacific solidarity – an issue of self-determination, and the Pacific countries that got independence on a plate ought to be telling this story,”

he said.

Jakarta media freedom conference

Dr Robie was one of the keynote speakers invited last month to the Free Media in West Papua forum at the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2017 conference in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

He spoke along with Indonesian and Papuan human rights activists and Tabloid Jubi editor Victor Mambor of Jayapura.

Pacific Freedom Forum editor Jason Brown said it was an utter disgrace that some in mainstream media published or broadcast stories on wars from other regions and “not in our own backyard”.

“In recent years, RNZI has done a much better job of covering West Papua. The recent closure of shortwave services by Radio Australia, however, means that the region has lost reliable access to news on West Papua from that source,” said Brown.

Rheeney warned that the region could not afford to fail fellow Pacific Islanders of West Papua.

He said to do so would be to doom the Pacific region to more instability.

“If a prosperous Pacific region is to be ensured, the issue of West Papua must be addressed,” he said.

Timor-Leste lessons

“As journalists we can no longer continue to turn a blind eye on all the human rights abuses that is happening.

“The PNG government can no longer turn a blind eye on what is happening on the other side of the border.”

Dr Robie said that informed political decisions could not be reached if the news media were not allowed to report freely on West Papua.

He said this lesson could easily be drawn from East-Timor’s road to independence.

East Timor, which was also occupied by Indonesia in 1975, secured its independence after a handful of journalists exposed the human rights violations through video smuggled out of the Indonesian-ruled territory, especially after the Santa Cruz massacre in the capital Dili in 1991.

Indonesia’s control rapidly fell apart after international pressure.

“In-depth and timely media coverage will save lives as West Papua lurches towards independence — which will come eventually — no matter how hard Jakarta tries to block this,” said Dr Robie.

Rheeney is also optimistic. He said Pacific journalists should continue to report on the issue, to keep the struggle in the news so that lasting solutions were found sooner and more bloodshed is prevented.

Vilimaina Naqelevuki is a final year journalism student with the USP Journalism Programme. Naqelevuki is pursuing a double major in journalism and politics, and is pictures editor of Wansolwara, the student news publication produced by the Journalism Programme.

June 8, 2017 0

‘We’ll not be safe with Indonesia,’ says West Papua’s Benny Wenda

New Zealand MPs pose with the West Papua Freedom Movement's Benny Wenda after signing the International Parliamentarians for West Papua Declaration.

By Kendall Hutt in Auckland

A lifelong campaigner for a free and independent West Papua has issued a stark warning to New Zealand politicians as he visits the country this week.

Benny Wenda with wantok students at the Auckland University of Technology this week. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

Benny Wenda, a tribal chief of West Papua exiled to the United Kingdom by Indonesia, told Asia Pacific Report that time was running out for West Papua if governments such as New Zealand do not act.

“If we live with Indonesia for another 50 years, we will not be safe. We will not be safe with Indonesia.”

He said the purpose of his visit to New Zealand was to highlight the importance of West Papua returning to its Melanesian family.

“We really need Pacific Islanders, our sisters and brothers across the Pacific – particularly New Zealand and Australia – to bring West Papua back to its Pacific family. Then we can survive. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to survive with Indonesia,” he said.

Since Indonesia took over West Papua following a controversial Act of Free Choice – dubbed by critics as an “Act of no choice” – in 1969, Wenda said his people had suffered.

“Everyday someone is dead, or has been killed, and someone has been stabbed, but no one is brought to justice.”

Human rights violations

In its rush to claim former Dutch colonies in the Asia-Pacific region following West Papua’s self-declared independence from the Netherlands in late 1961, Indonesia has subjected West Papua to continued human rights violations.

Many West Papuans have been imprisoned for non-violent expressions of their political views and widespread allegations of torture have been consistently made against Indonesian authorities.

Raising West Papua’s flag – the Morning Star – can incur 15 years in prison.

Wenda, the 42-year-old founder of the Free West Papua Campaign, has himself been imprisoned, accused of inciting an attack on a police station — despite the fact he was not even in the country at the time.

With foreign media all but denied access to West Papua – despite apparent lifting of restrictions by President Joko Widodo in 2015 – much of Indonesia’s atrocities remain secret, hidden.

