Dear Friends of West Papua,
In this update we bring you news of the deteriorating human rights situation in
West Papua, and invite you to join us for a demonstration next week on 1st
December outside the Indonesian Embassy and the headquarters of Rio Tinto.
Continued violence by the Indonesian security forces has left 40 West Papuan
civilians dead since August. Today Amnesty International stated in a report
that Indonesia lacked 'human rights accountability' after it emerged that
Indonesian police officers involved in the killing of 7 civilians at a peaceful
Congress meeting last month had been allowed to return to work with just a
written warning.
Last week we received graphic footage showing a young Papuan boy whose head had
been set on fire by Indonesian security forces leaving him permanently scarred.
Sweeping operations by the military in the highlands are continuing, and all
human rights groups and foreign media remain banned. I urge you all to continue
lobbying your MP to raise this issue at the highest levels.
Next Thursday 1st December is West Papua's independence day. On this day in
1961 West Papuans were granted their freedom by the Dutch and given their
national flag and national anthem. A year later Indonesia invaded, and since
then over 400,000 civilians have lost their lives in military operations.
In London we will be holding a demonstration outside the Indonesian Embassy
before moving onto the headquarters of mining company Rio Tinto.
Please come and join us from 11am. The demo will move onto Rio Tinto's
headquarters at 3pm.
If you are unable to join us please hold solidarity vigils and flag-raisings
wherever you are in the world in support of the ongoing struggle being fought
by those in West Papua.
On behalf of my people I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your
continued support for us. We will never give up until we have our freedom.
Wa wa wa,
Benny Wenda
Free West Papua Campaign
www.freewestpapua.org
www.bennywenda.org