Saturday, September 14, 2024

1) Government’s Merauke Food Estate Project violates indigenous rights and lacks environmental sustainability

 


2) Merauke food estate to boost Papuan people's welfare: govt 
3) Southwest Papuans receive economic-empowering automotive training 
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Human Rights Monitor

https://humanrightsmonitor.org/case/governments-merauke-food-estate-project-violates-indigenous-rights-and-lacks-environmental-sustainability/

1) Government’s Merauke Food Estate Project violates indigenous rights and lacks environmental sustainability

Cases, Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 13 September 2024 
The Indonesian government’s ambitious plan to create a one-million-hectare rice field in the Merauke Regency, Papua Selatan Province, is moving forward without proper consultation with indigenous communities and despite significant environmental risks. On 12 July 2024, the Minister of Environment and Forestry (MoEF), Siti Nurbaya, issued Minister of Environment and Forestry Decree No. 835 of 2024 on Approval of Forest Area Use for Food Security Facilities and Infrastructure Development Activities in the Framework of Defence and Security on behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence covering 13,540 hectares of Protected Forest Area, Permanent Production Forest Area and Convertible Production Forest Area in Merauke Regency.
The project, part of the National Strategic Project (PSN), has seen the arrival of hundreds of excavators and heavy equipment, raising alarm among human rights and environmental organisations. According to the information received, the project coordinator, the Indonesian entrepreneur Mr Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad aka. Haji Isam, ordered a total of 2,000 excavators from China to implement the project. HRM received photos and videos showing the arrival of excavators in the project area by ship. One video shows the excavators clearing large areas of land (see videos and photos below, source: independent HRDs).
The project gravely violates the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), a fundamental right of indigenous peoples. According to press relese published on 13 September 2023 by the Indonesian foundation ‘Pusaka Bentala Rakyat’ (PUSAKA), local indigenous Malind communities, including the Gebze Moywend and Gebze Dinaulik clans, report that their lands, hamlets, and customary forests have been seized without any prior deliberation or consensus. This blatant disregard for indigenous rights is further exacerbated by the presence of armed military personnel securing the project implementation.
The indigenous Malind people, holding the customary land rights in the project area, have firmly rejected all forms of corporate investment on their customary lands. This unified stance was declared by various Malind communities in response to the Indonesian government’s National Strategic Project aiming to establish sugar and bioethanol self-sufficiency and a food barn project spanning millions of hectares in Merauke. Indigenous communities have expressed deep concerns about the potential loss of their lands, forests, and cultural heritage to large-scale development projects.
This rejection highlights the ongoing struggle for indigenous rights and environmental preservation in West Papua. The communities’ concerns stem from past negative experiences with corporate interventions and fears of marginalisation and cultural erosion. The call for intervention from the South Papua People’s Assembly and the Merauke Regional Government emphasizes the need for government accountability and respect for indigenous rights in development planning, urging a re-evaluation of national strategic projects that potentially violate human rights.
Environmental concerns are equally pressing. The project area overlaps with 858 hectares of natural forests and peatlands, as indicated in the Indicative Map of the Termination of Business Licensing (PIPPIB). The large-scale destruction of these ecosystems will significantly increase carbon emissions, directly contradicting Indonesia’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gases. The lack of transparency and the absence of an FPIC-based consultation with indigenous communities support allegations that the project lacks proper environmental impact assessments and approvals. Affected communities and environmental organisations have not been involved in discussions or received information on environmental documents.
The Merauke Food Estate project exemplifies a worrying development trend at the expense of indigenous rights and environmental sustainability. It is crucial for the Indonesian government to reevaluate the project, prioritizing inclusive, just, and sustainable development that respects the rights of indigenous peoples and preserves critical ecosystems. Failure to do so will inevitably undermine global efforts to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity on our planet.

Arrival of first excavators in Merauke in mid-August 2024






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2) Merauke food estate to boost Papuan people's welfare: govt 
 September 13, 2024 18:10 GMT+700

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The development of a food estate on one million hectares of rice fields in Merauke, South Papua, is a national strategic program to improve people's welfare, according to the Agriculture Ministry's task force for food security operations.

"The development of one million hectares of rice fields in Merauke is a national strategic program, and not a private project because everything is funded and carried out on behalf of the state," the task force's commander, Major General Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, emphasized during a visit to Wogikel and Wanam villages in Merauke.

