Today there are rallies at US Embassies in West Papua, Jakarta, Melbourne and Perth, reminding US Senators in a Congressional Hearing in Washington of Indonesia's atrocious human rights record in West Papua and the republic's dismal effort to decentralize, demilitarize or democratize.

West Papuan lawyer, Edison Waromi, who is President of the West Papua National Authority, arrived in Washington this morning to attend the Congressional hearing.

"We West Papuans have a lot of history with the United States" he said. "General MacArthur's children might not know their father dropped us two thousand guns to fight the Japanese during World War 2. John Kennedy's children probably don't want to know their father called us 'just 700,000 cannibals' as he artfully bullied the Dutch into relinquishing its colony to the Indonesians. I would of course remind Ellsworth Bunker's children that their father was the architect of the New York Agreement that enslaved us to the Indonesians. And then there's Mr Kissinger and the whole Freeport mine business".

The West Papua National Authority/West Papua National Consensus is in Washington to advise American politicians to support:

(1) The re-insertion of West Papua on the UN Decolonization List

(2) West Papuans' inalienable right to self-determination in terms of the recent ICJ ruling on Kosovo

(3) An international fact-finding and peace-keeping mission to West Papua immediately.

"Ultimately someone has to take responsibility for the 546,000 'missing' Papuans since the beginning of the Indonesian occupation in 1962" said Mr Waromi.

Interviews:

West Papua: Rev. Terrianus Yokchu, Tel +62 81248909468
Melbourne: Jacob Rumbiak, Tel + 61 040 6606 966
Washington: Herman Wainggai, Tel +1 202 2514647
Perth: Melanie Kapisa, Tel + 61 0439743456