Michael Davis – The leader of a group of Papuan refugees granted interim asylum in Australia fears a genocide similar to East Timor if the international community does not intervene to break the rule of the Indonesian military.

Herman Wainggai spoke as the 42 Papuans – including two little girls clutching their dolls – arrived in Melbourne from Perth after being granted temporary protection visas two weeks ago after a two-month detention on Christmas Island.

Mr Wainggai, 32, wants diplomatic international pressure brought to bear on the Indonesian Government "to restore basic human rights in West Papua".

Jailed for four months in 2000 and for two years in December 2002, he had seen his best friends and members of his family "shot in front of my own eyes" by the Indonesian military. "Me and my friends are safe. This is a great day for me and my friends but our work has just begun," he said.

The group stood behind the Morning Star flag of Papuan secessionists and sang their anthem as they stepped off their plane at Tullamarine. They had been waiting for a week to make the trip from Christmas Island to Melbourne, their journey delayed by Cyclone Glenda. Normally, their flight would have been diverted through Jakarta. "That was not exactly a suitable option in the circumstances, to say the least," said their lawyer, David Manne.

The Immigration Department has granted 42 of the 43 Papuans who landed near Weipa in January three-year interim protection visas. They were staying at a private hotel in a secret location last night.

Mr Wainggai said he could not say if more West Papuan boat people would follow but he urged the Australian and Indonesian governments to "stop arguing" with each other and to work together "to achieve a peaceful solution to the problems in my country."

The 43-year struggle has claimed more than 100,000 lives, according to separate studies by Amnesty International and the University of Sydney's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Mr Wainggai said the figure did not include those who have died from broken hearts. "For me and activists like me, a lot of people die because their hearts cry for independence from the Indonesian Government. We have evidence of that."

Paris Aristotle, spokesman for Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture, said the refugees would be provided with a range of services from authorities to help them settle into Australia.

"Initially we will be paying a great deal of attention to their healthcare and, through our staff, ensuring that anyone who requires counselling for past experiences of trauma and torture will receive that counselling," he said.