It is for these very reasons, Wenda said, that West Papua was fighting.

“We are fighting for our independence, but we are also fighting for our land, our forest, our mountains.”

“Lifelong” Free West Papua advocate Benny Wenda says New Zealand support is integral to the global campaign. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC

New Zealand support sought
Wenda is calling for the New Zealand government’s integral commitment to the campaign for a free West Papua.

He said this was because New Zealand had a duty, as a part of the Pacific, to raise awareness of the atrocities in West Papua.

“West Papua is a very close neighbour, so that’s why I hope the New Zealand government will speak more about the human rights situation in West Papua.”

Wenda said it was high time for New Zealand to pull away from its business, trade and investment focus with Indonesia and speak about Indonesia’s human rights abuses.

New Zealand “needs to do more” as a country, he said, because New Zealand is a country which is meant to value human rights, respect the rule of law, freedom of speech and the right to self-determination in other parts of the world.

It is therefore time for New Zealand’s foreign policy on West Papua to change.

“West Papua’s hope is Australia and New Zealand. This is a regional issue, this will never go away from your eyes and this is something you need to look at today. Review your foreign policy and look at West Papua.”

‘We are the gatekeepers’

“Australia and New Zealand need West Papua. We are the gatekeepers, and for security reasons, West Papua is very important,” Wenda said.

Catherine Delahunty, a Green Party MP who has campaigned strongly for West Papua on New Zealand’s political front, echoed Wenda’s views.

“They are insistent – the New Zealand government – that West Papua is part of the territorial integrity of Indonesia, so we can’t get past that critical issue.”

She said she therefore did not have much faith in the current government to step up and was looking for future leadership, such as through the Labour-Greens alliance, to move the campaign for West Papuan self-determination forward on the home front.

AUT doctoral student Stephanie Sageo-Tupungu of Papua New Guinea makes a presentation to Benny Wenda on behalf of the Pacific Media Centre. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC

“I really do think we need a different government that actually has some fundamental commitment to human rights over and above trade and being part of the US military complex around the world. We have to have change to get change. It’s not going to happen through these guys.”

In her eight years in Parliament, Delahunty said the situation in West Papua was the toughest she had had to face.

“This issue, for me, has been one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever worked on. It’s been one of the most horrible and one of the most powerful examples of the cynical use of power and the way in which people can just completely close their eyes.”

Mainstream media role

Both Wenda and Delahunty said in light of the resounding silence surrounding West Papuan media freedom during Indonesia’s hosting of World Press Freedom Day last week that raising awareness of West Papua was key for the world to finding out about the atrocities there.

The mainstream media had a large role to play in this, both acknowledged.

“West Papua really needs the media in terms of the publicity. Media publicity is very important,” Wenda said.

Wenda said it was time for New Zealand’s mainstream to pick up the baton from smaller, independent news agencies and carry stories of West Papua’s atrocities themselves.

“I really hope the mainstream media here carries this. It’s very important. We need more mainstream media. They really need to pick up on this issue.”

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has reported that it was not unusual for both local and foreign journalists in West Papua to be threatened anonymously or by authorities. Data by the Alliance for Independent Journalists (AJI) has revealed there has been an increase in the number of assaults on journalists in the region over the past two years.

There were 78 violent attacks on journalists in 2016, up from 42 attacks in 2015 and 40 in 2014.

The AJI found only a few attackers from those 78 attacks had been brought to justice.

Only last week, independent photojournalist Yance Wenda was arrested and beaten by police while covering a peaceful demonstration, prompting condemnation from RSF that Indonesia was ‘double-dealing’ over media freedom.

‘Everything swept under the carpet’
Wenda said there was deep-seated inaction on Indonesia’s part because of its prejudice in prosecuting people who have attacked and tortured and beaten both West Papuans and also West Papuan journalists.

“Indonesia is getting away with impunity. Nobody is brought to justice. Everything is swept under the carpet.”

Delahunty reflected, however, that the world was seeing the lack of free and frank reporting play out in West Papua.

“We see the consequences of nearly fifty years of no honesty about West Papua and it’s just up the road. It breaks my heart, but it also fires me up because I really believe there are some very, very brave young people, including journalists, who are committed to this issue and I guess it’s that thing: if you have a voice, use it.”

