Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
Media release West Papuan National Flag raised in Sydney
30 November 2018
30 November 2018
The Australia West Papua Association thanks the Inner West Papua Council in Sydney for supporting the raising
of the West Papuan National Flag on its Leichhardt Town Hall today ,30 November at 9am. to commemorate the first official flying of the Morning Star flag on the 1st December in 1961. (Note Council closed Saturday 1st Dec.).
On the 1st December in 1961, the Morning Star flag (the West Papuan National flag) was flown for the first time officially beside the Dutch Tricolor. The Dutch were finally about to give the West Papuan people their freedom. However it is one of the great tragedies that at their moment of freedom it was cruelly crushed and West Papua was basically handed over to Indonesia in 1963.
Fifty-seven years later, the West Papuan people are still struggling for their right to self-determination.
Joe Collins of AWPA said "West Papuans continue to face arrest and torture simply for holding peaceful rallies to bring attention to the world the injustices they suffer under Indonesian rule. Recent arrests of activists are to intimidate them into not talking part in activities to celebrate their national day".
One posting to facebook by a West Papuan reported that "Approaching the first of December, Indonesian army and police were dressed in plainclothes, backing militia groups carrying out intimidation and terror in Papuan student dormitories in Indonesia".
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.