West Papuans will peacefully mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of West Papua next week — on Wednesday, December 1.

It is also the first anniversary of the formation of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) provisional government.

“To my people back home and around the world: this is a very significant and important day for us to remember,” said interim president Benny Wenda in a statement today.

• READ MORE: Other West Papua reports

“When the Morning Star [flag] was raised by the New Guinea Council on December 1, 1961, they formed the embryo of the nation.

“I call on everyone to celebrate this day through peaceful prayer meetings. To our international solidarity supporters, please use your freedom to show your support for our struggle, wherever you are.

“Special flag raising ceremonies coordinated by the provisional government will take place in PNG, Vanuatu, the Netherlands, and the UK. I also invite Indonesian solidarity and all Indonesian citizens to pray for us and respect our national day, as we have respected your independence day.”

Wenda said that on that day “we will remember people in the bush, particularly the thousands displaced by Indonesian military operations in Intan Jaya, Nduga, Puncak Jaya, Maybrat and Oksibil”.

“We remember the two year old baby killed at the hands of the Indonesian government last month,” he said.

Plea for ‘watchful eye’
Wenda called on the world to keep a watchful eye on any human rights violations  in West Papua on December 1.

“There is often bloodshed carried out by Indonesian military and police. We do not want this – we will be celebrating in a peaceful way,” he said.

“There is no need to harass, intimidate or attack those who are peacefully praying. I call on the Indonesian government and President to leave us alone on our national day. Our time is coming, and one day we will stand side-by-side as good neighbours.

“We will also be celebrating the announcements and progress we have made in the last two years, with our constitution, provisional government, cabinet, and recently our Green State Vision for the nation.

“The ULMWP provisional government has consistently recognised all proclamations made in the history of our struggle by West Papuan leaders before us.

“With these important steps we have made, I encourage my people to come together in one spirit to celebrate and move us closer to our goal of independence and self-determination for all.

“We wish peace on West Papua, on Indonesia, the region and the whole world.”

The massive gathering in Christchurch’s Hagley Park has reassured and uplifted their shocked community, say New Zealand Muslim leaders.

About 20,000 people gathered in Hagley Park to observe two minutes of silence and the Muslim call to prayer on Friday along with thousands more at other events across the country, including Auckland’s Domain.

Pacific Media Centre photographer Del Abcede was on hand to capture these images at Ponsonby’s Al-Masjid Al-Jamie mosque and Aotea Square on a day when women across New Zealand of all faiths reclaimed the hijab. More photos can be seen on her Facebook page.

• More Christchurch mosque attack stories

Ponsonby and Aotea day of prayer, reflection

1 of 24

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo says he respects the verdict handed down by an Indonesian local court against an ethnic Chinese woman, Meiliana, who was sentenced to 18 months in jail after being found guilty of blasphemy.

According to Widodo, if there are those who disagree with the verdict then Meiliana can lodge an appeal against the ruling by the Medan District Court

“Yes, an appeal process is available,” Widodo said after meeting with the Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI) in Jakarta on Friday.

READ MORE: Woman jailed in Indonesia for complaining call to prayer is to loud

Speaking on behalf of the 44-year-old Meiliana, who wept in court after the sentencing, her legal attorney Ranto Sibarani said she would soon launch an appeal against the verdict.

Widodo said even as the head of the nation he was not above the law and was unable to intervene in the case.

This is because even he had recently been found guilty of negligence in a lawsuit over the burning of forests and land by the Palangkaraya High Court.

“I am unable to intervene in legal affairs that are related to the authority of the courts. I myself have only just been found guilty by a court in Palangkaraya over a [forest] fire,” said Widodo laughing.

Forest fire case
The Palangkaraya High Court recently found Widodo guilty of violating the law in a West Kalimantan forest and land fire case.

The other defendants in the case included Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya, Agricultural Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, Agriculture and Land Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil, Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek, Central Kalimantan Governor Sugianto Sabran and the Central Kalimantan Regional House of Representatives (DPRD).

The defendants are currently preparing to submit an appeal with the Supreme Court.

The Pacific Media Centre reports that the last few days have seen a massive outpouring of support for Meiliana, a Chinese-Indonesian woman of the Buddhist faith who was sentenced to 18 months for complaining about the volume of the adzan (Islamic call to prayer) from a speaker at a mosque near her house in Tanjungbalai, North Sumatra.

An online petition addressed to Widodo, which was launched on August 22 calling for Meiliana to be freed, has already been signed by more than 100,000 people.

The petition also requests that the panel of judges that sentenced Meiliana be reviewed and that the Ministry of Religious Affairs issue a regulation on the use of loudspeakers by mosques, which it has since done.

Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was “Tak Bisa Intervensi Hukum, Jokowi Sarankan Meiliana Banding”.

• Court verdict: Jokowi guilty in Kalimantan forest fire