"The national strategic program is being carried out in Merauke because the government sees that Merauke has extraordinary potential for agricultural resources. The area has vast, flat, and fertile land, abundant sources of water, as well as suitable weather for rice cultivation throughout the year," he observed.

According to him, the program in Merauke will have a positive impact on community welfare, which will be supported by the construction of infrastructure as well as public facilities from the village to the district level.

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman also visited Wanam district, Merauke, at the end of August 2024.

During the visit, he said that Merauke is projected to become the main contributor to the national rice barn in the next two years.

"We are optimistic that in the next two years, food self-sufficiency can be achieved from here," he added.

For the one million-hectare rice project in Merauke, the government has built supporting infrastructure, including a 135.5-kilometer road from Ilwayab to Ngguti.

During his visit, Sulaiman reviewed the water channels along the road and directed that their width and depth be increased to optimize irrigation.

"We design this as long storage to irrigate the one million hectares of rice fields that we are printing," he said.

Related news: Japanese investor studying food estate project: minister
Related news: VP Amin inaugurates Nusantara Food Estate to support new capital
Related news: Food estates making positive impact on farmers, regions: ministry


Translator: Indra Arief Pribadi, Yashinta Difa

Editor: Azis Kurmala


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3) Southwest Papuans receive economic-empowering automotive training 
 September 14, 2024 16:43 GMT+700

Sorong, Southwest Papua (ANTARA) - The Southwest Papua provincial government, in collaboration with the Sorong Vocational Education and Productivity Center (BPVP), has trained 35 Papuan natives in the automotive sector to empower them economically. This training is part of the government’s efforts to increase the income of Papuans, according to Rusli Momot, the automotive training coordinator at the province’s Social, Women Empowerment, and Child Protection Office.

“This automotive training aims to enhance the skills of Papuans so they can potentially start their own workshops in their communities,” he said here on Saturday.

He noted that the intensive training program, held in collaboration with the Sorong BPVP for the next 10 days, consists of five days of theory and five days of learning by practice.

“After the training, we will provide complete workshop equipment to support their new businesses,” he elaborated. Alia Amirudin, an instructor at BPVP, highlighted that the training focuses on repairing motorcycle fuel systems.

“There are often many issues with motorcycle fuel systems, so we train participants to master their repair,” Amirudin said.

The program also covers the continuously variable transmission (CVT) model, commonly used in automatic motorcycles

“There will also be additional instruction on using the scanner tool, which will be thoroughly explained to the participants,” Amirudin added.

During the practical training, participants will be divided into groups. One participant, Nommensen Saflembolo, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to join the training.

“This is a valuable resource for starting my own business later,” he said.

He also expressed hope that the local government will continue supporting this automotive training program.

Related news: Southwest Papua needs well-prepared human resources : minister

Related news: VP launches first Papuan Islamic economy committee in Southwest Papua



Translator: Yuvensius B, Kenzu
Editor: Tia Mutiasari

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Friday, September 13, 2024

1) West Papuan independence advocate seeks New Zealand support against ‘genocide and ecocide"


2) New Oxford Study Reveals Oldest Plant Artefact In West Papua, Dating Over 55,000 Years 
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1) West Papuan independence advocate seeks New Zealand support against ‘genocide and ecocide"


Video

West Papuan independence advocate Octo Mote is in Aotearoa to win support for independence for West Papua, which has been ruled by Indonesia for over 60 years.
Mote is the vice-president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), and is being hosted in New Zealand by the Green Party, which Mote said had always been a hero for West Papua.
ULMWP president Benny Wenda has alleged more than 500,000 Papuans have been killed since the occupation, and millions of acres of ancestral forests, rivers and mountains have been destroyed or polluted for “corporate profit”.


The struggle for West Papuans

“Being born a West Papuan, you are already an enemy of the nation,” Mote said.
“The greatest challenge we are facing right now is we are facing the colonial power who live next to us.”
If West Papuans spoke up about what was happening, they were considered separatists, Mote said, regardless of whether they were journalists, intellectuals, public servants or even high-ranking Indonesian generals.
“When our students on the ground speak of justice, they’re beaten up, put in jail and [they - Indonesians] kill so many of them,” Mote said.
Mote is a former journalist and said, while he was working, he witnessed Indonesian forces openly fire at students who were peacefully demonstrating their rights.
“We are in a very dangerous situation right now. When our people try to defend their land, the Indonesian government ignores them and they just take the land without recognising we are landowners,” he said.


