Bhagwan leads talks on Papua

THE Pacific Conference of Churches will lead discussions on human rights concerns in West when regional leaders meet in Tuvalu this week.

General Secretary, Reverend James Bhagwan, is expected to chair talks which will hear claims of genocide, torture and violence by Indonesian security forces in Papua.

Pacific Forum leaders will meet in Tuvalu this week alongside civil society groups to discuss issues of regional concern including climate change, gender-based violence, development and human right.

The chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, Benny Wenda, welcomed the overwhelming support by key members of the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers meeting that highlighted the outstanding invitation by Indonesia and called for a mission to Papua by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet.

“I welcome the support by Pacific Island Forum members to Vanuatu’s call that resolved in the Ministers’ meeting to strongly encourage both Indonesia and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to finalise the timing of the visit and make every endeavour to provide a report on the situation before the next Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu in 2020,” Wenda said.

He called on regional leaders to reflect on the Pacific as a region of peace, harmony, security, social inclusion and prosperity in which all its people could lead free healthy and productive lives.

Wenda acknowledged the continued prayers and support from Civil Society networks, particularly churches and CSOs which continued to provide support to leaders and governments regarding human rights issues in West Papua.

Indonesian-occupied West (formerly Dutch) Papua was granted independence by the Netherlands in 1961 but annexed by Indonesia and then handed over to Jakarta in 1969 after a contested United Nations-supervised act of free choice.