05 November 2009

MEDIA STATEMENT

In light of the Launching of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua in London on 15th October 2008, of which I am a founding member, I am pleased to announce the launching of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua – “The PNG Chapter” on Saturday 07th of November 2009 at the University of Papua New Guinea Botanical Garden.
The International Parliamentarians for West Papua is a concern international Parliamentarian group of legislators who simply want the people of West Papua to exercise the fundamental right to self determination just like all other people of the world because that right belongs to the people of the world.

The main purpose of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua is to advocate for and ensure that our people of West Papua exercise their fundamental rights to self determination, a right recognized globally and enshrined in the United Nations founding Charter and in the preamble of the United Nation Human Rights Charter.

The right to self determination is recognized globally as a fundamental right to be exercise by people of the world. It is also recognized as a preliminary right that must be exercised and enjoyed before one can benefit or achieve other rights such as social, economic or political rights. The right to self determination is therefore a prerequisite or fundamental to all other rights and history shows that the people of West Papua did not exercise that right to date.
The launching of the PNG Chapter is complementary to the efforts of the International Parliamentarians in Europe and USA in recognizing the right of the West Papuan people to self determination, that has been denied from them through the 1969 Act of Free Choice.
The launching of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua – PNG Chapter is a show of support and commitment to the International Community and to the people of West Papua that we stand in solidarity to advocate for self determination for West Papua and by doing so we elevate the plight of the West Papuan People to a new level and hopefully in the United Nations.

The official launching of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua “PNG Chapter” will at the University of Papua New Guinea Botanical Gardens on Saturday 7th November 2009 at 1 o’clock.

ENDS