Saturday, November 24, 2018

1) ULMWP Calls for National Day of Prayer in West Papua



2) West Papuans demand Melanesian Spearhead Group reviews Indonesia’s status

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1) ULMWP Calls for National Day of Prayer in West Papua






23rd November 2018

On behalf of the West Papuan people, the ULMWP calls for a National Day of Prayer in West Papua to take place on 1st December 2018. This day will commemorate the 57th anniversary of the day the West Papuan flag was first raised, and our national symbols were first recognised. 1st December is a day of hope for all West Papuans as we remember the day that we stood in 1961 watching our national flag the Morning Star being raised for the very first time. We stood then as we do now, with full freedom in our hearts and minds, remembering the promise of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for West Papua’s independence.
Therefore, the ULMWP calls for this National Day of Prayer to take place from Sorong to Samarai and all corners of West Papua. The ULMWP appeals for all sectors of all groups and organisations in West Papua, both those formally affiliated with the ULMWP and not, along with all civil society to participate in the day. The ULMWP also appeals for the participation of all churches and religious denominations around the country. On 1st December, all regular activity will stop as we peacefully commemorate this day and pray for the self-determination and freedom of our nation. This commemoration has been approved by both the Executive and Legislative Committees of the ULMWP.
Moving forwards into 2019, we will continue to mobilise and work with all sectors of society to drive the collective aspirations and agenda of the West Papuan people forward. We will show the Indonesian government and the world that an independence referendum is the only solution for West Papua. For over 50 years, successive colonial Indonesian governments have kept us silent, but we have no need to fear as now is the time for our voice to be heard. This is the day to reveal ourselves to our neighbouring countries and to the international community, and to assert with pride that we are West Papuan and not Indonesian.
Fundamental to 1st December is unity, from 1961 until now. The Morning Star flag was raised in 1961, with both the hope of our nation and the trust of our ancestors in us to stand united in liberating our country from colonial rule. Ever since the illegal “Act of Free Choice” of 1969, Indonesia has tried to divide West Papuans and turn us against one another. We will not be divided. We will stand together as one, under our one flag for our one destiny of independence.
Independence and the recognition of national identity are the right of all nations and as a nation, we the people of West Papua have the right to commemorate our national day and celebrate our national identity in peace. Therefore, the ULMWP calls upon the Indonesian government to respect 1st December as the day West Papua’s national flag and other national symbols were first recognised, and not to arrest, abuse or in any way hinder the commemoration of this national day.
On behalf of the ULMWP and the people of West Papua, I also call for international solidarity with our freedom struggle and for the West Papuan flag to be raised around the world. The increasing advocacy of international supporters we see every year continues to bring more hope and confidence for the people of West Papua. As Chairman of the ULMWP I therefore appeal to all solidarity organisations and individuals from the international community to take action for West Papua on 1st December, in support of our demand for a referendum.
From now until West Papua is free, the ULMWP will continue to mobilise around civil resistance and collective actions nationally and continue to expand our diplomatic lobbying internationally. Through this, the ULMWP will focus on our demand as West Papua moves towards full freedom at last. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the West Papuan freedom struggle as we journey together as united as ever in our one agenda of independence through self-determination.
With hope in our hearts, let us come together and stand as one people with one soul and one destiny for West Papua’s freedom.
May God bless West Papua.
Benny Wenda
Chairman of The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP)
November 23, 2018

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2) West Papuans demand Melanesian Spearhead Group reviews Indonesia’s status


UNITED LIBERATION MOVEMENT FOR WEST PAPUA
 
Winston Churchill St, Port Vila, Vanuatu
 
TEL  +61 42025 0389;  61 49786 7070
 
EMAIL  spokesperson@ulmwp.org;  rumbiakjacob@gmail.com

MEDIA STATEMENT, Tuesday 20 November 2018
The United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) demands the MSG immediately reviews Indonesia’s status in the intergovernment forum after yesterday’s unwarranted arrest and incarceration of ULMWP Executive Director Markus Haluk, and dozens of students during a commemorative prayer meeting in Jayapura.
MSG Summit leaders in 2015 upgraded Indonesia’s status from observer (2011) to Associate Member, believing they could assist mediate the republic’s long-standing conflict with the independence-seeking West Papuans.
However, Syaprin Zahidi (2018) from Muhammadiyah Malang University in East Java, after interviews with Indonesian Government Foreign Affairs officials, found that Indonesia’s motive for joining the MSG was quite the opposite:
“… to maintain domestic stability which, in this context refers to closing down separatist movements such as the Free Papua Movement that receives international support from Melanesian countries sharing the same racial background [and] to prevent the Melanesian intergovernmental organization from supporting such separatist groups”.[1]
Zahidi found that government officials have been impressed by the benefits of MSG membership:
“….since becoming an Associate Member, Indonesia’s bargaining power in the MSG has been increasing, since Indonesia can propose requirements and participate in every MSG activity. This means Indonesia can monitor the direction of MSG policies… and prepare policy formulas in case MSG policies are counter to the national interest
[and]
“ … despite the organization’s economic insignificance, membership of the MSG makes it easier for Indonesia to take part (or influence) any policies issued by the MSG, by providing financial support to member countries.”
Government officials interviewed by Zahidi do not mention ‘democracy’, or ‘fairness’ or ’accountability’, despite PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill stipulating during the 2018 MSG Summit in Port Moresby that ‘MSG members are equal’.
The ULMWP claims that since it joined the MSG in 2015, twenty-thousand West Papuans have been arrested, tortured and incarcerated for voicing their right to self-determination, and that at least one-hundred Papuans have ‘disappeared’ (that is, cannot be found and are presumed dead).  In July 2018, after extreme levels of state-violence against West Papuan students in Malang, Sulawesi, Bali and West Papua, and the release of a report by Amnesty International, Don’t bother, just let him die, Killing with impunity in West Papua, the ULMWP requested President Jokowi to voluntarily remove his nation from the UN Security Council before taking its seat in January 2019.[2]
After this most recent assault, the West Papuan people are requesting their Pacific kin nations—Marshal Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga, Palau, Nauru, Kiribatis, and Samoa—to stand with the MSG, and support Vanuatu’s motion to insert West Papua on the UN Decolonisation List.  Such solidarity might even disprove Hawai’i University Professor Kabutaulaka’s claim that letting Indonesia join the MSG was a mistake.[3]

Markus Haluk, Executive Director of the ULMWP, at a prayer ceremony in the Student  Dormitory on Monday 19 November 2018 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the West Papua National Committee (a student media organisation).
Markus Haluk with KNPB members and activists being transported to the Police with the dozens of West Papuan activists also arrested and detained in the Police Detention Centre in Jayapura on 19 October 2018

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