Friday, December 01, 2006
Free West Papua!
Today is West Papuan Independence Day, and (let's be honest) I completely forgot to go to the demonstration in London outside the embassy of the Indonesian government, whose army is occupying West Papua. To make amends, therefore, here is a powerful open letter to the Indonesian ambassador by Benny Wenda, an exiled West Papuan leader who lives in Oxford, written for the occasion:
An open letter to the Indonesian Ambassador in London
1st December 2006
Dear Ambassador,
One time you told me that you are surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia? Maybe I can help you…
First you invaded our Land … but then you said we could vote for independence ina referendum you called the ‘Act of Free Choice’. But then you were worried that if you allowed us a democratic vote, we West Papuans would make the "wrong choice" by choosing independence. So instead of giving us one person-one vote,you hand-picked a thousand West Papuans and told them that if they voted for independence you would cut their tongues out.
And you’re still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Then you discovered that West Papua was full of gold, copper, oil and timber…but it was unfortunately also full of West Papuan men, women and children. So you started to remove the people who ‘got in your way’ by shooting them, starving them, raping them, bombing them from helicopters, ripping them from their mothers’ wombs or simply by burying them alive. You covered our earth and filled our rivers with West Papuan blood. We can still hear the cries of agony of thehundreds of thousands of our People you murdered.
And you’re still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Then you started to rip open and destroy our Land. We call our Land our Mother because she gives us everything we need to live. You sold our Mother to British, American & Australian companies like Rio Tinto & BP. You got rich whilst we WestPapuans got poorer, not because we want your kind of riches, but because without our Mother we die.
And you’re still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Now you say that we are ‘free and equal citizens of the new Indonesian democracy’. But when we tell you we want to use this ‘new free democracy’ tocampaign democratically and peacefully for independence and when we just want tosee own flag flying in our own Sky, you put us in prison, you torture us and you kill us.
Are you still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Yours faithfully,
Benny Wenda
Chairman, Koteka Tribal Assembly & Leader of the West Papua Independence Movement in the United Kingdom
More here and here.
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An open letter to the Indonesian Ambassador in London
1st December 2006
Dear Ambassador,
One time you told me that you are surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia? Maybe I can help you…
First you invaded our Land … but then you said we could vote for independence ina referendum you called the ‘Act of Free Choice’. But then you were worried that if you allowed us a democratic vote, we West Papuans would make the "wrong choice" by choosing independence. So instead of giving us one person-one vote,you hand-picked a thousand West Papuans and told them that if they voted for independence you would cut their tongues out.
And you’re still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Then you discovered that West Papua was full of gold, copper, oil and timber…but it was unfortunately also full of West Papuan men, women and children. So you started to remove the people who ‘got in your way’ by shooting them, starving them, raping them, bombing them from helicopters, ripping them from their mothers’ wombs or simply by burying them alive. You covered our earth and filled our rivers with West Papuan blood. We can still hear the cries of agony of thehundreds of thousands of our People you murdered.
And you’re still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Then you started to rip open and destroy our Land. We call our Land our Mother because she gives us everything we need to live. You sold our Mother to British, American & Australian companies like Rio Tinto & BP. You got rich whilst we WestPapuans got poorer, not because we want your kind of riches, but because without our Mother we die.
And you’re still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Now you say that we are ‘free and equal citizens of the new Indonesian democracy’. But when we tell you we want to use this ‘new free democracy’ tocampaign democratically and peacefully for independence and when we just want tosee own flag flying in our own Sky, you put us in prison, you torture us and you kill us.
Are you still surprised that we West Papuans want independence from Indonesia?
Yours faithfully,
Benny Wenda
Chairman, Koteka Tribal Assembly & Leader of the West Papua Independence Movement in the United Kingdom
More here and here.
