Meri Radinibaravi – A West Papua delegation led by United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) president Benny Wenda, West Papua Interim Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Morris Kaloran and ULMWP secretary Rex Reinakiek is in the country to meet with the Fiji Government and lobby for their support for West Papua's full membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG).

The MSG is made up of the Republic Of Fiji, the Front De Liberational De Nationale Kanak Et Solcialiste (FLNKS), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and the Republic Of Vanuatu.

A spokesman of the delegation said the group arrived in the country on Monday last week and might be here until the end of this week.

"The delegate is here to try and lobby to the Fiji Government that the West Papua issue can be highlighted and that they become a full member of the MSG," he said.

"That is their main purpose here, but the bigger picture is for West Papua to gain its independence from Indonesia.

"We are here to meet with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, other ministers whose ministries are directly linked to our struggles, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretary, and other groups within Fiji who have a strong support for the independence of West Papua."

The group is expected to meet Mr Rabuka today.

Source: https://www.fijitimes.com/west-papua-group-to-meet-rabuka