JUBI, 20 June 2012A number of things that have been happening recently in West Papua have drawn the attention of the World Council of Churches  The secretary-general of the Council, the Revd Olav F. Tveit, headed a delegation which visited the offices of the Provincial Province of Papua to seek information about the questios of justice, peace and the welfare of the Papuan people.

The assistant for Economic Affairs and Development, Drs Ellya Loupatty said that the WCC delegation had met with representatives of the provincial government to discuss a number of issues that have emerged in the provinces of Papua, among others, welfare, justice and peace.

‘I met them along with the chief of staff of XVII-Cenderawaih, Major-General Daniel Ambaat, to put forward our views on a number of issues, such a the people’s welfare, justice and matters related to peace in the area,’ he told journalists. He said that the delegation had also raised the question of the environment, in connection with the felling of Papuan forests.

He said that all the questions had been responded to very well. ‘We also spoke about education and health issues in Papua.’.

Asked about the response of the delegation, Revd  Tveit  had expressed the hope that all matters would be handled professionally and in accord with the dignity of the human being. They were happy to encourage the churches to participate along with the government in every way possible to improve the standard of living of the  Papuan people. The church representatives had also spoken about issues of justice. which we listened to.’

He went on to say that the churches delegation raised some questions about recent events, which we as members of the provincial government explained. He said that issues about justice had also been raised  which we listened to, and explained that they were being dealt with according to our future programmes. ‘We also explained that matters related to security and order were being handled by the police force.’

[Comment: Could this be the opening move for the World Council of Churches to devote some serious attention to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Papua? TAPOL]