Len Garae – The Executive Committee of the Vanuatu Free West Papua Association (VFWPA) has approached the Vanuatu Association of Non-Government Organisations (VANGO) this week, urging it to network with Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO) to send a clear message in the form of a "petition" to all relevant authorities in the Pacific and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), against allowing Indonesia to send its "Consultation Group" to Vanuatu in March.
VFWPA Chairman, Elder Job Dalesa, confirmed this, saying the MSG consists of a Melanesian Group of countries and Indonesia does not belong there because it has its own grouping called Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It can send its consultation group there.
He says in VFWPA's latest attempt, it has called on the MSG Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to do everything possible to stop the Indonesian Consultation Group from entering the country in March this year.
As for Indonesia's presence as an observer in the MSG, Mr. Dalesa says their presence is an existing thorn, which they will do all they can to "delete" them from where they do not belong.
The Chairman says VFWPA along with Vanuatu Christian Council (VCC) are spearheading urgent regional calls from the Pacific Council of Churches, urging Governments to take a united stand to boycott the listed products from Indonesia.
Asked to elaborate on the boycott call of Indonesian products, the VFWPA Chairman says his organisation along with VCC are spearheading the pressure one step higher to call on Indonesia to stop its killing of West Papuans as well as reported human right abuse of Melanesians of West Papua.
VCC has listed 200,000 West Papuans killed by Indonesian soldiers.
But Dalesa says West Papuans demanding their right to self-determination is a God-given right. "Not even its coloniser Indonesia has any right of say against West Papuans raising their national flag in their own country," says the Chairman.
Long-standing demands by the Pacific Community including its urgent call for a fact-finding committee to enter West Papua to verify the reports, and the UN Commissioner for Human Rights have been ignored by Jakarta.