Papua New Guinea and Indonesia have formally ratified a defence agreement a decade after its initial signing.

PNG’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko and the Indonesian ambassador to the Pacific nation, Andriana Supandy, convened a press briefing in Port Moresby on February 29 to declare the ratification.

The agreement enables an enhancement of military operations between the two countries, with a specific focus on strengthening patrols along the border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

• READ MORE: Other West Papua reports

According to Tkatchenko as reported by RNZ Pacific citing Benar News, “The Joint border patrols and different types of defence cooperation between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea of course will be part of the ever-growing security mechanism.”

“It would be wonderful to witness the collaboration between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, both now and in the future, as they work together side by side. Indonesia is a rising Southeast Asian power that reaches into the South Pacific region and dwarfs Papua New Guinea in population, economic size and military might,” added the minister.

In recent years, Indonesia has been asserting its own regional hegemony in the Pacific amid the rivalries of two superpowers — the United States and China.

Indonesia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi reiterated Indonesia’s commitment to bolster collaboration with Pacific nations amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region during the recent 2024 annual press statement held by the minister for foreign affairs at the Asian-African Conference in Bandung.

Diverse Indigenous states
The Pacific Islands are home to diverse sovereign Indigenous states and islands, and also home to two influential regional powers, Australia and New Zealand. This vast diverse region is increasingly becoming a pivotal strategic and political battleground for foreign powers — aiming to win the hearts and minds of the populations and governments in the region.

Numerous visible and hidden agreements, treaties, talks, and partnerships are being established among local, regional, and global stakeholders in the affairs of this vast region.

The Pacific region carries great importance for powerful military and economic entities such as China, the United States and its coalition, and Indonesia. For them, it serves as a crucial area for strategic bases, resource acquisition, food, and commercial routes.

For Indigenous islanders, states, and tribal communities, the primary concern is around the loss of their territories, islands, and other vital cultural aspects, such as languages and traditional wisdom.

The crumbling of Oceania, reminiscent of its past colonisation by various European powers, is now occurring. However, this time it is being orchestrated by foreign entities appointing their own influential local pawns.

With these local pawns in place, foreign monarchs, nobility, warlords, and miscreants are advancing to reshape the region’s fate.

The rejection by the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to acknowledge the representation of West Papua by the United Liberation for West Papua (ULMWP) as a full member of the regional body in August 2023 highlights the diminishing influence of MSG leaders in decision-making processes concerning issues that are deemed crucial by the Papuan community as part of the “Melanesian family affairs”.

Suspicion over ‘external forces’
This raises suspicion of external forces at play within the Melanesian nations, manipulating their destinies. The question arises, who is orchestrating the fate of the Melanesian nations?

Is it Jakarta, Beijing, Washington, or Canberra?

In a world characterised by instability, safety and security emerges as a crucial prerequisite for fostering a peaceful coexistence, nurturing friendships, and enabling development.

The critical question at hand pertains to the nature of the threats that warrant such protective measures, the identities of both the endangered and the aggressors, and the underlying rationale and mechanisms involved. Whose safety hangs in the balance in this discourse?

And between whom does the spectre of threat loom?

If you are a realist in a world of policymaking, it is perhaps wise not to antagonise the big guy with the big weapon in the room. The Minister of Papua New Guinea may be attempting to underscore the importance of Indonesia in the Pacific region, as indicated by his statements.

If you are West Papuan, it makes little difference whether one leans towards realism or idealism. What truly matters is the survival of West Papuans, in the midst of the significant settler colonial presence of Asian Indonesians in their ancestral homeland.

West Papuan refugee camp
Two years ago, PNG’s minister stated the profound existential sentiments experienced by the West Papuans in 2022 while visiting a West Papuan refugee community in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

During the visit, the minister addressed the West Papuan refugees with the following words:

“The line on the map in middle of the island (New Guinea) is the product of colonial impact. These West Papuans are part of our family, part of our members and part of Papua New Guinea. They are not strangers.

“We are separated only by imaginary lines, which is why I am here. I did not come here to fight, to yell, to scream, to dictate, but to reach a common understanding — to respect the law of Papua New Guinea and the sovereignty of Indonesia.”

