New MSG meeting on West Papua scheduled

Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Map (Photo credit: AK Rockefeller)

Thursday, 23 January 2014 11:27, SolomonStar.com

THE Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has confirmed a special Leaders meeting will be held in Vanuatu next month.

Peter Forau says the agenda is still being consulted on but it will address issues of importance to MSG cooperation, notably the West Papua issue.

The MSG Chairperson Victor Tutugoro, who is also spokesperson of New Caledonia‘s indigenous FLNKS movement, is calling for the meeting, just days after a controversial MSG mission to Indonesia and Papua.

Foreign ministers from Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Solomon Islands took part in a delegation last week, which was meant to learn more about the bid by the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation to become a member of the MSG.

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Filed under: Articles

Some MSG opposition to West Papuan group membership bid

Originally aired on Dateline Pacific, Wednesday 22 January 2014

A special Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders’ summit has been scheduled after last week’s controversial trip to Indonesia to address issues including West Papua.

Transcript

A special Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders’ summit has been scheduled after last week’s controversial trip to Indonesia to address issues including West Papua.

The trip, which was boycotted by Vanuatu, was meant to discover more about the West Papuan National Coalition for Liberation, which is seeking membership of the MSG.

An envoy from New Caledonia’s FLNKS says he will be recommending that the MSG can NOT accept the group’s application.

Bridget Tunnicliffe reports:

One of the foreign ministers who went on a trip to Indonesia last week as part of the MSG delegation, says engaging with Indonesia is the only way to help West Papuans.

Vanuatu’s foreign minister pulled out of the visit because the itinerary did not include meetings with groups concerned about alleged human rights abuses in West Papua.

Edward Natapei says the trip was meant to be a fact finding mission to discover more about the WPNCL, which wants to become a full member of the MSG.

Solomon Islands’ foreign affairs minister Clay Forau says he respects Vanuatu’s decision but believes they need to take up any opportunity to engage with Indonesia.

CLAY FORAU: Without that there’s no other way that MSG can conduct a mission, we want to take it step by step and consult with the government of Indonesia regarding issues of West Papua and I don’t really see any way that we can do that apart from consulting with the government of Indonesia.

The foreign ministers of Papua New Guinea and Fiji were also part of the delegation.

The MSG Chairperson Victor Tutugoro, who is also spokesperson of the FLNKS in New Caledonia, this week called for a special leaders’ meeting in Vanuatu next month.

The agenda is still being drawn up but it will address issues of importance to MSG cooperation, including the West Papua case.

The WPNCL believes the MSG visit to Papua last week would have been revealing, despite no meetings with civil society groups taking place.

Its vice-chairman, Otto Ondawame, believes the trip can still achieve its mandate.

OTTO ONDAWAME: I think if MSG members are really wise enough they can understand very well about who is Indonesia actually. For us it has become clear that Indonesia does not intend to solve the issue of West Papua.

But Yvon Faua, who took part in the delegation as an FLNKS envoy, says their report to the MSG will say it’s not possible to accept the application of the WPNCL.

Mr Faua says there are other groups that also claim to represent West Papuans and the people are better served if those groups merge.

YVON FAUA: See if it’s possible to make those organisations to be together and still come back to the MSG countries to see about a new application for them altogether.

Yvon Faua says the MSG could take a role in getting the various West Papuan groups to work together.

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/datelinepacific/audio/2583105/some-msg-opposition-to-west-papuan-group-membership-bid

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Filed under: Roundups, Melanesian Spearhead Group, Regional Support, Vanuatu Support

Gen. Mathias Wenda: Welcome Melanesian Nation-States Leaders to West Papua, Your Own Homeland

The West Papua Revolutionary Army (WPRA) expresses gratitude and  sends a warm welcome message to the foreign ministers of Melanesian Nation-State for finally paying a visit to West Papua, the original homeland of All Melanesian Race. The note is signed by both the Commander in Chief (Gen. Mathias Wenda) and his Secretary-General (Lt. Gen. Amunggut Tabi).

