At the same time, the Indonesian Government is hiding from the West Papuan political conflict, which involves a territory which was taken over forcefully in 1962, annexed illegally in 1969 and which has been occupied and subjugated up until today through militaristic and colonialist practices, causing acute humanitarian crises, devastation to the environment, considerable appropriation of natural resources, as well as the massive migration of Indonesians to West Papua.
Since 1961, the Papuan people have pledged to stand alone as a nation and as a State. And since then, the people of West Papua have waged a struggle filled with sacrifices in their quest for independence and sovereignty for nearly half a century, with no amicable solution between West Papua and Indonesia in sight. If the Indonesian Government is committed to help achieving the independence and the sovereignty of Palestine, the question is what about West Papua, which lost its right to independence and sovereignty?
If Indonesia joins the efforts of the OIC to support Palestinian independence, Indonesia should also, as an associate Member of the MSG, promote the right to self-determination of the People of West Papua, in accordance with the 2013 MSG final communiqué. If Indonesia is also pushing the OIC for various fact-finding teams in Palestine, why does Indonesia, as a “dialogue partner” of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), not want to open access to West Papua for the fact-finding team from South Pacific nations, as agreed in the communiqué at the Forum’s last Leaders’ Meeting in Port Moresby, in September 2015? And what more, why does the Indonesian Government persist in rejecting the call of H.E. Mr. Menasseh Sogavare, Chairman of the MSG, for a dialogue with the ULMWP.
Therefore, on behalf of the People of West Papua, we convey to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, and all members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that:
1. We support the OIC’s efforts for a peaceful settlement of the political conflict between Palestine and Israel.
2. We are hopeful that the Government of President Joko Widodo will join to seek a peaceful solution to the independence and sovereignty of the nation of Papua.
3. We also sincerely hope that member countries of the OIC will actively urge Indonesia to stop their illegal occupation of West Papua, and, together with the ULMWP, to resolve the political status of West Papua peacefully.
Port Numbay, 7 March 2016
Benny Wenda
Spokesperson for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.(ULMWP)
Sumber: http://dailypost.vu