Foreign Minister Urged To Act On Current West Papua Crisis

The “West Papua Action Aotearoa” national network of groups is calling for our Foreign Minister to speak out on the human rights crisis in West Papua and to cut off all defence ties with Indonesia.

“Our Foreign Minister must use her power and raise her voice on behalf of the Aotearoa people against the military crackdown and the terrorist designation which threaten the lives and safety of all indigenous West Papuan people.” Says Catherine Delahunty, spokesperson for the network.

“At this critical time, we also call on her to announce a cut-off of defence ties with Indonesia and the export of all military goods, weapons and weapons components to Indonesia.* This move is essential to ensure that Aotearoa is not complicit in any way in violence in West Papua.”

“She needs to urgently challenge the designation of resistance groups in West Papua as terrorist. The broad definition of terrorism under the counter-terrorism law gives the security forces wide powers to detain suspects without charge and hold them for lengthy periods with no trial. Any form of resistance can now be branded as ‘terrorist’ in a region where pro-in\dependence sentiment and passive support for the armed resistance runs deep. Large numbers of troops have been moved to West Papua and human rights impacts are being identified by groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty. “

A specific example of this kind of misuse of powers in the last 24 hours is the arrest of Victor Yeimo International Spokesperson for the KPNB , a peacrful protest group, for leading anti racism protest in West Papua in 2019 .

We strongly agree with NanaiaMahuta’s statement from 21 4 2021 that human rights should be approached ‘in a consistent county agnostic manner’. If lives are to be saved the urgent need is for an end to Indonesia’s militarist approach. We urge the Minister apply her commitment to human rights by pressing for an immediate halt to all military operations in West Papua.”

Contact Catherine Delahunty 021 2421967

*We are exporting military aircraft parts to the Indonesian military and also export small arms to undisclosed customers in that country.

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