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James Marape and Joko Widodo attend the 2nd Papua New Guinea-Indonesia Business Forum in Jakarta on July 14.
photo: Prime Minister and National Economic Council
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said West Papua falls within Indonesian sovereignty and therefore it is their responsibility to meet demands for independence.
But United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) leader Benny Wenda told RNZ Pacific the issue had nothing to do with sovereignty.
Marape was answering questions from Papua New Guinea journalists before leaving for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (PIFLM53). The disaster struck Tonga on Monday..
The Papua New Guinea prime minister was asked whether the summit would openly discuss the West Papua issue, especially in light of Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s Advocating for West Papua.
Marape said that just as Papua New Guinea does not want its neighbors to talk about sovereignty issues within its territory, Indonesia does not want its neighbors to talk about West Papua and its sovereignty.
He said all other areas of relations with Indonesia, such as the economy, would be discussed at the meeting.
He said Indonesia’s new president has pledged to pay more attention to indigenous customs, culture and land rights and protect their heritage.
Benny Venda
photo: RNZ Pacific/Kelvin Anthony
However, Wenda told New Zealand Pacific Radio: “This has nothing to do with sovereignty.”
“But this is discrimination because we are different black Christians. This is why Indonesia is committing genocide and ecocide against West Papua.”
He said the indigenous West Papuans faced the same problems as the Kanak people of New Caledonia.
“This is our sovereign nation, our ancestral land, it was stolen, so we have the right to live in our sovereign nation of West Papua.”
Wenda said the people of Papua New Guinea needed to question whether the government supported genocide.
He asked: “Where is Christian unity? Where is it if they allow this to happen to their brothers?”
He said Pacific leaders had a “moral obligation” to find solutions for the indigenous Kanak and West Papuan peoples.
“The world is watching how Pacific leaders treat these two countries that are fighting colonialism, imperialism, and then engaging in ecocide, genocide or illegal occupation.
“This is Melanesian territory. This is Pacific territory.”
He added that Pacific leaders must make bold decisions on the issue.
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, center, shakes hands with supporters after a news conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 17, 2019.
photo: AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana
Meanwhile, the Sydney-based West Papua Association of Australia urged Pacific leaders attending the Tonga meeting to “continue to strongly urge Jakarta to not only allow the Pacific Islands Forum fact-finding mission to West Papua, but also to complete a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the region”.
In March, the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington said: “The Indonesian government is committed to a long-standing policy of respecting and promoting human rights and a strict policy of zero tolerance for misconduct. (Original text) Security forces.”
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