These types of ambiguous and opaque messages and rhetoric not only instil fake hope among the West Papuans, but also produce despair among displaced Papuans on their own soil.

The seemingly paradoxical language coupled with the significant recent security agreement with the entity — Indonesia — that has been oppressing the West Papuans under the pretext of sovereignty, signifies one ominous prospect:

Is PNG endorsing a “death decree” for the Indonesian security apparatus to hunt Papuans along the border and mountainous region of West Papua and Papua New Guinea?

Security for West Papua
Currently, the situation in West Papua is deteriorating steadily. Thousands of Indonesian military personnel have been deployed to various regions in West Papua, especially in the areas afflicted by conflict, such as Nduga, Yahukimo, Maybrat, Intan Jaya, Puncak, Puncak Jaya, Star Mountain, and along the border separating Papua New Guinea from West Papua.

On the 27 February 2024, Indonesian military personnel captured two teenage students and fatally shot a Papuan civilian in the Yahukimo district. They alleged that the deceased individual was affiliated with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNB), although this assertion has yet to be verified by the TPNPB.

Such incidents are tragically a common occurrence throughout West Papua, as the Indonesian military continue to target and wrongfully accuse innocent West Papuans in conflict-ridden regions of being associated with the TPNPB.

These deplorable acts transpired just prior to the ratification of a border operation agreement between the governments of the Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

As the security agreement was being finalised, the Indonesian government announced a new military campaign in the highlands of West Papua. This operation, is named as “Habema” — meaning “must succeed to the maximum” — and was initiated in Jakarta on the 29 February 2024.

Agus Subiyanto, the Indonesian military command and police command stated during the announcement:

“My approach for Papua involves smart power, a blend of soft power, hard power, and military diplomacy. Establishing the Habema operational command is a key step in ensuring maximum success.”

The looming military operation in West Papua and its border regions, employing advanced smart weapon technology poised a profound danger for Papuans.

A looming humanitarian crisis in West Papua, PNG, broader Melanesia and the Pacific region is inevitable, as unmanned aerial drones discern targets indiscriminately, wreak havoc in homes, and villages of the Papuan communities.

The Indonesian security forces have increasingly employed such sophisticated technology in conflict zones since 2019, including regions like Intan Jaya, Yahukimo, Maybrat, Pegunungan Bintang, and other volatile regions in West Papua.

Consequently, villages have been razed to the ground, compelling inhabitants to flee to the jungle in search of sanctuary — an exodus that continues unabated as they remain displaced from their homes indefinitely.

On 5 April 2018, the Indonesian government announced a military operation known as Damai Cartenz, which remains active in conflict-ridden regions, such as Yahukimo, Pegunungan Bintang, Nduga, and Intan Jaya.

The Habema security initiative will further threaten Papuans residing in the conflict zones, particularly in the vicinity of the border shared by Papua New Guinea and West Papua.

There are already hundreds of people from the Star Mountains who have fled across to Tumolbil, in the Yapsie sub-district of the PNG province of West Sepik, situated on the border. They fled to PNG because of Indonesia’s military operation (RNZ 2021).

According to RNZ News, individuals fleeing military actions conducted by the Indonesian government, including helicopter raids that caused significant harm to approximately 14 villages, have left behind foot tracks.

The speaker explained that Papua New Guineans occasionally cross over to the Indonesian side, typically seeking improved access to basic services.

The PNG government has been placing refugees from West Papua in border camps, the biggest one being at East Awin in the Western Province for many decades, with assistance from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

How should PNG, UN respond?
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007, article 36, states that “Indigenous peoples, in particular those divided by international borders, have the right to maintain and develop contacts, relations and cooperation with their own members as well as other peoples across borders”.

Over the past six years, regional and international organisations, such as the Melanesian Spearheads groups (MSG), Pacific islands Forum (PIF), Africa, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP), the UN’s human rights commissioner as well as dozens of countries and individual parliaments, lawyers, academics, and politicians have been asking the Indonesian government to allow the UN’s human rights commissioner to visit West Papua.

However, to date, no response has been received from the Indonesian government.

What does this security deal mean for West Papuans?
This is not just a simple security arrangement between Jakarta and Port Moresby to address border conflicts, but rather an issue of utmost importance for the people of Papua.

