West Papuan suffering will go on if NZ doesn’t take stand, says Rosa Moiwend

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Michael Andrew’s Pacific Media Watch interview with Rosa Moiwend of West Papua. Video: Pacific Media Centre

By Michael Andrew

West Papuan human rights defender Rosa Moiwend was in New Zealand this week, speaking about the need for more countries to challenge Indonesia on its human rights abuses in her homeland.

Her New Zealand tour featured talks in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland where she discussed West Papuan resistance to expanding Indonesian military and business interests.

She told Pacific Media Watch contributing editor Michael Andrew about Indonesia’s confiscation of indigenous land for oil palm developments and its attempt to isolate West Papua from the rest of the Pacific.

Rosa Moiwend with Michael Andrew
West Papuan human rights defender Rosa Moiwend talks to Pacific Media Watch contributing editor Michael Andrew at the Pacific Media Centre this week. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

“Land has been taken away from the indigenous people,” she says in this video report.

“And this massive food project is a kind of third wave of taking people’s land without permission.”

Moiwend also says there needs to be stronger media coverage.

“To get the information, maybe they are not well informed, that’s my assumption,” she says.

“Or, the second thing is, maybe they don’t have access to get into West Papua. Again, it is really important that the New Zealand government talks to the Indonesian government and asks them that they should open up to the media.”

West Papuan human rights defender Rosa Moiwend at the Pacific Media Centre this week with publications from the centre. Image: Del Abcede/PMC
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2 COMMENTS

  1. Asia PacificReport and Rosa are overlooking the main issue that the looting, occupation & rape of West Papua is still being conducted under authorisation of UN General Assembly resolution 1752. Our governments voted to occupy & administrate the colony with our choice of foreign troops, our governments authorised Pakistani troops and then we asked Indonesia to assume the occupation which it has been doing since 1963 at the “discretion” of our governments / United Nations. The option that our ‘General Assembly’ has for this evil action is article 85 part of the Charter of the United Nations, it is “legal” under our law to do this to West Papua irrespective of its objections to this in and since 1962; ** but ** it is ILLEGAL under our law (article 85 part 2) to be concealing news/issue of our resolution 1752 from the agenda of the Trusteeship Council.
    That is WHY Indonesia and companies like Freeport have been enjoying effective impunity to murder & rape in West Papua, because OUR governments are still illegally preventing the Trusteeship Council from making the yearly reports about West Papua that it is legally required to provide under articles 87 & 88 of our Charter.

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