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FREE WEST PAPUA CAMPAIGN

JANUARY NEWSLETTER

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

On behalf of everyone at the Free West Papua Campaign, we want to wish all of you a very happy 2019! We hope that your year has kicked off to a great start.

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We have started off the New Year full of energy and motivated to make 2019 the best year for West Papua so far! We have some exciting plans in the pipeline to spread awareness and garner support for the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) and their mission to secure a vote of self determination for the West Papuan people.

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Unfortunately for the people of West Papua, 2019 was rung in to the sound of gun fire at the hands of the Indonesian military and has culminated in the largest humanitarian crisis in West Papua in the last few years...

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

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Explosive Conflict Continues and Escalates in Nduga Regency

Major military and police operations have been launched by Indonesia in the Nduga Regency of West Papua in the wake of the killing of at last 17 construction workers and engineers on December 2, 2018.

  • Since December 4, 2018, the Indonesian military have precipitated a humanitarian crisis in West Papua. Over the past month, thousands of indigenous West Papuans have been displaced,
  • According to local reports a mother and child have died, and three other children have died due to starvation,
  • The Indonesian military is suspected to have used the chemical weapon, white phosphorus, against West Papuan civilians. Chemical weapons are banned under international law,
  • Reports that at least four villages have been attacked, from the air, from artillery, and from ground troops,
  • The Indonesian army has sealed off the area. Church and local government officials cannot access the area to investigate or help those displaced.

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West Papuan representative groups are calling the situation a ‘humanitarian crisis’. According to the International Coalition for Papua, at least 20 civilians have been killed in the operations so far. Ground troops have been sent into local villages with air support strafing civilian areas.

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According to the witness reports gathered by the ULMWP, church and school activities in all 32 districts of the Nduga Regency have been completely shut down.

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The ULMWP can confirm the following to have occurred during the Indonesian military operation in Nduga:

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  • Six people shot dead by the Indonesian military,
  • Three people in critical condition from gunshot wounds,
  • Two people badly burned from bombs and grenades,
  • Five people missing, and
  • Four people detained and tortured.

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Thousands of people are displaced and hiding in the surrounding jungle. The ULMWP has called for an immediate cessation of Indonesian military and police operations and for the Indonesian government to lift the tight restrictions and allow humanitarian agencies and human rights monitors to enter the region.

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Click here to read ULMWP Chairman, Benny Wenda's statement on chemical weapons and the Nduga Crisis.


HOW CAN YOU HELP


1) DONATE

Donating to the Free West Papua Campaign is the single most effective way of ensuring we can continue our vital work to help the people of Nduga and West Papua as a whole. Click here to donate now.

2) SHARE

Share urgent news from our website, Facebook and Twitter. Please tag and send to your local and national media, human rights groups, local parliamentarians, community leaders, UN bodies, and friends and family Using#SaveNduga #FreeWestPapua

We will update you on other ways to help as soon as we have more information.

Thank you

EVENT

Scheveningen New Year's Dive


Ringing in the New Year in the Netherlands includes diving into the freezing winter sea, and one of the founding members of the Free West Papua Campaign Netherlands, Joffrey Korwa, saw this as an opportunity to raise awareness about the oppression aNd genocide in West Papua by joining the celebrations.

Joffrey sadly and unexpectedly passed away in 2013 however the Netherlands team took on his mission and continue to represent West Papua at the dive each year, with 2019 being no exception. Click here to see Free West Papua Campaign Spokesperson, Raki Ap, raising the Morning Star flag and diving into the North Sea!

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INTERVIEW

West Papuans in Exile : A Conversation with Corry Ap

Corry Ap is the widow of assassinated West Papuan cultural leader, musician, and anthropologist, Arnold Ap. She is also the mother of Head of the ULMWP's EU Mission, Oridek Ap, and Spokesperson for the Free West Papua Campaign, Raki Ap. Now living in exile in the Netherlands, we recently sat down with Mrs. Ap to have a conversation about her very long and complicated journey.

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Upcoming Actions

We have some other really exciting actions and events coming up and we would love for you to be involved.

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Click here to see what we have coming up and how you can get involved!


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DONATE

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We are really grateful for any and all financial contributions to the Free West Papua Campaign. Every single penny is directed towards the work of the campaign and the ULMWP.

PAPUA MERDEKA!