It concerns the sovereignty of a nation — West Papua — that has been unjustly seized by Indonesia, while the international community watched in silence, witnessing the unfurling and unparalleled destruction of human lives and the ecological system.

There is one noble thing the foreign minister of PNG and his government can do: ask why Jakarta is not responding to the request for a UN visit made by the international community, rather than endorsing an ‘illegal security pact’ with the illegal Indonesia colonial occupier over his supposed “family members separated only by imaginary lines”.

Ali Mirin is a West Papuan from the Kimyal tribe of the highlands that share a border with the Star Mountain region of Papua New Guinea. He graduated last year with a Master of Arts in International Relations from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.

Papua New Guinea and Indonesia say the economic and social ties between them are closer than ever.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited Port Moresby last week with trade, border arrangements and education foremost on the agenda.

Widodo agreed to sponsor 2000 Papua New Guinean students to attend university in Indonesia, and pledged about US$15 million to upgrade Port Moresby’s hospital.

• LISTEN TO RNZ PACIFIC WAVES: Indonesian President’s visit to PNG
• READ MORE: Author condemns Canberra ‘collusion’ with Jakarta on West Papua atrocities
• Other West Papua reports

“This is a very, very warm, in fact, one of the warmest meetings I’ve ever had as head of state,” Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said at a joint media conference.

“We [Papua New Guinea] have not been utilising the powerhouse economy that is on the other side — the world’s 16th biggest economy right now . . . they’re our link to commerce and trade in Asia.”

On the day following the visit, Indonesia state news agency Antara reported Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan stating that Indonesia would offer training to 1000 businesses in Papua New Guinea.

Marape welcomed Widodo at Jackson’s International Airport in Port Moresby last Wednesday with a gun salute from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and a cultural blessing from traditional dancers

Elephant in the room
But one topic that wasn’t discussed was West Papua which weighs heavily among many Papua New Guineans, unsettled by the widespread reports of mistreatment of their Melanesian brethren across the border.

One media report said the authorities in Papua New Guinea had clamped down on displays of the West Papuan independence flag ahead of Widodo’s visit.

Last week, at the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Human Rights Council special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, called for a humanitarian assessment in West Papua.

“The human rights situation in West Papua remains deeply concerning,” she said.

“This includes alleged harassment, arbitrary arrests, and detention of Papuans . . . that has resulted in the alleged appropriation of non-indigenous lands.”

However, many pro-independent West Papua advocates in Papua Guinea also supported the visit.

Port Moresby Governor Powes Parkop, a vocal critic of Indonesia and long-time advocate for indigenous West Papuans, said in a video statement last week that the visit was an opportunity for dialogue.

“I would like to advise the President that we, on the side on the advocacy for West Papua, are ready for talks — we want to move forward in terms of addressing this decades-long issue.

“We are open to talks and I want to invite him [President Widodo] in regard to this, to think about the future and not be defined by the past,” Parkop said.

“The past we can’t change, there is a lot of pain and there are a lot of issues and history that we are not proud of, but in the future we can redefine and make it better.”

It is a sentiment shared by fellow Papua New Guinean activist Jacob Marcos, who has participated in demonstrations against Indonesia’s role in West Papua in the past.

“Diplomatically, the PNG government has to maintain its line and discuss only the issues the Indonesian President arrives for . . . about the needs of the country,” Marcos said.

But for Papua New Guinea’s West Papuan community, the visit and generous economic agreements were a blunt reminder of Indonesia’s foreign relations prowess.

An estimated 10,000 West Papuan refugees live in Papua New Guinea, escaping a bloody conflict between armed pro-independence fighters and the Indonesian army.

The conflict has escalated over the last few months following the kidnapping of New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens by a rebel group last February 7.

Mangi Lufa-Apo is one of those refugees. He arrived in Papua New Guinea as a child after his parents fled the territory.

Lufa-Apo said he was frustrated by the sight of Pacific nations fostering ties with Indonesia, saying believed the Pacific nations should be emulating the regional solidarity that European countries were displaying with Ukraine.

“We’ve seen how European countries have rallied for Ukraine,” he said.

“The Pacific Island countries are not doing that, why are they so silent?

