Green MP to support West Papuan flag raising at Parliament

Press Release: Green Party - Here Published

Green MP to support West Papuan flag raising at Parliament

What: Raising of the West Papuan ‘Morning Star’ flag to support West Papuan independence

Where: Parliament forecourt

Who: Peace Movement Aotearoa, other NGOs and supporters of West Papua, and MPs including Catherine Delahunty, Green Party MP and International Parliamentarian for West Papua.

The Green Party will be supporting the annual flag raising in solidarity with West Papua at 1pm at Parliament on Monday December 2nd. This event is organised by Peace Movement Aotearoa every December in recognition of the anniversary of West Papuan independence.

West Papua has been occupied by Indonesia since 1969 and citizens who raise the ‘Morning Star’ flag can be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

"A number of MPs from several parties are members of International Parliamentarians for West Papua, and we are proud to support this event," said Green MP Catherine Delahunty.

“The West Papuan people live under a brutal occupation and are imprisoned, tortured and even killed simply for speaking out about independence. By raising the ‘Morning Star’ flag we are making a statement in support of their right to self-determination.

“John Key and Murray McCully need to stand up for West Papuan human rights, not to collude with Indonesian oppression for the sake of trade,” said Ms Delahunty

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Police murder citizens preparing to protest in West Papua

By Catherine Delahunty

Last week West Papuans suffered more abuse and injustice from Indonesian Police personnel.

The 1^st of May marked 50 years of West Papua suffering under Indonesian rule. Citizens throughout Papua prepared to commemorate this day, however, events that occurred just prior to this date, typify and  highlight the injustices that Papuans have suffered over the past 50 years.

On the 30^th of April two young West Papuan protestors who were preparing to participate in commemoration events were shot and killed by police while a number of others were injured in the city of Sorong, This is an atrocious abuse of state power. I have urged the New Zealand Government to condemn the police actions and demand that Indonesian President Susilo Yudhoyono takes action.

He must stop state violence immediately and engage in dialogue for peace and justice in West Papua.  The Indonesian Police have a documented history of citizen abuse and the New Zealand Government cannot be silent or indeed collude via our new proposed “community policing” training programme.

International concern has been voiced over the May 1^st events including a statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. Pillay has described the police shootings as “[an] unfortunate example of the on-going suppression of freedom of expression and excessive use of force in West Papua.”

Source: http://blog.greens.org.nz

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