Today marked the 51st anniversary of the signing of the devastating New York Agreement (1962). This treaty gave Indonesia permission to take complete control of West Papua, having already occupied parts of it. The deal was brokered by the United States in an effort to improve relations with Indonesia and prevent it from falling under Communist control.
As we reported yesterday, the police banned any planned demonstrations to protest this terrible treaty, but many peaceful rallies were held across West Papua nevertheless.
Reported protests in West Papua
- 800 Police Personnel Deployed To “Secure” Cultural Parade
- Two Panzer Tanks Follow Cultural Parade
- Walau Teror dan Penangkapan, Rakyat Papua di Fak-Fak Turun Demo
- Di Mnukwar, Rakyat Papua Dukung Kantor FWPC di Belanda
- Di Nabire, Rakyat Papua Dukung Kantor Kompanye Papua Merdeka di Belanda
- Situasi Kamtibmas Papua Aman
- DUKUNG KANTOR OPM DI BELANDA, DOA BERSAMA NUANSA PAPUA DIGELAR
- Rallies in West Papua
- Self-Determination, the Papuan People’s Democratic Solution
Statement by Buchtar Tabuni
Buchtar Tabuni, Chairman of the West Papua National Parliament (PNWP), spoke at one of the demonstrations in Jayapura. He outlined a set of 11 demands starting with international recognition of West Papua’s right to self-determination. He mentioned that the right to a Papuan vote on their sovereignty, which was guaranteed under the New York Agreement, was never fairly observed, thus rendering the treaty invalid.
Press Release: West Papua National Committee
Source: Scoop.co.nz
Banned Marches Will Go Ahead In West Papua – Cause For Concern
The demonstrations and cultural parades will go ahead in West Papua despite a police ban. Already there have been a number of arrests in the Fak Fak region. On the 13 August in the afternoon police stopped two trucks carrying dozens of residents (including women and children) who were going into town to attend the cultural parade. They were taken to police station to be questioned.
Joe Collins of AWPA said ” the peaceful protests are planned to protest the signing of the New York Agreement in 1962 and to show support for the opening of the Free West Papua Campaign office in the Netherlands. The arrests in Fak Fak raise great concern that the security forces will crackdown on the peaceful parades today.
