M E D I A R E L E A S E
22 October 2006
The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)
Grant observer status to West Papua at the Pacific Islands Forum
The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) calls on the Pacific Islands
Forum leaders to grant observer status to West Papua at its upcoming
meeting in Fiji.
AWPA congratulates the Forum leaders for granting observer status to Tokelau
at last years Forum, to join New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the newly
independent nation of East Timor.
Joe Collins of AWPA said
"the time is now right for West Papua to be granted
observer status at the Forum. If the non-sovereign territories of
New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Tokelau can be granted observer
status at the Forum, Why should it not also apply to West Papua?"
The Forum is the 'EU' of the Pacific and could play an important role in
encouraging and facilitating dialogue between the government of Indonesia
and West Papuan representatives.
West Papua has always been considered part of the Pacific Community.
Netherlands New Guinea, as West Papua was then known, was a member of the
South Pacific Commission (SPC).
A West Papuan representative attended the
first SPC Conference and West Papuans continued to participate in the
SPC meetings until the Dutch ceded their authority to the United Nations
Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) in 1962
The West Papua people face great challenges including human rights abuses,
exploitation of their natural resources (with little or no benefit to
themselves), in danger of becoming a minority in their own land and a
possible HIV/AIDS epidemic. The West Papuan people need all the support from
the international community they can get.
The Pacific Islands Forum can help the West Papuan people by:
Granting observer status to West Papua. By granting observer status,
West Papuan representatives can dialogue with Indonesian representatives
at the "Post-Forum Dialogue",
to try and solve the many problems in West Papua.
Seek support from the Indonesian government for a Forum fact finding
mission to West Papua to investigate the human rights situation
in the territory
Joe Collins said the Forum leaders should also "urge the Australian
government not to go ahead with a proposed security treaty with Indonesia or
be involved in training the Indonesian military while the Indonesian
military continues its oppression in West Papua. Such training will only
increase the danger to the West Papuan people".
(Info. Joe Collins Mob. 04077 857 97)
Home