This was Wenda’s call to an audience gathered at his talk at the Pacific Media Centre-hosted Auckland University of Technology on Tuesday evening.

“Today you are the messengers for West Papua.”

Wenda highlighted a “united” Pacific was key in raising awareness of the “Melanesian genocide” occurring in West Papua.

Benny Wendy with wantok students…representing a “united” Pacific for West Papua. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

‘United’ Pacific key

He called on his “brothers and sisters”, but was deeply thankful of the support given already by several Pacific nations for West Papua’s cause.

These nations raised grave concerns regarding human rights violations in West Papua at the 34th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in March.

Recent declarations by both the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu were also acknowledged by Wenda.

“We cried for 50 years, but then these countries sacrificed to take on this issue.”

Wenda told the Solomon Islanders and the people of Vanuatu gathered they should “be proud” and that their action was something to “take away in your head and heart”.

Wenda also told the remainder of his audience it was “ordinary people” and “mostly young generations” who were needed to continue the fight, with social media being their greatest tool.

Delahunty added people power and the growing solidarity movement across the globe were also central.

“The only way they’ll speak and respond to this issue at all is if we have growing public pressure and that’s the job of all of us, both inside parliament and outside parliament to raise the issue and to make it something people will feel accountable for, otherwise we just ignore the plight of our neighbours and the killing, torture, environmental desecration and human rights abuses continue.”

Wenda and Delahunty both closed their interviews with a clear message for Indonesia: “Start talking, start listening, and stop thinking that you can ever brow beat people into the dust because you want their resources because in the end, the human spirit doesn’t work like that and these people will never give up. It’s up to us to support them.”

Kendall Hutt is contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch.

Free West Papua advocate Benny Wenda presents Pacific Media Centre Professor David Robie with a traditional “bilum” for his journalism about West Papuan freedom. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC

May 13, 2017 1

Papuan independence leader pushes cause abroad

The West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda says international support for his people’s cause is steadily growing.

Mr Wenda is in New Zealand this week, raising awareness about the Indonesian-administered region of Papua, or West Papua, which he fled in 2003.

Last night in Wellington he addressed a group of MPs, after which eleven members signed a declaration by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua.

This international organisation of MPs is calling for an internationally supervised self-determination vote in West Papua.

Mr Wenda spoke to Johnny Blades and began by talking about a core issue of mistrust between Papuans and the Indonesian state.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz

Transcript

BENNY WENDA: Distrust between Papuan and Indonesian… Jakarta always suspicious of every West papuan, whoever works in the government or ordinary people. So they’re suspicious and they’re always worried because Indonesia knows that their presence in West Papua is illegal. So they always worry. People who are working in Indonesia, in Jayapura or West Papua, they are always suspicious on them. So there is zero trust between Jakarta and Papuans, very much.

JOHNNY BLADES: This government under President Jokowi seems to have made more of an effort to listen to Papuans or to try and improve conditions on the ground, compared to previous Indonesian governments, would you agree with that?

BW: Yeah, the current president always constantly visits West Papua, almost two or three times a year. But the reality is, the governments are controlled by military. So the current president does not have power to change the situation in West Papua.

JB: There’s a lot happening in West Papua at the moment, isn’t there? The (outgoing) governor of Jakarta has been sentenced for blasphemy, and there are these radical elements who are sort of whipping up dissatisfaction with the Jokowi government. Tito Karnavian has warned that if that movement isn’t stopped, then there’ll be unrest in places like Papua. Would you agree with that?

BW: There’s a few elements that are trying to gain power, and there’s a politics angle in that, in what’s happening in Jakarta, because the military want to control. The current government is a civillian government, and so I think they want to go back where it was. So that’s why there’s a few elements like Wiranto and Prabowo trying to gain power and using these fundamentalists to manipulate them. That’s what’s happening in Indonesia. It’s something will change and unrest will happen.

JB: Do you ever hear from Indonesian government people trying to send you messages or anything?

BW: Until today they never say anything.

JB: But they are well aware of the work you’re doing. You are travelling around the world and lobbying, and things are starting to move a bit.

