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AWPA calls on the Australian Foreign Minister to condemn the arrests in West Papua
Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) Media release - May 2, 2016
As many as 178 activists from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), the Regional Parliament (PRD) and the students were taken to the City Police Resort (Police) Jayapura today the 2 May.
The rallies were called to show support for the meeting of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) in London on 3 May and to support the action by the people and government of Vanuatu who supports ULMWP to be a full member of the MSG. In Sorong 27 Peaceful Demonstration, Members Of The KNPB Were Arrested. Journalists trying to cover the peaceful rallies were forbidden to do so.
The KNPB in particular have
been a targeted of the security forces in the past month with its members
being arrested at rallies on the 13 and 29 April.
Joe Collins of AWPA said
"its about time that governments stopped repeating the mantra of 'human
rights abuses are a thing of the past and Indonesian is now a democracy'.
The continuous arrests of peaceful demonstrators, intimidation of human
rights defenders and journalists prove otherwise".
The international community has to release that the issue of West Papua is not going away. The recent rally in Port Vila calling for full membership for West Papua at the MSG shows this. A civil society organisation (CSO) forum was also officially opened in Vila yesterday
The AWPA calls on Julie Bishop to raise the crackdown by security forces on the latest peacefully rallies in West Papua with Jakarta. The crackdown on West Papuans right to freedom of speech and freedom to demonstrate. AWPA also urges the foreign minister to pressure Jakarta to allow a PIF fact finding mission to West Papua, to listen to the tragic stories the West Papuan people have to tell.
Source: http://awpasydneynews.blogspot.com.au/2016/05/awpa-calls-on-australian-foreign.html.
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