The ecocide of West Papua

The ecology in West Papua was being damaged by mining, deforestation, and oil and gas extraction. Mote said Indonesia wanted to “wipe them from the land and control their natural resources”.
He said he was trying to educate the world that defending West Papua meant defending the world, especially small islands in the Pacific.
West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, bordering the independent nation of Papua New Guinea. New Guinea has the third-largest rainforest after the Amazon and Congo and is crucial for climate change mitigation as they sequester and store carbon.
Mote said the continued deforestation of New Guinea, which West Papuan leaders were trying to stop, would greatly impact the small island countries in the Pacific, which were among the most vulnerable to climate change.
Mote also said their customary council in West Papua had already considered the impacts of climate change on small island nations and, given West Papua’s abundance of land, they said by having sovereignty they would be able to both protect the land and support Pacific Islanders who needed to migrate from their home islands.
In 2021 West Papuan leaders pledged to make ecocide a serious crime and this week Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa submitted a court proposal to the International Criminal Court to recognise ecocide as a crime.


Support from local Indonesians

Mote said there were Indonesians who supported the indigenous rights movement for West Papuans. He said there were both NGOs and a Papuan Peace Network founded by West Papuan peace campaigner Neles Tebay.
“There is a movement growing among the academics and among the well-educated people who have read the realities, among those who are also victims of the capital investors, especially in Indonesia when they introduced the omnibus law.”
The omnibus law was passed in 2020 as part of the president’s goals to increase investment and industrialisation in Indonesia. The law was protested because of concerns it would be harmful for workers due to changes in working conditions, and the environment because it would allow for increased deforestation.
He said there was an “awakening” especially in the younger generations who were more open-minded and connected to the world, who could see it both as a humanitarian and an environmental issue.



The ‘transfer’ of West Papua to Indonesia

“The Dutch [traded] us like a cow,” Mote said.
The former Dutch colony was passed over to Indonesia in 1963 but ULMWP calls it an invasion.
From 1957, the Soviet Union had been supplying arms to Indonesia and, during that period, the Indonesian Communist Party had become the largest political party in the country.
The US government urged the Dutch government to give West Papua to Indonesia in an attempt to appease the communist-friendly Indonesian government as part of a US drive to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia.
The US engineered a meeting between both countries, which resulted in the New York Agreement, giving control of West Papua to the UN in 1962 and then Indonesia a year later.
The New York Agreement stipulated that the population of West Papua were entitled to an act of self-determination.


The ‘act of no choice’

This decolonisation agreement was titled the 1969 Act of Free Choice, which is referred to as “the act of no choice” by pro-independence activists.
Mote said they witnessed, “how the UN allowed Indonesia to cut us into pieces, and they didn’t say anything when Indonesia manipulated our right for self-determination.”
The manipulation Mote refers to is for the Act of Free Choice. Instead of a national referendum, the Indonesian military hand-picked 1,025 West Papuan “representatives” to vote on behalf of the 816,000 people. The representatives were allegedly threatened, bribed and some were held at gunpoint to ensure a unanimous vote.
Leaders of the West Papuan independence movement assert that this wasn’t a real opportunity to exercise self-determination as it was manipulated. However, it was accepted by the UN.


Pacific support at UN General Assembly

Mote has came to Aotearoa after the 53rd Pacific Island Leaders Forum meeting in Tonga and has come to discuss plans over the next five years. Mote hopes to gain support to take what he calls the “slow-motion genocide” of West Papua back to the UN General Assembly.
“In that meeting we formulated how we can help really push self-determination as the main issue in the Pacific Islands,” Mote said.
Mote said there was focus on self-determination of West Papua, Kanaky/New Caledonia and Tahiti. He also said the focus was on what he described as the current colonisation issue with capitalists and global powers having vested interests in the Pacific region.
The movement got it to the UN General Assembly in 2018, so Mote said it was achievable. In 2018 Pacific solidarity was shown as the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and the Republic of Vanuatu all spoke out in support of West Papua.
They affirmed the need for the matter to be returned to the United Nations, and the Solomon Islands voiced its concerns over human rights abuses and violations.


