Thompson Marango – Vanuatu Foreign Minister, Bruno Leingkon, has called for unity within countries and people who are in support of West Papua's right to self determination.
Leingkon was one of the two Vanuatu Government Minister's including Minister of Lands, Ralph Regenvanu who attended the International Parliamentarians for West Papua meeting in United Kingdom recently.
In his speech Minister Leingkon reaffirmed Vanuatu's clear stand on its support for the people of West Papua saying "we all want what we all believe in and that is the freedom of West Papua".
He said Vanuatu condemns all human rights violations in West Papua and says no to violence to fellow Melanesian "brothers and sisters". "West Papua, like Vanuatu has the right to ask for genuine self determination," said Leingkon.
The Foreign Affairs proudly informed his colleagues of about the Vanuatu Government's unanimous decision to support the application of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) for full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders' Summit scheduled for this month.
Leingkon spoke about the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Walter Lini who said that "Vanuatu would not be truly independent until all of Melanesia is free".
"Today we remind us all of this, our stance and belief. For it is through this belief and faith that our people and societies know that the day will come when the Morning Star flag will fly high and our West Papuan families will be free in their own free state."
The meeting was an historic step on the road to freedom for West Papua. It was during the meeting that a new declaration was signed calling for an internationally supervised vote on the independence of West Papua.
Representative from countries around the world are part of the meeting including parliamentarians, lawyers and academics, all of whom discussed and affirmed the West Papuan people's fundamental right to self-determination.