James Marape and Joko Widodo at the 2nd PNG-Indonesia Business Forum held on 14 July in Jakarta. Photo: Department of Prime Minister & NEC
West Papua is within the sovereignty of Indonesia, so responsibility lies with them in addressing independence demands, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister, James Marape, says.
But the leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Benny Wenda, told RNZ Pacific the issue was not about sovereignty.
Marape was responding to questions from PNG journalists before travelling to the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting (PIFLM53), which began in Tonga on Monday.
The PNG prime minister was asked whether West Papua would be openly discussed at the summit, particularly as Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto has advocated for West Papua.
Marape said just as PNG would not want its neighbouring countries talking about sovereignty issues within its borders, Indonesia would not want its neighbours talking about West Papua and its sovereignty.
He said all other areas of its relationship with Indonesia, such as economy, will be open for discussion at the meeting.
Indonesia's incoming president has indicated to give greater respect to indigenous views on customs, culture, and land rights and indigenous heritages should be preserved, he said.
Benny Wenda Photo: RNZ Pacific / Kelvin Anthony
However, Wenda told RNZ Pacific: "It's not about sovereignty."
"But this is about discrimination because we have been different, black Christians. That's why Indonesia [has] committed genocide and ecocide West Papua."
He said the indigenous West Papuans are facing the same issue as the Kanaks in New Caledonia.
"This is our sovereign state, our ancestral land, which was stolen from us, so we [have] the right to exist in our sovereign state of West Papua."
Wenda said the people of PNG need to ask their government if they supported genocide.
"If they allow this [to] happen to their own brother, where is the Christian solidarity? Where is it?" he asked?
He said Pacific leaders have a "moral obligation" to find a solution for the indigenous Kanaks and West Papuans.
"The world is watching the Pacific leaders. What [are] the Pacific leaders going to do with two nations who are fighting the colonialism, imperialism and then ecocide, genocide or committed the illegal occupation.
"This is the Melanesian territory. This is the Pacific territory."
He added it is important for Pacific leaders to take the make bold decisions on the issue.
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, center, shakes hands with his supporter after press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia on 17 April, 2019. Photo: AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana
Meanwhile, the Australia West Papua Association in Sydney is urging Pacific leaders attending the Tonga meeting "to continue to strongly urge Jakarta to not only allow a PIF fact-finding mission to West Papua but also to finalise the visit by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the territory".
In March, the Indonesian Embassy in Wellington said: "The Government of Indonesia is committed to its long-standing policy of respecting and promoting human rights as well as its strict policy of zero impunity for misconducts (sic) by security forces."