Forum leaders should raise West Papua with Indonesia
AWPA Sydney urges the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Tonga this week to discus the gravely deteriorating
situation in West Papua.
There are ongoing human rights abuses in West Papua and since last year's PIF meeting, the situation has deteriorated
with increasing intimidation of human rights defenders and church leaders to stop them bringing to the world's
attention the human rights abuses being committed by the police and military in West Papua.
Joe Collins of AWPA said "Because Australia has signed a treaty with Indonesia, The Lombok Treaty, it is to be expected
that Australia will try and keep West Papua off the agenda. However, it is hoped the other Pacific leaders including the
New Zealand Prime Minister will raise concerns about the human rights situation in the territory.
It should be remembered that West Papua has always been considered part of the Pacific Community. Netherlands New
Guinea, as West Papua was then known, was a member of the South Pacific Commission (SPC), a forerunner to the PIF A
West Papuan representative attended the first SPC Conference and West Papuans continued to participate in the SPC
meetings until the Dutch ceded their authority to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in 1962.
It's time for West Papua to be brought back into the Pacific community by the Forum. West Papua sould be granted
observer status as has already been granted to a number of non-sovereign territories, Collins said.
Indonesia attends the PIF as a post forum dialogue partner. If the Forum granted observer status to West Papua, the
Forum could become an excellent arena for the Indonesian and West Papuan representatives to meet and attempt to solve
the many issues of concern in West Papua.
ENDS