BW: Yeah, they’re working very hard trying to stop me, where ever I go. But this fight is not about who gains power, but this is about a humanitarian issue and this is human rights issue. That’s why I strongly believe that our right to self-determination still exists. This is something that I believe in. So Indonesia cannot stop me. My people and myself decide to free, so they cannot stop us. That’s why I’m confident.

JB: The Pacific Coalition on West Papua, which includes seven countries and of course a big civil society and church network, and the West Papuan Liberation Movement, has really internationalised the issue lately, including at the African, Caribbean and Pacific group summit this month.

BW: Yeah this is a big shift in the Pacific because Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are backing this issue, and we have formed the Pacific Coalition on West Papua, chaired by Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare. So the Manasseh Sogavare leadership is bringing a big impact on the West Papua issue. And the seven countries (of the coalition) I joined. It brings the West Papua case in United Nations level. So this is a big thing to change now. So we also got support from African, Caribbean and the Pacific. So this is a growing number and solidarity around the world.

JB: There’s a goal, isn’t there, to push Indonesia to have a legitimate self-determination process for the Papuans. Is that the ultimate goal?

BW: Yes that is the the ultimate goal. In fact today we signed the declaration. It’s part of the support for an internationally-supervised vote. And that Pacific Coalition and all that are part of the world, we are pushing that direction.

JB: Just now we’ve seen some New Zealand MPs sign up to it. MPs from other regions in the world have signed up to it. But can it make a difference when it comes to Jakarta?

BW: I think that at the moment, more people finding out, and parliamentarians around the world are solidarity with the people of West Papua. And here today we are signing the declaration, it’s cross-party. It’s not one particular party but Labour, Greens, National, they’re all signing the declaration. So this is, they show that around the world this fight is about a humanitarian issue. People believe in justice and freedom. That’s why these MPs are signing the declaration for West Papua internationally-supervised vote.

JB: There’s so many tribes in West Papua, could it function well as a nation on its own.

BW: Yeah I think we’ve been through many experiences in the last 50 years. We’ve learnt a lot, and we are travelling a lot. So Indonesia might say it’s a failed state. But we’ve are ready to take back our country because this is a last fight against colonialism, and we know that our neighbouring country in the Pacific they already got independence. And we also learn from them. We’re working together to rebuild a new country democratically.

May 11, 2017 0

Banned Papua flag raised near Indonesian ship in NZ

A group demonstrating in front of an Indonesian naval ship in Auckland raised the Morning Star flag in support of West Papuans.

Indonesia’s KRI Banda Aceh is one of numerous warships from other countries currently in New Zealand participating in the New Zealand Navy’s 75th birthday celebration.

Demonstrators in Auckland hold up Morning Star flag to Indonesian sailors Photo: supplied

The demonstration against Indonesian military involvement in West Papua was held by the solidarity groups Oceania Interrupted and West Papua Action Auckland.

Oceania Interrupted spokesperson Leilani Salesa says the demonstrators made sure their presence was felt.

She says they stood next to the naval ship holding the Papuan Morning Star flag which is banned in Indonesia.

“And to do an act that we know brothers and sister in West Papua would be punished for was a really powerful for us and it sends a very powerful message that the world is watching and we stand in opposition to the atrocities that they continue to commit.”

Raising the West Papuan flag is a crime in Indonesia punishable with years in prison.

Activists in Auckland concerned about Indonesian military Photo: supplied

November 22, 2016 0

Questions Over Jakarta’s Push for Australia Messenger Role

Radio NZ – 1 November 2016

There are questions over the effectiveness of a push by Indonesia to have Australia lean on Pacific countries to not talk about West Papua.

Indonesian Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu. — Ryamizard Ryacudu Photo: SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP

Indonesia’s Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has urged Australia to rebuke Pacific states, in particular Solomon Islands, for raising Papua in global fora.

He urged Canberra to speak to Honiara on the matter because Australia contributes a big aid package in the Solomons.

Pacific leaders at the UN General Assembly expressed concern about human rights abuses in Papua. Top L to R: Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai; Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare; Tonga Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva. Bottom L to R: Nauru President Baron Waqa; Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine; Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga Photo: UN Photo

“In fact, the one thing that Pacific island countries really value is their sovereignty, so it is not as if Australia can just tell them what to do.” – Dr Stewart Firth 3′ :19″

from Dateline Pacific

A Research Fellow at the Australian National University’s State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program, Stewart Firth, said Jakarta has misinterpreted Australia’s relationship with Pacific countries.

