Transcript
BENNY WENDA: The committee has changed the structure and the by-laws, and it's like a mini constitution for our organisation. So that's why we change to new leadership.
JOHNNY BLADES: You've changed it to a chairmanship. How does that differ from a secretary-general situation?
BW: That was elected by everybody inside, all the three main leaders and the executive council. Our meeting resolved to elect a chairmanship from the secretary-general to now upgrade the organisation. We operate on a power-sharing basis, so that's why it's very important to maintain the unity and agenda. That's what the executive council has given us the mandate to continue.
JB: In the last two or three years of couerse the Liberation Movement has lobbied far and wide about the human rights and the self-determination, twin issues really aren't they, but what's the aim from here?
BW: Self-determination. The campaign or self-determination, we already achieved much. And the same people. Only just a re-structure and the positions, but the agenda is the same, no change.
JB: And the petition, what happens with that now? Because when you delivered it to new York, there was some disagreement about whether or not the UN decolonisation committee head person had actually received it or not?
BW: Yes, this petition is coming from the people inside (Papua) to the decolonisation committee. But the next step is up to them. Because West Papua is not listed on the decolonisation committee, it's an independent kind of petition. So because for the last fifty years, we've been trying to lobby the decolonisation committee because West Papua used to be on the decolonisation committee list. But when Indonesia took over, they removed (us) from that list. So that's what we did, and we did our best. And of course, diplomatically, the protocal, not through that mechanism, but we independently deliver.
JB: You are probably the most visible of all the leaders in the Liberation Movement, you're very well known around the world, and Indonesia's government mentions you as someone who is, I suppose, a threat to the Indonesian unitary state. What do you think about that?
BW: We want to show that this leadership, we're ready to take our own country. But at the same time, Indonesia will look at it that way, but we are fighting for our right to self-determination. We are fighting, not destroying the Indonesian unitary state of the republic. But West Papua... Indonesia is illegally occupying it. That is the problem, that's the issue. That's why Indonesia should know their presence in West Papua is illegal under international law. we have not occupied their country, like Java or Sulawesi. This is.. we are talking about our land, our culture and our identity, and our right to be free.
