West Papua leaders said the United Nations was “confused by intensified violence,” including the alleged killing of children by security forces, a provisional “waiting” for the disputed Indonesian state. Declared “Government”.
The state is December 1st Independence Day, the anniversary of West Papua’s declaration of independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961 and the now banned Morning Star Flag.
Indonesian troops ruled the state in 1962 and have been exposed to fierce separatist struggles ever since.
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), an independence movement, enacted a new constitution and nominated exiled leader Benny Wenda as interim president.
“Today we honor and acknowledge all our ancestors who fought and died for us by finally establishing a unified waiting government,” said UK-based Wenda. I did.
“Embodiing the spirit of the people of West Papua, we are ready to run the country.
“As stipulated in our provisional constitution, the future Republic of West Papua will be the world’s first green state and a sign of human rights. It will be decades of bloody Indonesia. The opposite of colonization. Today, we have taken a new step towards our dream of a free, independent and liberated West Papua. “
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on December 1st, often on a day of serious anxiety and violence: And new tensions and increased risk of violence. “
Shamdasani said a 17-year-old boy was shot dead and another teenager was injured in a police shootout in one incident on November 22. The boy’s body was found on Mount Limbaga in the Gome district of West Papua.
She also mentioned the murder of church minister Jeremiah Zanambani. His body was found near a house in his Hitadipah district, full of bullets and stings. Zanambani “may have been killed by members of security forces,” Shamdasani said.
“Previously, in September and October 2020, there was a disturbing series of killings of at least six people, including activists, church members and non-indigenous peoples. At least two members of the security forces were also killed in the clash. “
Thirty-six demonstrators were arrested in Manokwari and Solon in a weekend independence protest.
Indonesia-dominated Papua and West Papua form the western half of New Guinea.
The people endemic to the state are Melanesians, ethnically different from the rest of Indonesia, and more closely associated with the people of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.
The region, which was a Papua colony in the Netherlands until 1961, was annexed militarily by Indonesia in 1962 and officially Indonesia following a UN-backed referendum called the Exercise of Free Choice in 1969. Incorporated into the Republic. However, voting was widely accused of being fraudulent, forcing more than 1,000 selected Papuans to vote in support of Indonesian rule, some threatened by violence.
Indonesia sees Papua and West Papua as an integral and inseparable part of the Indonesian state and consistently states that it is working on the development of the region.
Papua and West Papua are rich in natural resources, and while Grasberg in Papua is one of the largest gold mines in the world, it is one of Indonesia’s least developed states, with endemic poverty and high levels of pediatric nutrition. I have a malnutrition.
Jakarta is currently trying to expand the “special autonomy” clause that was first introduced in West Papua in 2001. This is, on the surface, to give the Papuans a greater share of their abundant natural resources and income from greater political autonomy. These provisions will expire at the end of the year.
Independent protesters have called for a referendum on withdrawal from Indonesia, saying special autonomy laws are being used to curb Papua’s independence movement.
Independent leaders of West Papua declare “waiting government” | World News
Source link Independent leaders of West Papua declare “waiting government” | World News