What needs to be done

He said in the next five years Pacific nations needed to firstly make the Indonesian government accountable for its actions in West Papua. He also said President Joko Widodo should be held accountable for his involvement.
Mote said New Zealand was the strongest Pacific nation that would be able to push for the human rights and environmental issues happening, especially as he alleged Australia always backed Indonesian policies.
He said he was looking to New Zealand to speak up about atrocities taking place in West Papua and was particularly looking for support from the Greens, Labour and Te Pāti Māori for political support.
The coalition government announced a plan of action on July 30 this year, which set a new goal of $6 billion in annual two-way trade with Indonesia by 2029.
“New Zealand is strongly committed to our partnership with Indonesia,” Foreign Affairs Minister Winston said then.
“There is much more we can and should be doing together.”

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2) New Oxford Study Reveals Oldest Plant Artefact In West Papua, Dating Over 55,000 Years 

 By Iednewsdesk  On Sep 13, 2024

A new archaeological study led by the University of Oxford in collaboration with Universitas Gadjah Mada has identified the oldest plant artefact made by our species outside of Africa in a cave in West Papua. This suggests that the earliest Pacific seafarers arrived in West Papua over 55,000–50,000 years ago, introducing to the region complex plant processing and maritime skills. The findings have been published this week in the journal Antiquity.
‘Charting the earliest dispersals of people into West Papua is vital because it lies at the gateway to the Pacific, and helps us understand where the ancestors of the wider region — including Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Hawai‘i — came from and how they adapted to living in this new and unfamiliar sea of islands’ said lead author Dr Dylan Gaffney of the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology.Despite the Pacific’s critical importance for global population movements, scientists have not yet been able to pin down exactly when and where early humans travelled on their journey into the region. At this time, the Earth was in an Ice Age, meaning that sea levels were lower: the large continental shelves around Asia (called Sunda) and Australia (called Sahul) were exposed as dry land, but many of the islands of Southeast Asia remained islands.

Our species — Homo sapiens — may have moved along a “northern route” from what is now Borneo into Sulawesi, Maluku, and then West Papua, or a “southern route” from present-day Java and Bali to Flores, Timor, and then Australia (see map below). Previous research has hinted that seafarers arrived to Sahul perhaps as early as 65,000 years ago, while other archaeologists insist that these maritime crossings did not take place until after 50,000 years ago.

This new study, carried out on Waigeo Island1 in West Papua, off the coast of Ice Age Sahul, provides the first detailed evidence for the earliest stage of human arrival along the northern route into the Pacific. The findings demonstrate that Waigeo was an important stepping stone visited by the first seafarers. At this time Waigeo was part of a larger “palaeo-island” which the research team have named Waitanta2. This palaeo-island split into a series of smaller islands including Waigeo at the end of the Ice Age, when sea levels rose. Computer modelling and chemical isotope studies carried out by the researchers show that Waitanta contained patches of rainforest and a large valley system, and it was separated from Sahul by a deep-sea strait only a few kilometres wide.

The team’s excavations at a large cave site called Mololo3, in the interior of ancient Waitanta, uncovered rare evidence for human settlement and behaviour, including animal bones and a small rectangular tree resin artefact. The latter was directly dated at the University of Oxford’s radiocarbon accelerator to show it is 55,000–50,000 years old and the oldest plant artefact made by our species outside of Africa.

The researchers believe the artefact was produced in a multistep process by cutting the bark of a resin-producing tree, allowing it to harden, and then snapping it into shape, possibly to use it as a fuel source for fires inside Mololo cave (see image below). ‘The use of complex plant processing indicates these humans were sophisticated, highly mobile, and able to devise creative solutions to living on small tropical islands’ concluded Professor Daud Tanudirjo of Universitas Gadjah Mada, the co-director of the study.

Modern tree resin artefact used to make fire on Waigeo Island, 2018. Photo credit: Dylan Gaffney (The Raja Ampat Archaeological Project).

The archaeological findings from Mololo provide the first firm, directly radiocarbon dated evidence that humans moved through the northern route to the Pacific region before 50,000 years ago. This indicates that small rainforested Pacific islands along the equator were key places for human migration and adaptation. This new evidence demonstrates that Homo sapiens living along the northern route were skilled seafarers that could deliberately move between islands and that they developed complex, multi-step tool making that involved local rainforest plants to support their livelihoods.The research team are continuing their archaeological research in West Papua, in the form of a large project funded by National Geographic that seeks to understand how early people adapted to the Pacific region and changed their behaviours in response to past climate change. For updates, see raja-ampat-arch.com or follow @DylanGaffneyNZ on Twitter/X.

