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NZ Must Put West Papua on Pacific Forum Agenda
NZ should put West Papua on Pacific Islands Forum
agenda
Green MP Metiria Turei today urged the New Zealand Government to put the Indonesian military domination of West Papua on the agenda at next week's Pacific Islands Forum in Auckland.
"West Papua has been under Indonesian military colonisation for the past 40 years, since invading in 1963. More than 100,000 West Papuans have lost their lives under this regime, which is a very similar situation to East Timor," Mrs Turei said.
"West Papua is mineral-rich, and multinational companies have been in there for years extracting resources, while West Papuans are tortured, raped and killed by the Indonesian military.
"West Papua solidarity activists and Amnesty International have been lobbying the New Zealand Government to have this serious issue discussed by Pacific heads of state at the Pacific Islands Forum [12 to 17 August], without success.
"This is
another example of New Zealand turning a blind eye to human
rights abuses in the Pacific. West Papua falls within our
sphere of influence and we can't continue to sit back and
watch more innocent people be tortured, abused and
murdered," Mrs Turei said.
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