West Papuan pro-independence advocate Benny Wenda has called for a boycott on Indonesia's Independence Day celebrations.

Declaring the raising of the Indonesian flag in West Papua as illegal, Wenda said Papuan Independence Day was December 1, the day in 1963 when the outgoing Dutch authorities handed over autonomy of the region.

"The presence of the Indonesian flag in West Papua is illegal," Wenda said in a statement.

"Every year, Indonesia pressures West Papuans to raise their flag. Civilians are often threatened with arrest if they do not join in the celebrations. Indonesia knows that they will never win the support of West Papuans through social or political means, so they instead use fear and violence to force us to take part," he said.

Wenda pointed to the 2017 Papuan People's Petition, signed by over 1.8 million people, as proof of the territory's overwhelming desire for independence.

"We respect Indonesian Independence Day, but it must be celebrated in Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra – not in West Papua. West Papua is occupied territory and every Indonesian flag that is raised on our land is a symbol of ongoing colonialism," he said.

Source: https://islandsbusiness.com/news-break/no-indo-flag-wenda