“There’s a genocide on their doorstep . . . I don’t know why Papua New Guinea and Pacific Islands can’t just take this to the UN and tell them that there’s a genocide going on and something needs to be done about it.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

“Merry Christmas, 25 December 2020,” says the graffiti displayed in the yard of the Nduga student dormitory in the study city of Jayapura.

Hundreds of eyes stared at the writing, then they moved forward lighting Christmas candles.

“We want Christmas light,” said Arim Tabuni, a senior student who attended the joint event.

• READ MORE: Other West Papuan stories

Arim is one of Nduga’s students. He looked thin, like never before. Now he walks slowly and bent a little.

“I was sick but came to light a candle. We want to continue to ignite the light of truth in our hearts,” he said softly, with a slight frown.

He is still sick from the beatings of Indonesian security forces when he broke up a peaceful student demonstration in Jayapura city. The assault was inflicted on him on 2 May 2016.

Beside him, Bheny Murib sat down, occasionally staring at the theme. He ignored his turn to light the candle. He just sat there until the event was over.

Stories of refugees
Apparently, Murib was mumbling stories of refugees in Nduga. He has lost the momentum of the joys of Christmas since 2018. Parents, younger siblings, and brothers left their house to the forest to neighbouring districts such as Lanny Jaya, Puncak, Asmat, Yahukimo and Jayawijaya (Wamena).

He remembered house, honai (traditional house of indigenous West Papuans), the church is quiet. There is no puff of burning smoke celebrating Christmas together in the church yard.

Nduga students from various study cities cannot go home on holiday like before.

“We wanted to celebrate Christmas with our parents at home, but these two years have all disappeared,” said Murib.

To remember that, Nduga students in Jayapura celebrate Christmas in the dormitory yard.

“Usually there is a large dormitory hall but today it is on this courtyard,” he said, looking at the baby Jesus Christmas manger lying down.

it reminded him of the birth of children in Nduga. Mothers were forced to give birth in forests and caves.

Birth in the forest
Gelina Lilbid is one of the names of the women she remembers giving birth in the forest.

Lilbid is the wife of an uncle. Gelina gave birth on her way to flee from Yigi, Nduga, to Kyawagi, Lanny Jaya and on to Wamena.

Murib told the story of the birth of a child who was named Pengungsiana Kelenea.

According to the story of Gelina Lilbid: “I gave birth to a child in the middle of the forest on 4 December 2018.

“A lot of people thought my son was dead. It turned out that my child was still breathing.

“My child is sick, has difficulty breathing and has a cough with phlegm. It was very cold in the forest, so when we walked again, I felt that my baby had not moved.

“We thought he was dead. The family had given up. A family asked me to throw my child away because it was thought he was dead.

“But I still love and carry my child. Yes, if you really die, I have to bury my child properly even in the forest.

“Because I kept carrying my baby, my brother made a fire and heated the tree leaves, and the heated leaves he stuck them all over my baby’s body.

“After the brothers put the heated leaves on the fire, my baby breathed and drank breast milk. We went on a trip.

“We were very scared because the TNI continued to shoot at our hiding place. We continued to walk in the forest, and we searched for a cave that we could hide in.

“I was carrying my child having just arrived from Kuyawagi, Lanny Jaya Regency in Wamena. We have been in Kuyawagi since the beginning of December 2018.

“Before going to Kuyawagi, we lived in the forest without eating enough food. We are very hard and suffering on our own land,” said Murib recounting Gelina Lilbid’s story.

Refugee babies fleeing
Refugee babies have fled with their parents, now in Jayawijaya (Wamena) district, since 2018. Refugees are now two years old in December 2020.

There were two other children who were born on the way to the evacuation. Their names are Wene Kelenea and Larinus Kelenea.

Wene is a word in the language of the Lani tribe, Yali and Huwula which means story, news, problems, confrontations, conflicts with one another.

If the names are sorted into Wene, Larinus, Refugees. Because of the confrontation and conflict, they had to flee.

He said his family were in refugee camps, children had to be born on the evacuation trip. It just passed. Everyone looks silent, takes it for granted, as if there is no conflict.

“When will the Indonesian government, churches and the United Nations pay attention to our human rights,” he said.

“If they cannot respect human rights, cannot take care of the fate of the Nduga people, all parties must admit that the Nduga people want to take care of themselves.”

