West Papua

West Papuans have applied under the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMPW), a collaborative group comprised of united resistance organisations located both inside and outside of West Papua.

The MSG leaders said there was a criteria issue with the West Papuans' application, and the group's secretariat needed to establish guidelines for membership.

Despite the decision on whether the ULMPW can gain full membership of the MSG has been differed to September, the West Papuans are pleased that their application is being considered.

West Papuans have applied under the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMPW), which is a collaborative group comprised of united resistance organisations located both inside and outside of West Papua.

Officials and representatives of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) have arrived in Honiara to attend the MSG Leaders Summit on Thursday, July 14, to determine whether the current observer status of ULMWP will be elevated to full membership.

Peter O'Neill has spoken of the need to speak out about human rights abuses in neighbouring Indonesian territory, and last week told a radio talkback programme that West Papuans are welcome in PNG.

But Benny Wenda, who lives in exile in Britain, has been denied entry into PNG twice in the last year.

Mr Wenda, who is the spokesperson for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, said he was trying to apply for a visa to enter PNG to attend an upcoming Melanesian Spearhead Group summit.

This follows claims by the Melanesian Speahead Group chairman, Manasseh Sogavare, that Jakarta has failed to respond to requests by the MSG and the Pacific Islands Forum for dialogue about the situation in Papua.

Indonesian officials said Jakarta was keeping Pacific governments informed.

But the Liberation Movement's spokesman, Benny Wenda, is concerned that some Pacific governments are being misled by Jakarta.

He said extensive ground reports from Papua indicated ongoing rampant human rights abuses.

Tabloid Jubi reports Royke Lumowa as saying illegal fishing should continue to be a concern for both central and local governments, suggesting that inaction would allow the problem to become rampant.

He said that because the remoteness of West Papua, as well as lack of resources for police to monitor the waters, a lot of illegal fishing went unchecked.

Mr Royke said that to counter illegal fishing, local police needed the help of the Navy, the Marine Department and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, especially in terms of equipment.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, who is the current Chair of the MSG, made the assurance when a delegation of ULMWP leaders met with him in Port Vila yesterday requesting him to favourably consider two issues for addressing by the MSG.

Mr Sogavare, who is the prime minister of Solomon Islands, has also declared his country's support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's bid to be a full member of the MSG.

Mr Sogavare has just been in Port Vila where he met with his Vanuatu counterpart Charlot Salwai whose proposal to give the Liberation Movement full membership at the MSG is to be discussed at an upcoming MSG leaders summit in Papua New Guinea.

But after 14 years in Australia, Flassy’s mission to inform is ongoing in the Far North, after the refugee headed a troupe of activists campaigning for the freedom of the besieged nation alongside Cairns MP Rob Pyne.

West Papua has experienced an often violent separatist conflict since being incorporated into Indonesia after a UN-backed referendum in 1969. 

Flassy said he was concerned for the welfare of relatives still in West Papua. 

He said his cousin was incarcerated yesterday as part of the anniversary for Dutch New Guinea’s integration into Indonesia. 

The demonstrations were held to express support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, which is vying for full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

Monday's protests came as West Papuans marked the anniversary of transferral of administration in the former Dutch New Guinea to Indonesia in 1963.

The independent West Papuan newspaper, Tabloid Jubi, reports that overall 1692 people were arrested.

Jubi reports that a researcher from Bern University in Switzerland was interrogated by police too.

The Vanuatu Daily Post reports that a date is yet to be confirmed, although provisional dates are from May 30 to June 3, depending on the availability and commitments of the Leaders.

The MSG summit had been expected to formalise the appointment of a new director-general for the sub-regional grouping's Port Vila-based secretariat.

However two MSG members, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, have objected to the anouncement by the MSG chair, Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare, that the Fiji diplomat Amena Yauvoli had been selected for the role.