Len Garae – Chairman of Vanuatu West Papua Association and Unification Committee (VWPAUC), Pastor Alan Nafuki, has welcomed Prime Minister Bob Loughman's confirmation that his Government supports 100% his Committee's stand against alleged Human Rights abuse by the military of Indonesia against the people of West Papua, and the importance to recognise the future of the Melanesians.
In his keynote address on the country's 40th, the Prime Minister assured the country and the world of his Government's commitment against the suffering of the people of West Papua.
The Chairman says he is confident that his Committee is going to make progress in leaps and bounds under the current Government because it is exactly forty years since Vanuatu first pledged its support for the people of West Papua.
"The Prime Minister and I go to the same church every Sunday and I am confident that a praying Head of Government at this time is essential, and coincides with our biblical doctrine that we have arrived at the door after forty years in the wilderness for greater achievements for Vanuatu, VWPAUC, and West Papua as a Melanesian country", he says.
While he confirms the Prime Minister's denial that Jakarta has invited Vanuatu nor his Committee to visit Jayapura for talks, the Chairman has not ruled out any such possibility for such dialogue.
"If someone is regarded as an enemy, a way has to be found for the two to talk to each other to find a way out. In the same way, we have to be ready to dialogue with Jakarta", he says.
"The Prime Minister assured my Committee that he has not received any invitation from Jakarta but that his Government received a communication from a Jakarta Office in New Zealand in which West Papua was mentioned but that there was no invitation directly from Jakarta".
The Chairman was approached by an individual who claimed that the Chairman's name was also on the list of persons allegedly invited by Jakarta to visit Indonesia.
"Following the allegation, I wish to reiterate that my committee can only work with the Government but not with any innuendo(s) regarding our work on West Papua", he stresses.
He says so much has been delayed due to COVID-19 but that as soon as the current travel restrictions are lifted, he wishes to assure the people of Vanuatu and the Pacific and the world that his Committee will definitely be "moving with the current wherever it is heading".