The West Papua delegation flying the Morning Star flag at the opening of the 7th Melanesian Arts & Culture Festival in Port Vila on 19 July 2023. (file image) Photo: Twitter.com / @MSG Secretariat
West Papuan activists in Vanuatu are demanding that the Vanuatu government "take a stronger and more decisive stance" in support of the region's independence from Indonesia, the Vanuatu Daily Post reports.
The newspaper reported West Papuan "freedom fighters and advocates" have formally submitted a petition to the government, expressing concern Vanuatu is lacking in its support to the long-standing struggle of the indigenous Melanesian people of West Papua.
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"The petition raises concern among chiefs, described as custodians of the land and traditional governance systems, who fear that Vanuatu's support for West Papua is declining while diplomatic relations with Indonesia continue to strengthen," the report stated.
According to the newspaper, the petition outlines several actions the Vanuatu government should undertake, including accrediting the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) as part of Vanuatu's delegation to international forums.
The petitioners also want the Vanuatu government to revisit the 2010 motion declaring Vanuatu's foreign policy support for West Papua's independence, to issue recognition of the West Papua provisional government, to advocate for West Papua's elevated Melanesian Spearhead Group membership status, to seek international support for United Nations access to West Papua, to cancel bilateral agreements with Indonesia, and to sponsor the West Papua case before the International Court of Justice.
They want a written response to their demands, stating "if no response is received before the Melanesian Arts Festival in Fiji in 2026, the petitioners will boycott Vanuatu's participation".
West Papua, located in the western part of the island of New Guinea, has been under Indonesia's administration since 1963.
Earlier this year, ULMWP leader Benny Wenda claimed Indonesian "military escalation" in the region was forcing the indigineous Papuans to flee their ancestral lands.
While the Indonesian military said its presence is "not to intimidate the people" but to protect them from violence, human rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, say Indonesian forces are causing mass displacement and violence against indigenous Papuans.
-Vanuatu Daily Post/RNZ Pacific
