Vanuatu to host West Papua groups

Transcript

Vanuatu is to host a major conference of West Papuan representative groups towards arranging a unified bid for membership in the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

MSG leaders last month knocked back the membership application of the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation, calling for an application by a more representative umbrella group.

Vanuatu's council of churches, national chiefs' body and government have established the West Papua Unification Committee to organise next month's conference.

The chairman of the committee, Pastor Alain Nafuki, spoke to Johnny Blades who asked him whether Indonesia would allow pro-independence groups from Papua region to travel to Vila.

ALAIN NAFUKI: It has been made possible through the previous MSG discussion in Papua New Guinea with various heads of government in Melanesia. During that week we have also organised for them for the rest of the groups to get to know each other much more better than before. We do understand that they are coming from different parts of the country. This is providing an atmosphere for them to understand each other and then maybe they will also suggest ways that we could assist with them and also our Chiefs are willing to perform also another traditional peace making ceremony so that this will help them to understand culturally and traditionally and we will unite together before we can talk about their future.

JOHNNY BLADES: So will there be groups invited who are pro-autonomy and not necessarily for independence in West Papua?

AN: Yes, I think that would be the mandate that they have at the moment. We would invite others to come and listen to what we have to say particularly for the self-determination issue. And I think we see that it is going to be inaccessible for them to travel. To [inaudible] the Indonesian government may be aware of that but we think that they will be free to travel free from their country to Port Moresby, Honiara, and Vila.

JB: So Indonesia is helping with this process?

AN: I think whether to say they are helping is another question but I think they are aware of what is happening and they are aware of the stand Vanuatu has taken and especially this West Papua new committee that has been set up, unification committee.

JB: But when you get the groups in Port Vila it will be about discussing a unified bid to join the MSG.

AN: Yeah I think that the message is clear, people in West Papua are divided but at the moment if they do come to Vanuatu then we will provide that avenue for them to reconcile and maybe we can also serve and help by any unification ceremony that we will carry out at the end of next month here.

JB: And when you say they are divided do you mean divided on the matter of joining the MSG or divided in another sense?

AN: No, you see I think there are two camps here. One is [inaudible] West Papua, we need to know who are for pro-independence and who are for pro-autonomous and I think we want to drive the language self-determination in so that people will decide on their own self-determination what they think is best for them to strive for.