Transcript
SADE BIMNATARA: Five days ago after there was this interview by the Vanuatu daily Post about the final declaration (of the Free West Papua Movement in support of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua) a couple of groups in West Papua (came out) opposed to the ULMWP claiming to represent them, and I'm sure that 2.8 million voters in Papua don't want to be represented by this separatist group in the MSG.
JOHNNY BLADES: There have been indications in the last two years or so significant areas of support in Papua and West Papua provinces for this Liberation Movement. So it's not just Papuans living abroad who they're representing, is it?
SB: We have our democratic system in place. The local government is also in place, and also parliamentarian representatives. They are the ones who truly represent the Papuans people: West Papuan, Papuan and all ther people in Indonesia, they have the chance to elect their own leaders, and that is happening and I think within that democratic process is the way to go. Now, having someone who lives overseas in the comfort of London, and Connecticut, Yale, and in Australia, they have not contributed to this democratic process in Indonesia. They were never elected into office in Indonesia, and they were never given their thoughts and contribution on how to make Papua and West Papua better.
JB: In the MSG there is of course that founding principle about working towards making sure all Melanesian peoples have their self-determination aspirations realised. And therefore with the case of the Kanaks of New Caledonia, that's why they are a full member (of the MSG) even though they are not necessarily a country. This is the example used with West Papua.
SB: Johnny, the first thing is that the Kanak issue is a different matter altogether. And that is a process of decolonisation which is accepted by the C24 (UN committee on decolonisation). And it has been accepted for a number of years, even by the New Caledonian government. With West Papua and Papua, there's no issue. It is internationally recognised as a sovereign part of Indonesia, an integral part of Indonesia. There's no issue. And those claiming to represent the West Papuan people, the ULMWP, they do not truly represent the people. They only represent themselves. They have their own narrow political goals, and their narrow self-interest. And West Papuans and Papuans, they are politically free.
JB: There is an issue around the legitimacy of the 1969 Act of Free Choice (via which the former Dutch New Guinea was finally transferred to Indonesian control) which is a source of lingering grievance there, do you accept that?
SB: That is not an issue. It has been resolved back in 1969. The UN international community has accepted that. And I think we need to move on and talk about the real issues in Papua and West Papua: human rights, development, gender, inequality and other important issues like that. But if people want to contribute to improving those statistics in Indonesia, including in Papua and West Papua, they should do it within the framework of our open democracy.
JB: This application by the Liberation Movement, given that the new guidelines have been approved, it's still to be processed by the MSG secretariat. But Desra Percaya (the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's Director General of Asia-Pacific and African Affairs) has described it as having reached a dead end. How so?
SB: It is. Because I don't think they qualify to be a full member of the MSG. They are not a state, and as opposed to Kanaks, they are not on the C24 (UN) Decolonisation Committee, they are not on the list, West Papua. And also the separatist group does not obtain full support from all the West Papuans. And West Papua and Papua is also politically free, so there's no reason for the MSG to accept them as full members.
JB: What's your understanding of the position of the leaders in the five full MSG members regarding that Liberation Movement application?
SB: Of course I cannot speak for them. But it is clear that they see this issue as distracting from the main goals that the MSG has set itself to achieve...
JB: It's obviously a matter of deep concern for a lot of communities throughout Melanesia, the plight of the West Papuans. Why is it regarded as a distraction then? if it's important to the people of Melanesia, shouldn't their leaders be trying to help address it?
SB: Well, when MSG was established, yes, decolonisation of Kanaks was the main issue, the main goal. And Walter Lini, the first prime minister of Vanuatu, said that Vanuatu is not totally free until all Melanesians are politically free. But the fact is that West Papua is politically free. They are free to vote, free to govern and free to manage their own funds and free to develop. So what other reason those groups or communities or others have to say that West Papua is still colonised?
JB: The MSG itself has had some funding or resourcing limitations in recent years. Has Indonesia been approached to help fund the secretariat?
SB: As an associate member, we have a number of responsibilities that we need to do, including meeting the dues, the annual contribution. And we have been giving our annual contribution. On top of that we have also helped the secretariat in procuring vehicles and other things for their secretariat. So yeah, we have been assisting them financially as well.
