Lyn Frans
In a strongly worded statement, the President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP). Benny Wenda,has laid out a clear agenda for West Papua’s path to independence.
Speaking on behalf of the ULMWP and the people of West Papua, President Wenda called on the international community to rally behind three key demands:
1. A visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
2. Full membership of the ULMWP in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG)
3. An internationally-supervised self-determination referendum
Also Read:Will 2023 be known as the last year of global US hegemony?
President Wenda ,emphasized that these goals have been democratically endorsed by the West Papuan people through the 2023 ULMWP Congress, providing a clear popular mandate for the independence movement.
The call for a UN human rights visit is particularly urgent, with Wenda noting that over 100,000 Papuan civilians have been displaced and at least 1,200 killed since Indonesia first invited the High Commissioner in 2018. Wenda accused Indonesia of hiding West Papua from the world and committing “genocidal military operations” with impunity.
Gaining full MSG membership is seen as a crucial step, allowing the ULMWP to engage Indonesia as an equal partner and defend itself as the authoritarian Prabowo Subianto prepares to take office as Indonesian president. Wenda said full membership would prove the ULMWP is a “responsible state-in-waiting” ready to manage its own affairs.
Ultimately, Wenda stated that self-determination is the “start and end” of West Papua’s journey, declaring that “Merdeka [independence] is the only answer.” He appealed for unity among all West Papuan groups, as well as continued international solidarity, to defeat Indonesia’s “imperial” occupation and reclaim the sovereignty declared in 1961.
Also Read:How Vladimir Putin’s Leadership has Transformed Russia
The ULMWP’s renewed push for independence comes amid ongoing violence and human rights abuses in the region. The international community will be watching closely to see if President Wenda’s calls for a UN visit, MSG membership, and a referendum gain traction in the coming year.
West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, bordering the independent nation of Papua New Guinea. It lies just 200km north of Australia. The land comprises a large mountainous interior, forest lowlands, large areas of coastal mangrove swamps and is surrounded by numerous small islands and coral reefs.West Papua is home to over 250 diverse tribes, all speaking their own unique languages with unique cultures. West Papua was originally populated by Melanesian people some tens of thousands of years ago. The majority of the indigenous population still live traditional subsistence lifestyles.
The region has been under Indonesian military occupation since 1962 and is administered as two provinces: Papua and West Papua. In an attempt to control the Papuans, and to claim the land to make way for resource extraction, the Indonesian army has systematically murdered, raped and tortured people. Human rights groups estimate that over 500,000 civilians have been killed.
I¦ve recently started a web site, the info you provide on this web site has helped me tremendously Thanks for all of your time & work