“These are sovereign states. And in particular in the case of Solomon Islands, Solomon Islands has a right to do that [speak out about West Papua] as a sovereign country, and Australia’s not in a very good position to tell them differently”, Dr Firth said.

“The one thing that Pacific Island countries really value is their sovereignty.

“Of course there continues to be big bilateral aid, but that doesn’t mean you can then determine a country’s foreign policy,” he said.

Dr Firth said Jakarta’s sensitivity is evident in multiple representations on the matter by government ministers.

“What’s worrying the Indonesians is the way in which this whole question of membership in the MSG has assumed a kind of symbolic political value to West Papuan independence activists,” he said.

“And earlier this year we saw major demonstrations in a number of towns in West Papua, for which people were arrested and so on, because they were demonstrating in favour of West Papuan membership in the MSG.”

November 19, 2016 0

Jakarta Diplomacy Odd and Backwards, ULMWP

Radio NZ – 3 November 2016

A warning by Indonesia’s Defence Minister for Pacific countries not to speak out about West Papua has been described as an odd and backward form of diplomacy.

The Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu urged Australia to rebuke Pacific states, in particular Solomon Islands, for raising West Papua in global forums and inviting Papuans to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

Indonesia's Defence Minister for Pacific countries says Indonesia is a sleeping tiger that can attack if disturbed. Photo: AFP — Indonesia’s Defence Minister for Pacific countries says Indonesia is a sleeping tiger that can attack if disturbed. Photo: AFP

He subsequently told Australian media that it’s better if Canberra delivers the warning to Pacific governments, because if it was left to him he would ‘twist their ears’.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s Pacific regional ambassador Akabou Amatus Douw said the minister’s statements in the past week show a militaristic attitude, out of touch with Pacific Islanders.

At September’s UN General Assembly session, leaders of seven Pacific states spoke out about rights abuses in Papua and on support for Papuan self-determination.

Pacific leaders at the UN General Assembly expressed concern about human rights abuses in Papua. Left to right: Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai; Solomon Islands Prime Minsister Manasseh Sogavare; Tonga Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva; Nauru President Baron Waqa; Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine; Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga Photo: UN Photo

Ryamizard warned that Indonesia would not stay silent when its sovereignty is compromised – he described Indonesia as a sleeping tiger that can attack if disturbed.

Mr Douw said the minister’s sleeping tiger analogy was, in a sense, apt.

“This expression is symbolic,” he explained, “meaning that Indonesia’s sleeping face [will] never wake up to see what [is] their wrongdoing with massive atrocities and genocide to the Papuan minority.”

The ULMWP, which has observer status in the MSG, is pushing for full membership in the group, something opposed by Indonesia which is an associate MSG member.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua’s ambassador for Australia and Pacific countries, Amatus Douw. Photo: RNZI

Mr Douw has urged the leaders of Australia and Indonesia to have a robust discussion on West Papua.

The Indonesian President Joko Widodo is due to have his first state visit to Australia this month for bilateral talks with Australia’s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Douw is pushing for the two governments to abolish the Lombok Treaty between the two countries which formalised both governments’ agreement to oppose Papuan separatism.

“This already became a hell policy,” said Mr Douw, “because the fact that Australian government trained Indonesian army who evolved in killing and torturing Papuan freedom fighter then we indicated that killing of younger generation is new form of genocide.”

November 19, 2016 0

Solomons won’t enter media duel with Jakarta

Radio NZ– The Solomon Islands government says it’s not in a position to respond to a warning from Indonesia’s government not to speak out about West Papua.

The Solomon Islands Special Envoy on West Papua Rex Horoi told the Assembly that Indonesia should allow UN Special Rapporteurs into West Papua. Photo: UN Video

Indonesia’s Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has urged Australia to pass on a message to Pacific Island governments to not interfere in Indonesian domestic affairs.

In media comments in the past week, he pressed Canberra to rebuke Pacific states, in particular Solomon Islands, for raising Papua in global forums and inviting Papuans to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Photo: AFP

The Solomons’ envoy on West Papua, Rex Horoi, said his government won’t respond to what is effectively a media statement.

