ULMWP Press Release of Indonesian President’s visit to PNG
May 9, 2015
United Liberation Movement of West Papua
9 May2015. Press Release. For Immediate release
Melanesian solidarity can resist Indonesian pressure
Event: Visit of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Papua New Guinea on 10 and 11 May to meet Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s visit to Papua New Guinea this week represents Jakarta’s latest heavy-handed attempt to pressure members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) into not supporting West Papua’s application for membership.
The diplomatic importance of the meeting cannot be overstated with a critical MSG meeting upcoming on 21 May. At that meeting Foreign Ministers from member states are due to discuss West Papua’s membership request submitted by the ULMWP on 5 February 2015. However, the 20th MSG Leaders’ Meeting in July is the only body charged with being able to make a final decision on any membership application.
The ULMWP anticipates that Indonesian President Widodo is travelling to Port Moresby to try and drive a wedge between Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and fellow members of the MSG. Indonesia, which is an observer member of the MSG, is opposed to West Papuan membership of the sub-regional organisation. In February, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji in another attempt to suppress support for West Papua.
In advance of President Widodo’s visit to Papua New Guinea, ULMWP spokesman Benny Wenda stated:
“From one Melanesian to another, I thank Prime Minister O’Neill for his recent expression of support for the West Papuan people and to speak out on our behalf. Papua New Guinea has always been our big brother in Melanesia and across the Pacific.”
President Widodo’s trip comes hot on the heels of his visit to West Papua last week, which involved deployment of more than 6,000 security personnel.
The ULMWP urges Prime Minister O’Neill to stress to President Widodo that the Human Rights situation in West Papua remains grave. Hundreds were arrested during peaceful demonstrations on 1 May in West Papua illustrating that the systematic clampdown on freedom of expression remains.
The ULMWP particularly stresses the need for justice for the murder of four unarmed schoolboys and two men in Nabire, December 2014, who were gunned down reportedly by soldiers from 753 Battalion Arga Vira Tama (AVT) Nabire. Despite compelling evidence, an investigation by the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights has failed to identify the perpetrators.
Commenting on the atrocity, Mr. Wenda said:
“President Widodo of Indonesia has still not fulfilled his promise made during his December visit to West Papua to bring to justice the Nabire killers. His lack of action undermines his latest visit to West Papua. While the killers go free and he surrounds himself with a heavy military presence during his visit, we Papuans are still mourning the Nabire victims.”
The ULMWP will remind all MSG member countries that West Papua has fulfilled its obligations to provide a united voice for West Papua by forming the umbrella coordinating body of the ULMWP in December 2014. The ULMWP supports and reaffirms the MSG Leaders Communique of 2013 which,
“endorsed that the MSG fully supports the inalienable rights of the people of West Papua towards self-determination as provided for under the preamble of the MSG constitution.”
Contact:
Mr Benny Wenda
West Papuan independence leader
Spokesperson for the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP)
Contact Number: +44 7411 053953
Email: office@bennywenda.org