Alex Bainbridge, Sydney

Sixty supporters of West Papuan self-determination held a flag-raising ceremony outside the Indonesian consulate in Maroubra on April 30.

Joe Collins from the Australia-West Papua Association told the gathering that such symbolic protests in West Papua have landed some people in jail for 15 years and others have been shot. Damien Lawson from the Greens urged those present to organise similar protests in their local neighbourhoods to highlight the broad sympathy among Australians for the West Papuan people’s right to self-determination.

Pip Hinman from the Socialist Alliance recalled the solidarity Australians showed for East Timor’s right to self-determination, saying that the same would happen for West Papua. She added that many Indonesians strongly opposed the Indonesian government’s militaristic policies in West Papua.

From Green Left Weekly, May 10, 2006.
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