UN visit to West Papua: a necessity

Indonesia's President-elect and current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto made clear his intention to send peacekeeping force to Gaza.

In his speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Forum in Singapore on Saturday (1/6), Prabowo emphasized,"When needed and when requested by the U.N., we are prepared to contribute significant peacekeeping forces to maintain and monitor this prospective ceasefire as well as providing protection and security to all parties and to all sides".

Unreasonable plan

Although Indonesia is overwhelmed with maintaining order in its own territory, particularly in its easternmost region of West Papua, Prabowo's appeal received the full support of the Indonesian army. In addition, this plan will be discussed at the Indonesian House of Representatives working meeting on June 6.

Double-standard ideal

Indonesia's solidarity with Muslim-majority countries, particularly Palestine, has never been in doubt. Indeed, Indonesia's relations with Palestine date back to the very beginning of its independence. The first Indonesian embassy for Palestine was opened in Amman, Jordan, as early as 1947. Indonesia's free and active policy led it to support Algerian independence in the 1960s and beyond.

But what is Indonesia's attitude to the struggle for independence of non-Muslim nations? While the preamble to the 1945 Constitution states indiscriminately that “independence is the right of all nations”, it is regrettable that Indonesia never supported the Tibetan struggle against the Chinese communist regime, the Kanak struggle against the French colonial regime, let alone the struggle of West Papuans colonized by Indonesia itself, in the name of "Unity in Diversity".

Rebuking Indonesia

In response to Prabowo's initiative, Markus Haluk, secretary of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, ULMWP, said: "Just as Indonesia is ready to send its troops to Gaza, Israel should also be willing to send its peacekeepers to West Papua to resolve the long-standing conflict under Indonesian occupation. Most importantly, it is time for all countries that have requested a UN Human Rights Commission visit to West Papua to come up with a resolution."

Since 1963, the Indonesian government has committed genocide, ecocide and ethnocide against the Melanesian people of West Papua. The international community is invited to support ULMWP's struggle.