“Stop military operations in the Nduga region and give the West Papuan nation sovereign rights,” wrote the Nduga students, among the flickering candles on their dormitory grounds.

This article was translated by a Pacific Media Watch correspondent from the original report.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s instruction for the military and the police to hunt down armed pro-independence rebels accused of being responsible for the 2018 Nduga massacre in Papua has led to a security crisis that has affected civilians in the region, claims the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua).

The instruction – issued shortly after the incident in December 2018 – was directed at the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander and the National Police chief and, according to LBH Papua, had since been used as justification to launch a security operation called Operation Nemangkawi.

The group has blamed the President’s instruction for “opening” rampant armed conflicts in Nduga between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) after the 2018 incident until now.

READ MORE: Jokowi urged to withdraw troops from Papua’s Nduga

Due to the conflicts, large numbers of civilians – whom the group deemed “victims” of the President’s instruction – had been seeking refuge in shelters, many of whom had died due to poor living conditions there, LBH Papua director Emanuel Gobay said.

“[We] firmly urge the President to immediately evaluate his instruction […] because in practice, it has resulted in displacement and human rights violations, in particular the right to life,” Gobay said in a statement.

The President’s instruction, issued in response to the killing of dozens of workers of state-owned construction firm PT Istaka Karya by TPNPB fighters, has led to a protracted security operation in Nduga that has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes and seek refuge.

According to Amnesty International Indonesia data, 263 Nduga residents who were displaced during the ongoing military operations had died of hunger or illness as of late January.

Instruction ‘led to regency killing’
LBH Papua also alleged that the President’s instruction led to the killing of two Papuans by TNI personnel in the regency recently.

Locals claimed the two – identified as Elias Karungu, 40, and Selu Karungu, 20 – were among displaced Papuans from three districts who had long sought refuge in the forest and were forced to head to Nduga’s capital due to hunger and illness.

On July 18, Elias and Selu Karungu were shot by military personnel as the group crossed the Keneyam River in Masonggorak village using wooden boats, the report said.

LBH Papua claimed that the deadly shootings were carried out by members of the Infantry Battalion 330/TD task force, assigned to Nduga under the Nemangkawi operation.

TNI spokesperson of the Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) III, Colonel Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa, confirmed that the task force was behind the shooting, saying that Elias and Selu were both members of the armed pro-independence group.

Gusti refused to comment on whether the task force’s presence in Nduga was a part of the operation as directed by the President; however, he claimed that Jokowi’s instruction was not the main guideline for the TNI’s actions in Papua.

“We must see that the reason behind the TNI’s presence there is that there is still turmoil and oppression against the people. [The President’s instruction] is not why the TNI is operating in Papua. The TNI have long been there,” Gusti told The Jakarta Post.

Stolen cell phones
He said the military were able to detect the position of the two “separatists” because they had two bags containing cell phones stolen from the TNI last month. Before crossing the river, the two were spotted receiving a revolver pistol from others, Gusti claimed.

“After crossing the river, the other residents immediately jumped into a pick-up [truck] heading for Kenyam, but the two did not. That posed a danger, so the TNI personnel shot them,” he said.

LBH Papua said the incident violated citizens’ constitutional rights and the right to life, as guaranteed in the 1999 Human Rights Law and provisions in the 1949 Geneva Convention relating to civil society in military operations.

Emanuel argued that Jokowi’s instruction following the 2018 incident was an operation to arrest, not kill, suspected pro-independence rebels.

He further urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to immediately form an investigation team to study the “alleged gross human rights violations” against the two Papuans and called for the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) to immediately provide assistance for displaced persons in Nduga in times of conflict.

During his recent visit to Papua’s Timika, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD warned the TNI and police personnel not to be “provoked” into “excessive actions” and to prioritise a legal approach in handling security issues in Papua.

“I know your work is hard, but my message is to act cautiously. Don’t be provoked by other parties into taking actions that can be considered a violation of human rights,” said Mahfud said.

Budi Sutrisno is a Jakarta Post reporter.

A relief agency says at least 139 people have died in displacement camps in the Highlands of West Papua in the past six months since clashes broke out between the Indonesian military and rebels fighting for independence.

But the Indonesian military has disputed this claim.