“Due to the fact that we have not received any formal communication (on the matter) either from Jakarta or from Canberra, why should we respond at this stage? Therefore we will not respond until we receive such communication through diplomatic channels,” he said.

Mr Ryacudu also told Australian media that it is better if Canberra delivers the warning to Pacific governments, because if it was left to him he would ‘twist their ears’ and described Indonesia as a sleeping tiger that can attack if disturbed.

However Mr Horoi said Pacific countries raised Papua in global fora because West Papuans lives matter.

“We speak collectively on abuse and human rights violations in West Papua because we have received reliable sources of information,” he explained, “and therefore that is the collective concern of the civil society, public and governments of the region.”

Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has confirmed having discussed West Papua last week with the Indonesian Defence Minister, but wouldn’t be pressed on whether Canberra will pass the warning on.

November 4, 2016 0

Stand on West Papua, NC unchanged: PM Salwai

Port Vila – DailyPost – Vanuatu Prime Minister has reiterated the government and the country’s stand for the independence of West Papua and New Caledonia, as unchanged.

Prime Minister Salwai, made the statement Tuesday afternoon when he officiated at the opening of a Kanaky-West Papua Exhibition at the National Cultural Centre in Port Vila.

He said despite Vanuatu being supportive of the New Caledonia Government, and that of French Polynesia for them to become members of the Pacific Islands Forum, this does not change the stand of Vanuatu and the people of Vanuatu which remains strong and unchanged for West Papua and New Caledonia and French Polynesia towards self-governing.

The Vanuatu Prime Minister went further to stressed that the exhibition is a self-evidence of the desire for the Melanesian people of Kanaky, West Papua to run their life and freedom

He said emphasized that Vanuatu continues to support their struggle for freedom of the two Melanesian neighbours at regional and international level. Prime Minister Salwai pointed out that the recent call by Vanuatu in support for their freedom was at the United Nations Meeting in New York.

He assured the people of West Papua who organized the exhibition that Vanuatu’s position in support of West Papua becoming member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) remain unchanged.

Prime Minister Salwai, said the MSG Meeting that was supposed to have taken place in Port Vila week before last, will now take place in December of this year, to address the application of West Papua to become member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, MSG.

ligo@dailypost.vu

October 14, 2016 0

DLP calls for all political parties to join nation-wide Solidarity Day in support of West Papuans on December 1st

June 21, 2016 by admin

Click here for full media release: Premier Andrews called to support Solidarity for West Papuans

Excerpt below:

The Democratic Labour Party Member of Parliament, Dr Rachel Carling-Jenkins today introduced a motion into the Victorian State parliament calling for:

“the Government to show support for the plight of the people of West Papua by establishing a West Papuan Solidarity Day, including a public raising of the Morning Star Flag, commencing Thursday, 1 December 2016 and continuing on 1 December each year until the United Nations free vote is held.”

Dr Carling-Jenkins advised the parliament that: “West Papua was forcibly annexed by Indonesia in 1962 and since that time the West Papuan people have suffered from atrocities such as torture, murder, rape, oppression, forced removal of their children, and other crimes against humanity by the Indonesian authorities.

The Democratic Labour Party Federal Secretary, Stephen Campbell, states that the DLP believes there has been a decades long cover up by consecutive Australian governments who have turned a blind eye to the sufferings of the West Papuan people in return for favourable treatment by the Indonesian government.

“Surely history has taught us that no good can come by ignoring the sufferings of oppressed people” Mr Campbell stated.

“How can we, as Australians, deal with any nation who can invade a neighbouring country then treat the citizens of that country with the sort of inhumane treatment the Indonesians have handed out to the West Papuans? Has East Timor taught us nothing?”

The Democratic Labour Party is calling for all political parties to join them in their call for a nation-wide Solidarity Day in support of the West Papuans on December 1st.

“The DLP will be contacting every party in this country and asking for them to turn up with their supporters in every capital city in Australia on December 1st” Mr Campbell said.

“This is one time when party politics must disappear. None of us should seek anything except justice for the West Papuan people and the full compassion of the Australian people.”
Filed Under: Media Releases, News, West Papua

October 10, 2016 0