The letter says, “Welcome to your own homeland! Here is the place, where all of us Melanesian came into existence and then spread across the archipelago!” The letter then continues,

“Melanesians in West Papua have the same right and ownership of this part of our Island our brothers and sisters across Melanesian archipelago. This is our place of origin. Tens of thousands of years ago, you left this place, and asked us to take care of it. We did, successfully for more than 50 thousands years since we separated, but finally we failed. We are very sorry for that. We could not keep this part of our Island fully for the sake of the future of our Melanesian race. This part of your place of origin is unfortunately already occupied by foreigners for almost a century now.”

The letter says the Isle of New Guinea is the future of Melanesia, particularly in facing the uncertain future of tens of thousands of small islands in the South Pacific Region that will finally sink into the sea due to climate change and global warming. Then it urges modern Melanesian nation-states leaders to come again any time they wish. General Wenda says:

I am myself a tribal Chief, just taking the role as Commander in Chief of West Papua Revolutionary Army while waiting for all Melanesian armed forces to join us and fight against illegal occupation of our ancestral land. What will happen if we allow Indonesia occupy and take over West Papua? Doesn’t it mean that it has a long-term plan to occupy the other half of this Island as well? If that happens, then what is the future of all Melanesian nation-states? What are we going to do with our brothers and sisters in small islands in our Melanesian archipelago? Will Australia accept them? No, of course not. You have a place of origin, you have your own second largest Island on earth. Why don’t you take strategic actions now for you won sake?

The letter also states the Office of OPM has been officially set up and he will announce the OPM functionaries in near future and hope that all Melanesian leaders will accept them as their fellow politicians working together to free Melanesia from external incursion and foreign occupation in our Melanesian ancestral lands.

The letter also mentions the name of the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the name of the Prime Minister of Vanuatu and all Melanesian leaders. General Wenda express his gratitude that this historic visit is executed in January 2014, the year that Gen. Wenda expected for the leaders to visit West Papua. He noted,

“I was a bit worried if the came last month, because every Christmas the Indonesia terror agents in cooperation with military intelligence operate more actively and more openly and even carry out shootings to kill. They are now having a rest after a full-month terror operations across West Papua last month.”

In the closure the letter says in the Names of our ancestors, and for the sake of our future generations, in the names of all our heroes and those who are still alive across Melanesian archipelago, and signed by Gen. WPRA Mathias Wenda, and co-signed by Lt. Gen. TRWP Amunggut Tabi

 

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Filed under: Articles, Mathias Wenda, Melanesian Spearhead Group, special message, WPRA

Group to assess West Papua application

THE Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) will assess the application by West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) to become a member of the group.

This will be discussed at the MSG Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) in Indonesia this week, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Ratu Inoke Kubuabola.

In an Information Ministry statement released on Saturday, Ratu Inoke said the FMM delegation would also be in West Papua for two days during the visit to meet with local government officials and other relevant stakeholders.

“We are happy to undertake this important visit at the invitation of the Indonesian Government to be able to assess the application by WPNCL to become a member of the MSG to enable us to present a recommendation to our leaders,” Ratu Inoke said.

“We fully respect Indonesia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and we further recognise that West Papua is an integral part of Indonesia.”

Ratu Inoke will also meet Indonesian President Susilo Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

He said the visit would provide an opportunity to learn about the situation in West Papua and understand the aspirations of Fiji’s Melanesian brothers and sisters in Papua with regards to their representation by WPNCL in the MSG.

It was envisaged that the visit would also deepen the economic ties and development co-operation between Indonesia and MSG countries.

The visit will be mandated by the MSG leaders who were at the MSG summit in Noumea in June last year.

The meeting ends on Thursday

Nasik Swami, Monday, January 13, 2014, FIJItimes.com

Group to assess West Papua application was originally published on West Papua

Filed under: Roundups, MSG, Regional Support, WPNCL