International News REGION: West Papua Wants Independence Talk At Pacific Forum

Friday: August 4, 2006
(Tahitipresse) - The separatist movement in the Indonesian province of West Papua wants to raise its independence struggle at the Pacific Island Forum summit, Radio Australia reported.
The Free Papua Movement (OPM) hopes they can persuade Melanesian nations to speak on their behalf at the October meeting.
The Forum has traditionally been reluctant to get drawn into the West Papuan question, seeing the dispute over the mainly Melanesian province, which comprises the western half of New Guinea, as an internal matter for Indonesia.
However, John Ondowame, the OPM's international representative, said they would try again to get the issue onto the Forum agenda when the regional leaders meet in Tonga later this year.
He is hoping an earlier conference of the Melanesian Spearhead Group would prove more sympathetic, and those nations, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, would articulate the OPM's cause.
Source: http://www.tahitipresse.pf/index.cfm?snav=see&presse=16704&lang=2