Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
Media release 25 April 2014
"Lest we forget"- West Papua
As Australians and New Zealanders remember those who fought and lost their lives for their country, it is hoped that
people will also give a thought to those Indigenous people who died in Australia's frontier wars and remember those who
are still not free in our region.
Banner at Aboriginal tent embassy Canberra
Joe Collins of AWPA said "It is not widely known, especially by the younger generation that the people of West Papua
fought with the allied forces, Australian and American against the Japanese who had invaded West Papua then known Dutch
New Guinea. Australians operated particularly in the Merauke region of West Papua. In what many consider a betrayal and
hotly debated in the Australian parliament at the time, Australia acted against the wishes of the West Papuan people for
independence. Australia supported the fraudulent act of free choice and actively impeded West Papuan leaders from going
to the UN in New York carrying testimonies from many West Papuan leaders calling for independence".
Australia continues to ignore the human rights abuses in West Papua, our second closest neighbour after PNG.
In its March update "Papuans behind bars” stated that there are at least 73 political prisoners in Papuan jails. The
least the Australian government could do is urge the Indonesian government to release all the political prisoners.
Background to Australian involvement in West Papua