A growing list of groups and individuals around the world have signed a petition calling on the United Nations secretary-general to initiate a review of the role of the UN in West Papua’s 1969 “Act of Free Choice”. An alternative to a democratic referendum, this act involved the rounding up of just over 1000 West Papuans to declare their “wish” to integrate into Indonesia. The United Nations under-secretary general at the time, Chakravarthy Narasimhan, has since admitted that the process was a “whitewash”. At least 100,000 West Papuans have died since the Indonesian military took control in 1963. The petition can be found at <http://www.petitiononline.com/unreview>.

From Green Left Weekly, October 12, 2005.
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