Tribal, independent political West Papua leader meets President

Georgetown, GINA, November 28, 2012

Gina,-- Inspired by Guyana’s history of colonialism, struggle for independence and advocacy for the poor and oppressed, Benny Wenda a tribal native and independent political leader of West Papua has returned to Guyana in his “cry for freedom for his people”.

Carrying the flag of West Papua, an emblem that can land him 25 years in prison if seen by the Indonesian military in West Papua, Wenda was filled with gratitude for the warm welcome he received on his second visit.

Wenda, who is for the first time meeting a country’s Head of State, accompanied by his legal adviser Malinda will be meeting with indigenous people in this part of the world and parliamentarians during his visit to Guyana.

West Papua, located 500 kilometers from Australia has been subject to Indonesian invasion since 1961, shortly after it gaining independence was declared on December 1 that year. Intervention by the international community on the matter was subverted by western governments appeasing the Indonesian occupation.

A Free West Papua campaign claimed that that Indonesian occupation announced that the Papuans were too backward to cope with democracy and coerced 1026 representative Papuans at gunpoint to vote to join Indonesia.

Wenda shared his experiences in a Free West Papua pamphlet of being arrested, imprisoned and tortured by Indonesian soldiers and as a child, seeing his village bombed by the Indonesian military and family killed.

In 2004 a Free West Papua Campaign based in Oxford United Kingdom was set up to support the call for democratic and non violent campaigns for independence. It lobbies politicians and governments, organise public meetings and events, even engaging in fund raising activities to gain support.

The territory is bordered to the east by Papua New Guinea which gained independence from the British in Australia. West Papua has a population of 250 tribes each with their own language and culture.