1) West Papua divisive agenda item for Melanesian summit
2) Rally June 16 rally in Perth
3) Paris asked to deny Bainimarama visa for New Caledonia.
4) A one-man campaign against Indonesia from a small attic office could cost Britain billions
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http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/west-papua-divisive-agenda-item-for-melanesian-summit/1145188
1) West Papua divisive agenda item for Melanesian summit
Updated 13 June 2013, 10:03 AEST
Indonesia, which has observer status with the MSG will attempt to block a bid for full membership by the a coalition representing West Papuan independence advocates.
The West Papuans have been invited for the first time to send a delegation to the MSG Summit.
Presenter: Geraldine Coutts
Speaker: Sean Dorney, Australian Network Pacific Correspondent
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2) Rally June 16 rally in Perth
https://www.facebook.com/events/193406224151601/
- Sunday, June 16, 2013
- 1:00pm until 2:30pm in UTC+08
- Wesley Uniting Church Corner (cnr William & Hay Sts, Perth City)
Dear Friends and human rights activists.
The Perth based Free West Papuan Campaign will join Refugee Rights Action Network on Sunday, 16 June 2013.
We are going to do peaceful rally on current West Papuan human rights abuses:
1.To Free West Papua Prisoners
2.To demand the right of self-determination and to support the Summit of Melanesian Spearhead Groups (MSG) in Noumea, New Caledonia.
3.To demand International community to put pressure on Indonesian President to allow International Journalists, media and UN human rights monitor enter West Papua NOW.
4.The anniversary of Mako Tabuni dead killed by Australian Government funded detachment 88 immunity military join forcers of Indonesian.
Please join us to rise awareness on refugee rights, Free Refugee from detention centers and stand up for the voiceless Papuan people who is struggle to free themselves from slow motion genocide from Immunity Military Government of Indonesia. Approximately 100 000 to 500 000 thousand people have been killed for over 50 years and it is not heard even Australian the closes country of Papua New Guinea. Wants to know more about West Papua please isit: www.freewestpapua.org and please like the Facebook pages: Free West Papua Campaign and Free West Papua Campaign Australia.
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Posted at 03:39 on 13 June, 2013 UTC
A leading New Caledonian politician has asked France to refuse a visa to the Fiji regime leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who is due in Noumea next week for the summit of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
The request was made by one of the territory’s members of the French National Assembly and former president, Philippe Gomes, in a letter to the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius.
However since early February, Commodore Bainimarama has been to France twice to look at the new planes the national airline has bought.
The MSG meeting’s host, Victor Tutugoro, says as far as he knows, the visa has been granted.
Denouncing the military dictatorship in Fiji, Mr Gomes says the democratic process there has broken down.
After objections by Mr Gomes a year ago, Commodore Bainimarama called off his planned visit to New Caledonia on short notice, with the MSG saying the environment was not conducive for a mission.
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4) A one-man campaign against Indonesia from a small attic office could cost Britain billions
From a small attic office in a shabbier part of Oxford a one-man independence crusade is busy jeopardising one of Britain's most important growing foreign relationships – and with it billions of pounds in potential investments.
Benny Wenda, a 38-year-old exile from the Pacific territory of West Papua, has recently opened an office on the Cowley Road for his campaign seeking independence for the Indonesian-run half of the island of New Guinea.
Mr Wenda has lived and worked in the university city since 2005, but since opening the office in April has quickly expanded his following in Britain and overseas, and become a major diplomatic thorn in ties with Indonesia.
With a presidential election looming next year, street protests have erupted in Jakarta, parliamentary rows have broken out and even the country's army has called for action following internet reports about his Oxford operation.
Leading candidates have demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono review a £7.5 billion natural gas investment deal struck by BP in the waters off Papua, as well as other British investments.
Mark Canning, the British ambassador to Jakarta, was hauled in by Indonesia's foreign ministry for a dressing down. He tried to calm tensions by reiterating that Britain remained committed to Indonesia's territorial integrity.
But the complaints from the burgeoning southeast Asian state, which is a major priority for British trade and diplomacy, triggered a formal appeal to the Indonesians from Whitehall not to "allow" the row to derail the relationship, a source close to the matter said.
"It is vital that we do not allow the West Papua issue to damage our work with Indonesia," the Telegraph was told.
Despite the modesty of his accommodation, a 10ft by 10ft bureau, Mr Wenda exerts a powerful presence as he relays a compelling personal story of his journey from persecuted child to British citizenship.
As a boy he says he watched Indonesian troops rape his aunt at the bottom of the family garden. Later he was slapped in the face by an Indonesian schoolmate merely for trying to engage her in conversation. After arrest for his political activities, he escaped his homeland by plane from a jungle landing strip after a daring prison break.
"For the last 50 years we have struggled for freedom but nobody knows that West Papua is a prison, that we are slaves to the Indonesian military and that at least 500,000 men and women have been killed in a genocide," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"Since I came here to Oxford I have had a simple message and tell my own story. I have travelled around the world to tell people this is a 21st century struggle."
Unlike the rest of the Dutch East Indies, West Papua was not automatically included in the new Indonesian republic that emerged after the Second World War. But Jakarta has asserted its sovereignty over the oil and mineral rich territory after a United Nations-approved referendum in 1969.
West Papuans activists rejected the outcome of the vote, claiming that just a few thousand people voted at gunpoint out of a population of just over a million.
The territory is now Indonesia's richest in terms of resources but poorest in terms of income. Nevertheless it has become a magnet for mainland Indonesians who are flocking to the island for jobs, encouraged by a government policy that campaigners have condemned as a deliberate attempt to settle a loyal majority.
"Indonesia is plainly worried that someone will force them to hold vote and they will lose," said Charles Foster, an Oxford academic who has known Mr Wenda since he arrived as a refugee. "That's why they have a policy of bringing in people who will vote for unification."
While Indonesia continues to imprison Papuan activists on the island, it has failed to contain the groundswell of support abroad.
According to Mr Foster, the attempts to muzzle Mr Wenda are an extension of the repression Jakarta metes out at home.
Jennifer Robinson, an Australian lawyer who represents Mr Wenda, said: "The complaints from Indonesia to the British government demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the rights of freedom of association and freedom of speech.
"Benny is a peaceful advocate who is seeking rights for his people that they are entitled to under international law.
"That the Indonesians are asking for his office to be shut down demonstrates a lack of understanding of British tradition of human rights."
However a spokesman for the Indonesian embassy in London said the country was determined to ensure that the British stance on Papuan independence did not change.
"We want to make sure that the British government is more wary of the separatists who are willing to twist the position of officials to make it appear that their cause is gaining support," he said.
While the Government has acknowledged the prospect of worsening ties, diplomats are hopeful that they can avoid retaliation in trade or other spheres.
Indonesia is not only oil-rich, it is also the world's largest Muslim nation and boasts a robust economy that is attracting British investors.
As a UK citizen, Mr Wenda no longer fears repatriation. His tireless efforts to spread the cause of West Papuan freedom led him to travel to perform at music festivals, give speeches to university students and seek the support of international leaders.
His growing fame led to an appearance in front of 2,500 people at the Sydney Opera House. Within hours the Indonesian government was protesting to Australia.
"Indonesia is still trying to hunt me down," he said. "My focus is self-determination for my people and I know I will achieve freedom for my homeland."
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