Twenty five Pacific civil society organisations and solidarity movements have called on Pacific leaders of their “longstanding responsibility” to West Papua, and to urgently address the “ongoing gross human rights abuses” by Indonesia.
The organisations — including the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC), Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS). Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) and Vanuatu Human Rights Coalition — issued a statement marking 1 December 2024.
This date commemorates 63 years since the Morning Star flag was first
raised in West Papua to signify the territory’s sovereignty.
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The organisations condemned the “false narrative Indonesia has peddled of itself as a morally upright, peace-loving, and benevolent friend of the Melanesian people and of the Pacific”.
Jakarta had “infiltrated our governments and institutional perceptions”.
The statement also said:
Yet Indonesia’s annexation of the territory, military occupation, and violent oppression, gross human rights violations on West Papuans continue to be ignored internationally and unfortunately by most Pacific leaders.
The deepening relations between Pacific states and Jakarta reflect how far the false
narrative Indonesia has peddled of itself as a morally upright, peace-loving, and benevolent
friend of the Melanesian people and of the Pacific, has infiltrated our governments and
institutional perceptions.
The corresponding dilution of our leaders’ voice, individually and collectively, is indicative of political and economic complicity, staining the Pacific’s anti-colonial legacy, and is an attack
on the core values of our regional solidarity.
The Pacific has a legacy of holding colonial powers in our region to account. The Pacific
Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders communiques in 2015, 2017, and 2019 are reflective of this,
deploring the violence and human rights violations in West Papua, calling on Indonesia to
allow independent human rights assessment in the territory, and to address the root causes of conflict through peaceful means.
In 2023, PIF Leaders appointed Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Ministers, [Sitiveni] Rabuka and [James] Marape respectively to facilitate such constructive engagement with Indonesia.
As PIF envoys, both Prime Ministers visited Indonesia in 2023 on separate occasions, yet
they have failed to address these concerns. Is this to be interpreted as regional political
expediency or economic self-interest?
Today, torture, discrimination, extrajudicial killings, unlawful arrests, and detention of West
Papuans continue to be rife. Approximately 70,000 Papuans remain displaced due to military operations.
Between January and September this year, human rights violations resulted in a total of over 1300 victims across various categories. The most significant violations were arbitrary detention, with 331 victims in 20 cases, and freedom of assembly, which affected at least 388 victims in 21 cases. Other violations included ill-treatment (98 victims), torture (23
victims), and killings (15 victims), along with freedom of expression violations impacting 31
victims.
Additionally, cultural rights violations affected dozens of individuals, while intimidation cases resulted in 15 victims. Disappearances accounted for 2 victims, and right
to health violations impacted dozens.
This surge in human rights abuses highlights a concerning trend, with arbitrary detention and freedom of assembly violations standing out as the most widespread and devastating.
The commemoration of the Morning Star flag-raising this 1st of December is a solemn
reminder of the region’s unfinished duty of care to the West Papuan people and their
struggle for human rights, including the right to self-determination.
Clearly, Pacific leaders, including the Special Envoys, must fulfill their responsibility to a
region of genuine peace and solidarity, and thereby rectify their unconscionable response
thus far.
They must do justice to the 63 years of resilient resistance by the West Papuan
people under violent, even deadly repression.
We call on leaders, especially the Prime Ministers of Fiji and PNG, not to succumb to Indonesia’s chequebook diplomacy and other soft-power overtures now evident in education, the arts, culture, food and agriculture, security, and even health sectors.
We remind our Pacific leaders of their responsibility to 63 years of injustice by Indonesia, and the resilience of the West Papuan people against this oppression to this day.
In solidarity with the people of West Papua, we demand that our leaders:
- Honour the resolutions of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) and PIF, which call
for a peaceful resolution to the West Papua conflict and the recognition of the rights
of West Papuans; - Take immediate and concrete action to review, and if necessary, sanction Indonesia’s
status as a dialogue partner in the PIF, associate member of the MSG, and as a party
to other privileged bilateral and multilateral arrangements in our Pacific region on the
basis of its human rights record in West Papua; - Stand firm against Indonesia’s colonial intrusion into the Pacific through its
cheque-book and other diplomatic overtures, ensuring that the sovereignty and rights
of the people of West Papua are not sacrificed for political or economic gain; and - PIF must take immediate action to establish a Regional Human Rights Commission
or task force, support independent investigations into human rights violations in West
Papua, and ensure accountability for all abuses.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.