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34th anniversary of the proclamation of West Papuan independence

Acheh Papua Maluku Human Rights Online Appeal - June 27, 2005

Recommended Action: Please copy the letter below the Background Information or write in your own words and send to:

Mr Kofi Annan Secretary General of the United Nations <mailto:ecu@un.org>ecu@un.org

And Cc: <http://us.f419.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=indonesia2@un.int>indonesia2@un.int;

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The Foreign Minister of your country -- World-Wide Governments: <http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/foreign.html>http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/foreign.html

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Background

West Papua is situated on the same island as Papua New Guinea and the indigenous people, like those of Papua New Guinea, are Melanesian.

Indonesia has occupied West Papua since the 1969 "Act of Free Choice" in which 1,022 electors, handpicked by Indonesia from a population of around 1,000,000, declared their vote publicly.

In 1962 the colonial ruler of the western half of the island of New Guinea was the Netherlands and they were preparing the people there for independence. But JF Kennedy wrote to the Dutch Prime Minister warning him that if he gave the islanders freedom instead of handing them over to Indonesia "the entire free world position in Asia would be seriously damaged": the Indonesian Government would "succumb to communism if it were not appeased. Kennedy's CIA adviser referred to the land as "a few thousand miles of cannibal land".

To avoid too much publicity Kennedy proposed that the Indonesians be allowed to control West Papua for "a specified period", after which the Papuan people would be "granted the right of self-determination".

An agreement was drawn up stating that the UN would supervise a referendum in which "all adult Papuans have the right to participate."

It was clear that "85 -- 90% would choose a Free Papua. So the US told the UN that the result had to be rigged and the UN prepared to obey: instead of all Papuans 1022 men were selected by Indonesian soldiers, taught the words "I want Indonesia" then lined up at gunpoint. One man who refused to say the words was shot and the others were threatened. A unanimous vote for Indonesian rule was provided.

Since then the armed forces have bombed, napalmed and strafed villages and tortured and murdered their people. It has been suggested that 100,000 Papuans have been killed and that Indonesia is committing genocide against them.

Forced assimilation and mass immigration are intended, according to a former governor of West Papua to "give birth to a new generation of people without curly hair..." Indonesia is now recognised as the sovereign government of West Papua by the UK, the UN and other nations.

Mr Kofi Annan
Secretary General of the United Nations
mailto:ecu@un.org

Dear Mr Kofi Annan

After the fraudulent so-called Act of Free Choice in 1969, West Papuan leaders, rejecting the result of the Act of Free Choice, established the Free Papua Movement (OPM) to resist Indonesian colonial rule.

As a powerful sign of resistance, on 1st July 1971 Mr. Hendrik Jacob Prai and Zeth Roemkorem were ordered by the leaders of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), Nicholas Jowei and Frans Kaisepo, to raise the West Papua flag in a small village called Waris. On that day 34 years ago, the West Papuan people proclaimed to the world that they would continue to fight for freedom. Now in 2005, the Papuan resistance lives on in the hearts of a new generation of Papuan men and women proud to be Papuans and confident that their legitimate right to self-determination will be acknowledged and upheld.

In support of the commemoration of the 34th anniversary of the proclamation of West Papuan right to independence, I call on the United Nations

to take immediate action to Review the Act of Free Choice 1969

to take immediate action to send a UN Peace Keeping Force before the end of this year to prevent more bloodshed.

to put pressure on the Indonesian Government to withdraw all its military forces from West Papua before the end of 2005.

to immediately appoint a neutral third country to mediate between the West Papua National People's Coalition for Independence and the Indonesian Government at the negotiation table to find a peaceful and just resolution to the West Papua issue.

Yours sincerely

Copies sent to:

H.E Mr. Rezlan Ishar Jenie
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of The Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations <http://us.f419.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=indonesia2@un.int>indonesia2@un.int

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