SECURITY STRATEGY, ATROCITY PREVENTION & THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT WORKSHOP

PORT VILA, VANUATU (2 October 2024): The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is happy to support efforts by the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (APR2P) to ensure that MSG countries, and others in the region, implement the commitments made to address mass atrocities such as genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

In his opening remarks at the MSG R2P Workshop, Director General of the MSG Secretariat, Leonard Louma, warned of the danger of thinking that these enumerated mass atrocities do not occur in our part of the world. He acknowledged that this is due largely to our notions being framed by what transpired in Kampuchea under Pol Pot, Kosovo and Rwanda. This he said, is a fallacy and provides a false sense of innocence to our governments and encourages in them a nefarious attitude of complacency.

The Director General urged participants to give serious consideration to this subject matter and the need to look at MSG countries’ national policies, regulations, and laws to accommodate state commitments on atrocity prevention and Responsibility to Protect (R2P). 

He noted that Governments have an inherent obligation to protect the people they govern in their nation states and must ensure their welfare is taken care of and their dignity as human beings protected. 

“At the risk of oversimplifying the notion of atrocity, we would do well to think of it as a cruel act or mistreatment that injures the dignity of a human being. Suffering from hunger, affliction with NCDs, lack of basic drugs in our medical and health facilities, abuse in the treatment of our inmates in our prisons, etc. Atrocity prevention and taking heed of, and acting on, early warning signals is critical.”

“Once we start thinking of atrocities in the sense of lack of security then we will get our governments and ourselves to approach it in a way that our people deserve to be treated,” DG Louma commented.

The Director General also clarified that the MSG is not averse to collective security approaches aimed at addressing the region’s security concerns, despite the fact that it is sometimes portrayed as being in opposition.

“In our efforts to properly frame collaboration in the security space, explore synergies between new initiatives and existing initiatives, and ensure necessary guard rails are considered in any security arrangement, we are often portrayed as being against a collective security initiative. Far from it.”

DG Louma noted the ongoing efforts in collective security and expressed appreciation for the Australian Government’s collaboration with the MSG Secretariat on many matters of mutual interest.

The newly-appointed Australian High Commissioner to Vanuatu, H.E Max Willis, acknowledged the MSG and the APR2P for co-facilitating the Workshop and stated that Australia was happy to be associated with the funding of the Workshop.

The training explored how governments in the region currently accommodate atrocity prevention in policy and practice, and how they can work at the national and regional levels to better implement their R2P commitments.

PNG opposition leader calls for "honest" take on Papua

Papua New Guinea's opposition leader says his country and Australia need to play a greater role in responding to human rights abuses in neighbouring West Papua.

Don Polye said basic human rights of West Papuans continue to be repressed by Indonesian authorities and security forces, requiring a more "honest" approach from neighbouring countries.

He said the problem had a set of direct consequences for PNG, yet its government continued to turn a blind eye to what was going on.

Mr Polye said recent remarks by Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop playing down reports of rights abuses in Papua were unfortunate.

"She said that there is not enough justification or evidence to show if there is any human rights abuse along the border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. I believe that Australia should assess the situation more closely, in partnership with Indonesia as well as with Papua New Guinea, to be honest about it and to look at the issues more carefully," he said.

Mr Polye said as party to international conventions on human rights, PNG and Indonesia needed to engage more to address the situation in Papua.

He said that West Papuan calls for a legitimate self-determination process could no longer be ignored.

A need for meaningful dialogue at both international and bilateral level, he said, also required leadership from the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

However the MSG's full members - PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia's Kanaks - are divided over advancing the Papua issue.

Governments of PNG and Fiji in particular appear opposed to granting the United Liberation Movement for West Papua full membership in the group.

They also firmly support Indonesian territorial control over Papua.

Yet Mr Polye says the example of France in granting a self-determination referendum to its Melanesian territory of New Caledonia shows that the Papua question could be solved peacefully.

We live in Modern Humanity Civilisation today, different from colonialism rules in the past

All colonialism toward a country is a basic motive of Economic Interest and Maintaining Political Power interest. So that

Colonies live badly Suffering from all sorts of aspects of life but Colonisers use moments of opportunity to suck all sorts of Natural Resources and to focus on Genocide,  Ecocide and Ethnocide and so on.

Who is Indonesian? 

Indonesian is colonialist practising brutality, and inhumane treatment toward West Papuan never happened with colonial rulers in the past.

 Indonesian Colonialism in West Papua is alive and well.

 Indonesian rule in West Papua is too brutal,  oppressor, atrocity, and inhumane action to continue practice in West Papua in this Modern Democracy time. 

Indonesia's behaviour toward West Papua are: 

***to reject the investigation of the human rights emerging situation by the United Nations Human Rights were demanded by Pacific Countries and African-Caribean countries in the Year 2019.

*** Churches groups, ULMWP, and TPN-OPM demanded open peaceful dialogue under monitoring by a third party but Indonesian has to reject it. 

***West Papuan demand stopped implementing Special Autonomy second terms but rejected and continue implementing to supported by Military Power.

These are the reality of Indonesian colonial rulers in West Papua Melanesian Territory.

This is the time arrived for to Melanesian Governments to take accountability,  credibility,  and responsibility in this MSG meeting in June-July 2023 to kick the goal of West  Papua becoming Fully membership of the MSG is the only option to changing the System Political in cultural, and ethnically and territorially changing forever for just and good 

Indonesian Politics you have to know is: 

*** Indonesian used the global Cold War between block West and East in terms of West Papua conflict with American and other Western Countries to invade and occupied in

West Papua until today. 

In the same way,  today,  Indonesian Politic still using the moment cold war as a powerful tool to destroy the West Papuan People's interest in Independence  

***New York 1963 and Roman Agreement were not involved West Papuan representative has to manipulate West Papuan Basic Fundamental Rights. 

*** Indonesia is using Political Economics Ideology to convince Melanesian Governments including other Governments in Pacific Region to win Indonesian interest in retaining colonial rule in West Papua. 

These are bit situations related to West Papua's long-standing conflicts today. 

West Papuan People need Melanesian brothers and Sisters united to raise their voices to support West Papua. 

One People One Soul

Free West Papua....!!