The study ‘Human dispersal and plant processing in the Pacific 55,000–50,000 years ago’ has been published in Antiquity.

Explanation of place names:

1. Waigeo, meaning the sea inside or the water inside, named for its inland bay.

2. Waitanta, from Wai = water and Tanta = that stretches before your eyes. This is based on the islands of Waigeo and Batanta which were connected during the last Ice Age.

3. Mololo, meaning the place where the currents come together, since it is an area of choppy water and whirlpools.

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Thursday, September 12, 2024

1) Two Papuan minors alleged of involvement in aircraft shooting acquitted in court

 


2) Relatives demand justice for extra-judicial execution of Tobias Silak in Yahukimo

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Human Rights Monitor


1) Two Papuan minors alleged of involvement in aircraft shooting acquitted in court

Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 12 September 2024 
On 10 September 2024, judges at the Wamena District Court acquitted Melianus Baye and Benny Elopore (see photos on top and below, source: Paham Papua), two minors who had been arrested in the regency of Yahukimo, Papua Pegunungan Province, on 22 February 2024. The students were initially suspected of involvement in the shooting between security forces and members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). After a prolonged legal process, the judge ultimately acquitted both defendants, acknowledging their juvenile status and finding them not guilty of the charges brought against them.
The circumstances surrounding their arrest were deeply troubling. Melianus Baye and Benny Elopore were arbitrarily detained by military personnel while bathing in the Brazza River in Dekai District, Yahukimo Regency. The arrest occurred shortly after an armed clash between military forces and a TPNPB member in the vicinity. Despite the TPNPB’s subsequent statement confirming that the two minors were not affiliated with their organisation, the youths were nonetheless detained and accused of involvement in an aircraft shooting before the incident. Human rights defenders reported evidence of torture during the arrest, with photos showing visible injuries on Melianus Baye’s arms.
Throughout their detention, serious concerns were raised by human rights organizations regarding the treatment of minors. The Papuan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) repeatedly attempted to provide legal assistance to the defendants but was denied access by investigators from the Papua Police’s Directorate of Criminal Investigation and General Crimes. This obstruction of legal representation violated both international human rights standards and Indonesia’s own Criminal Procedure Code. The denial of access to legal counsel also raised suspicions about potential attempts to conceal further acts of torture during detention.
The events underscored broader issues of transparency, fairness, and human rights violations in the handling of such cases in West Papua.

Trial against Melianus Baye and Benny Elopore at the Wamena District Court


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Human Rights Monitor


2) Relatives demand justice for extra-judicial execution of Tobias Silak in Yahukimo

Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 12 September 2024 
On 20 August 2024, Mr Tobias Silak, a staff member of the election supervisory agency (Bawaslu) in Yahukimo District was shot and killed by security forces in the town of Dekai, Papua Pegunungan Province. The incident sparked outrage and protests from Mr Silak’s family and local community members, particularly after authorities claimed that the victim was affiliated with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). On 10 September 2024, relatives and supporters conducted a peaceful protest in Dekai to raise awareness about the case and demand justice (see videos and photos below, source: DGP).
The victim’s family has put forth several demands. They are calling for the prosecution of the perpetrators in a civil court, rejecting any attempts to portray Mr Silak as a TPNPB member The family urges immediate and thorough investigations by the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua), and the Papua Police. They also demand a comprehensive evaluation of the Yahukimo police force’s performance, citing concerns over fifteen civilian deaths in the past four years that have not been investigated. Furthermore, the family seeks civil society support to pressure authorities for justice and to raise awareness about military violence against civilians in the region.
The case of Tobias Silak highlights a broader issue of lack of accountability for security forces across West Papua. The family’s statement that fifteen civilians have been shot dead in Yahukimo alone over the past four years without proper investigations or legal processes underscores the widespread pattern of impunity in the region. The situation reflects the ongoing tensions between Indonesian security forces and the indigenous Papuan communities, with frequent accusations of human rights violations going unaddressed. The call for justice in Tobias Silak’s case underscores the doubts among many Papuans regarding the Indonesian justice system that has repeatedly failed to hold security forces accountable for violence against civilians in West Papua.

