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Congressman Eni Faleomavaega banned from West Papua
Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) Press release - July 5, 2007
The banning of US American Samoan Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, from visiting West Papua, strengthens the suspicions of the international community that Indonesia has something to hide in its territory of West Papua.
Joe Collins of AWPA said "we are continuously told that Indonesia is a democratic country and human rights abuses are a thing of the past, yet by banning Congressman Faleomavaega it only confirms to the world that democracy does not apply to West Papua".
In the Samoa Observer dated 3rd July 2007, Congressman Eni has criticised both Australia and New Zealand for leaving the Papua issue up to Indonesia.
The Australian government hopes the issue of West Papua will go away Collins said, but in fact it will become a major foreign policy issue for Australia in the future.
Australia and the international community should be encouraging the Indonesian government to sit down and talk with the West Papuan leadership to solve the many issues of concern in West Papua. Dialogue with Jakarta is what the West Papuan leadership is asking for.
For more information contact: Joe Collins (Mob. + 61. 2. 04077 857 97)
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