'They have to recognise us': Pacific and NZ leaders urged to do more for West Papua

Octovianus Mote was a child when Indonesian troops occupied his homeland, sparking the beginning of his lifelong fight for the independence of West Papua.

Mote is now the vice president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua and hasn’t been back home in more than two decades after fleeing the country due to his line of work.

“When I was a journalist I was covering a story and I saw how Indonesia slaughtered our people when university students conducted a peaceful demonstration in Abepura.

“I tried to rescue one of the students in 1998. He was shot and I asked the students to put him in my car and then I drove him to the hospital. His body was covered in blood, I'm driving my car, students standing behind and I rushed to the hospital. I knew he would die.

“Witnessing how young students fight against colonialism that really changed my entire narrative of being a journalist. To report about it and channel all this violence and through my stories.”

Octovianus Mote lives in exile in the United States with his family. Photo/Ala Vailala

Located just over 6000km north of New Zealand, West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, bordering the independent nation of Papua New Guinea.

West Papuans have been seeking independence since the 1960s following the controversial transfer of the region to Indonesia by the United Nations.

Now a province of Indonesia, West Papua’s indigenous people continue to endure significant challenges such as human rights violations, forced displacement, resource exploitation, and cultural suppression, Mote says.

Mote and his young family sought refuge in the United States, but his advocacy continues despite the distance.

He attended the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting in Tonga last month.

“I respect the Pacific Island leaders. Every year they will discuss a human rights issue… they will discuss West Papua," Mote said.

“But when it comes to the approach, that's where my criticism comes from.

Watch a traditional West Papua dance on the Art and Cultural stage during the Pacific Exposition in Auckland in 2019.

“When they [PIF] lobby with Indonesia and talk with Indonesia, they have to include our opinion. Ask our realities that we are facing so that they know what's happening. They have to recognise us," Mote said.

The PIF Secretary-General, Baron Waqa, welcomed a courtesy visit from the Indonesian Ambassador to Fiji, Dupito Simamora, at the Forum Secretariat in Suva last Friday.

Key discussions included opportunities for Indonesia to deepen its engagement with the Pacific Islands Forum, aligning to the Pacific 2050 Strategy and its Implementation Plan.

Waqa and Simamora also discussed priorities from the forum leaders summit in Tonga, including the climate Pacific Resilience Facility.

Indonesia has been a Pacific Islands Forum Dialogue Partner since 2001.

Last year, the PIF appointed Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape as special envoys to West Papua.

Both countries are members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group and a recent fact-finding mission to West Papua was delayed due to busy schedules.

Indonesia's ambassador to Fiji Dupito Simamora met with Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa in Suva on Friday. Photo/PIF

However, Rabuka had expressed their desire to meet with incoming Indonesian president, Prabowo Subianto, who has been accused of war crimes.

Subianto is also due to be inaugurated next month, something Mote says has triggered a heightened military presence in occupied West Papua.

“The West Papuans are facing this new president Prabowo. In a presidential debate, the first question was about, if you are elected as president, how you will deal with the West Papua issue.

“Two said it is a justice issue so we have to deal with it, the other said we need to dialogue with them and Prabowo said no ‘this is a partisan issue I will face them as a separatist’, which is military and he's doing it now.

“It's a roadway now where you know he'll expand the military operation that already exists from 2018 up till today, entire highlands are under military operation.”

Mote said the outsourcing of natural resources from West Papua by Indonesia continued and was a contributing factor to the current tensions in the area.

Despite this, Mote says he's optimistic when it comes to the independence of West Papua and plans to take action with the UN Human Rights Council.

Papuan activists confront police and soldiers during a scuffle at a rally near the presidential palace in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, in 2019. Photo/Dita Alangkara

“We're aiming to table the resolution, which is so important, because Indonesia - since 2015 - doesn't respect the Pacific Islands Forum's call for entry for the Pacific Island Forum's human rights assessment group into West Papua.

“Later in 2018, they [PIF] called Indonesia to allow the UN Human Rights Commissioner to West Papua, and up till this day Indonesia ignored it.

“What we are trying to do by next year really is to level up this condemnation from many countries around the world about Indonesian behaviour into a resolution where Indonesia will be accountable.

"I believe that's a solution that should be passed easily… I’m hoping that New Zealand will stand up and support us as they always have been.”

Green Party list MP Teanau Tuiono said the New Zealand government could be a lot more direct with Indonesia about the need to respect indigenous people.

Tuiono attended a talanoa in Auckland to discuss community responses to support West Papua.

“My message to our Pacific community in New Zealand is we need to take care of the whole neighbourhood.

"What happens in one part of the Pacific, impacts all of us," Tuiono said.

Photo/Indopacificimages.com