Tobias Silak’s relatives demanding justice in Dekai, Yahukimo, 10 September 2024

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Pacific and NZ leaders urged to consider West Papua’s indigenous voices

  https://pmn.co.nz/read/pacific-region/pif-and-nz-leaders-urged-to-consider-west-papua-s-indigenous-voices


Pacific and NZ leaders urged to consider West Papua’s indigenous voices

“They have to recognise us” - Octovianua Mote, of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, wants PIF to listen to the indigenous people when talking with Indonesia.

'Alakihihifo Vailala
PUBLISHED
12 September 2024, 11:07am



Octo Mote, exiled vice President for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua at Parliament for a talanoa led by Green MP, Teanau Tuiono

Photo/ Ala Vailala






Octovianus Mote was a child when Indonesian troops occupied his homeland, sparking the beginning of his lifelong fight for the independence of West Papua New Guinea.

Mote is now the vice president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua and hasn’t been back home in over two decades, after fleeing the country due to his line of work.

“When I was a journalist I was covering a story and I saw how Indonesia slaughtered our people when university students conducted a peaceful demonstration in Abepura.



“I tried to rescue one of the students in 1998. He was shot and I asked the students to put him in my car and then I drove him to the hospital. His body was covered in blood, I'm driving my car, students standing behind and I rushed to the hospital. I knew he would die.

“Witnessing how young students fight against colonialism that really changed my entire narrative of being a journalist. To report about it and channel all this violence and through my stories.”

West Papuans have been seeking independence since the 1960s following the controversial transfer of the region to Indonesia by the United Nations.


Now a province of Indonesia, West Papua New Guinea’s indigenous people continue to endure significant challenges such as human rights violations, forced displacement, resource exploitation and cultural suppression.

Mote and his young family sought refuge in the United States but his advocacy continued despite the distance, and attended the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting in Tonga a few weeks ago.

“I respect the Pacific Island leaders. Every year they will discuss a human rights issue… they will discuss West Papua.

“When it comes to the approach, that's where my criticism comes from.

“When they [PIF] lobby with Indonesia and talk with Indonesia they have to include our opinion. Ask our realities that we are facing so that they know what's happening you know. They have to recognise us.”

Last year, PIF appointed Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape as special envoys to West Papua.

The duo, who are also part of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, had their mission to West Papua delayed due to busy schedules, but had expressed their desire to meet with incoming Indonesian president, Prabowo Subianto.

Subianto has been accused of war crimes and is due to be inaugurated next month, something Mote said has triggered a heightened military presence.

“The West Papuans are facing this new president Prabowo. In a presidential debate, the first question was about, if you are elected as president, how you will deal with the West Papua issue.


“Two said it is a justice issue so we have to deal with it, the other said we need to dialogue with them and Prabowo said no ‘this is a partisan issue I will face them as a separatist’, which is military and he's doing it now.

“It's a roadway now where you know he'll expand the military operation that already exists from 2018 up till today, entire highlands are under military operation.”


He said the outsourcing of natural resources from West Papua by Indonesia continues and is a contributing factor to the current tensions in the area.

Despite this, Mote is highly optimistic when it comes to the independence of West Papua and plans to take action with the United Nations Human Rights Council.

“We're aiming to table the resolution which is so important because Indonesia since 2015 doesn't respect the Pacific Island Forum's calling for entry for the Pacific Island Forum's human rights assessment group into West Papua.


“Later in 2018 they [PIF] called Indonesia to allow the UN Human Rights Commissioner to West Papua and up till this day Indonesia ignored it.

“What we are trying to do by next year really is to level up this condemnation from many countries around the world about Indonesian behaviour into a resolution where Indonesia will be accountable and I believe that's a solution that should be passed easily… I’m hoping that New Zealand will stand up and support us as they always have been.”


Green Party list MP Teanau Tuiono said the New Zealand government could be a lot more direct with Indonesia about the need to respect indigenous peoples.

Tuiono attended a talanoa in Auckland to discuss community responses to support West Papua.

“My message to our Pacific community in New Zealand is we need to take care of the whole neighbourhood. What happens in one part of the Pacific, impacts all of us.”

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