As President of the ULMWP, I call on all West Papuans to refuse to take part in Indonesian Independence Day on August 17th. The presence of the Indonesian flag in West Papua is illegal.

To my people, whether you are living in the cities, the villages, refugee camps in Papua New Guinea, or in hiding in the bush: this is not your Independence Day. West Papua celebrated our own independence on December 1st, 1961, on our way to becoming the first free Melanesian state. We raised our flag and sang our national anthem, in a ceremony witnessed by countries including the UK, the Netherlands and Australia. But our independence was snatched away from us by Indonesia’s invasion of our land.

Every year, Indonesia pressures West Papuans to raise their flag. Civilians are often threatened with arrest if they do not join in the celebrations. Indonesia knows that they will never win the support of West Papuans through social or political means, so they instead use fear and violence to force us to take part.

West Papua wants independence: the ULMWP demonstrated our unified desire for freedom with the 2017 Papuan People’s Petition, a pro-independence petition signed by over 1.8 million people – more than 70% of the Indigenous population.

Through the ULMWP, West Papuans have their own constitution, President, Green State Vision, and government structure. I declare again that it is illegal for Indonesia to raise their flag in West Papua: we are reclaiming our sovereign territory from the coloniser.

We respect Indonesian Independence Day, but it must be celebrated in Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra – not in West Papua. West Papua is occupied territory and every Indonesian flag that is raised on our land is a symbol of ongoing colonialism. Just as Indonesia fought to liberate themselves from the Dutch, we are fighting to liberate ourselves from genocidal and ecocidal foreign rule.

Instead of using August 17th to crack down on West Papuan resistance, the ULMWP demands that Indonesia release all Papuan political prisoners who have been jailed for raising the Morning Star or speaking in support of self-determination. Indonesia must also finally allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua and report on the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

On behalf of all West Papuans, I reject August 17th and the continuing occupation of our lands. Our struggle will continue until we are allowed to express our right to self-determination through an internationally mediated referendum on independence.

Benny Wenda
President
ULMWP