News reports say the conflict in Papua’s Nduga regency has killed dozens since December, forcing many more to flee for their lives.

READ MORE: Frightened and displaced, Papua children haunted by conflict

But a report by the aid group Solidarity Team for Nduga puts the number of displaced people at 5000.

The figure is in line with estimates from other rights groups.

The relief report also said this week that 139 people from Nduga had died in a displacement camp in Wamena town, mostly from disease and malnutrition.

An Indonesian military spokesperson, Muhammad Aidi, claimed the report was “a hoax” and more proof was needed.

Displaced people
The report claimed the health of displaced peoples from Nduga was deteriorating due to a lack of humanitarian supplies – especially food and medical supplies – and infectious diseases, including dysentery, which were going unchecked.

The Solidarity Team for Nduga has called on Indonesia to dismiss police and military forces from Nduga, recognise and support displaced peoples and open access to Papua to rights groups, humanitarian workers and journalists.

It said the government had failed to recognise the Nduga violence as an armed conflict, limiting aid which could be authorised under Indonesian laws.

The aid group also called on the provincial government in Papua to declare a humanitarian emergency in Nduga and form a special task force to deal with the crisis.

• This article is published under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

About 250 West Papuans have been served notices of eviction to leave their settlement in Port Moresby, reports The National.

National Capital District Commission officials, escorted by police officers, handed the settlers demolition orders last Thursday and told them to leave their home in the suburb of Rainbow where they had lived for 11 years.

Communal leader Elly Wangai said that some of them were now PNG citizens after former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill allowed them to gain citizenship without paying the K10,000 application fee.

READ MORE: West Papuan refugees ordered to demolish houses – Pacific Beat

“But unlike other PNG citizens, we don’t have any land to go to. When we were given citizenship, the government did not give us land to settle. And this is the fifth time we have been evicted since 2007.

“We were first evicted from 8-Mile settlement and we settled outside the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Office at Ela Beach.

“Then we moved to the Boroko Police station. Then to Apex Park at Boroko and now to here.”

Wangai said they were willing to move from the settlement.

‘Drainage area’
“This is a drainage area and we know that and we will move. But we want NCDC to provide land for us.

“If NCDC can evict other PNG settlements from 2-Mile and resettle them at 6-Mile, they should do the same for us.”

Wangai said they had once been given land at Red Hills in the suburb of Gerehu.

“But when we went there, developments were already taking place.

“So we had to return here. Since we were given eviction notices, our children were traumatised and did not attend school.

“Our mothers who are involved in small economical activities like selling doughnuts and ice blocks have stopped.

“They are finding it hard to earn money to look after their family. If we are given land to move, we will be confident to live our daily lives.”

According to ABC, Port Moresby Governor Powes Parkop was unaware of the move to serve the demolition orders or what had prompted it.

A vocal supporter of the West Papua cause, Parkop said he would work to stop – or at least stall – the process to carry out the demolition orders, and fulfill his promise to find the settlers a permanent home.

“I hope I can sort it out soon and get proper allocation of the land so they’ve got security and can build a future.”

About 10ha of land has been allocated to West Papuan refugees to resettle at Red Hills in the Papua New Guinean capital Port Moresby suburb of Gerehu.

The land was secured through consultations between the traditional land owners, the West Papua Relief Association and the National Capital District Commission with the assistance of NCD Governor Powes Parkop.

Governor Parkop, long a supporter of West Papuan issues stretching back to when he was a lecturer at the University of Papua New Guinea, said NCDC was implementing a government decision made in 2010 to resettle the refugees.

The West Papua Relief Association has been working to resettle all West Papuan communities living around Port Moresby and to later consider ways to settle other refugees living outside capital and in other provinces.

The association won approval from NCD Commission on 20 December 2013 for the resettlement.

Most West Papuans have been living in Port Moresby for decades but without land rights.

They have previously faced eviction from their places of residence.

More than 200 West Papuan families who have lived in various locations are Port Moresby will now live in these allocated land.

They now have a proper and permanent place to settle but with the little they have, they have appealed to the government and NGOs to step in and help them buy building materials to construct homes.

They also plan to build a school and a church which will help build and strengthen the community.

• West Papuan refugees in PNG: On way to citizenship?