Tag: flag

OPM to fly Morning Star flags for three days across West Papua

West Papua flag

JUBI, 3 May, 2012
The TPN/OPM [National Libration Army/Organisasi Papua Merdeka] is planning to fly Morning Star flags throughout the territory of West Papua for three days from 1 – 3 July this year, said Yusak Pakage, chairman of the Street Parliament . He said that the State of West Papua was proclaimed on 1 July 1969 but was disbanded  by Indonesia on the orders of President Soekarno when he proclaimed the People’s Three Commands (Trikora).
He went on to say that various institutions in West Papua such as the DPRP (Provincial Leislative Assembly), the chief of police and the MRP (Papuan People’s Council) have been notified of this plan. as well as church leaders, student organisatons and the Governor of Papua, along with a statement of their views.’Flags will be flown for three days and the authorities will be notified. We will seek assurances regarding the security situation from the chief of police and the armed forces,’ said Pakage. He went on to say that they hoped that no one would become victims during these events.Pakage also expressed the hope that everyone now living in the Cenderawasih Homeland, indigenous Papuans as well as migrants, would preserve an atmoshere of harmony and avoid being provoked by issues spread by irresponsible sources. ‘We hope that there will be no loss of life during this event.’

Flags will be flown in public places around midday  for three days running. He added that the TPN/OPM would guard the streets where the Morning Star flags are being flown.

‘The aim of this plan it to remind people that we continue to exist,’ said Pakage.

When the head of the public relations office of the Papua Police was asked whether he could confirm this plan, he said he was unaware of  it. ‘I will check later on. At the moment, I am in a meeting,’ he said briefly.

[Translated by TAPOL]

Related articles
0

9 people arrested for displaying West Papua flag face lengthy prison sentences

Article from AFP

Nine people have been arrested after displaying the West Papua flag in Indonesia’s remote Papua province.

Eight men and a woman unfurled the banned “Morning Star” flag on Saturday in a village in Jayawijaya district, local police chief I Gede Sumerta Jaya said.

“We arrested nine people and they’re being investigated. They had raised the Morning Star flag. We found the flag and a wooden pole,” he told AFP.

“They’re likely to be named suspects on charges of plotting against the state,” he added.

Anyone convicted of displaying separatist symbols faces possible life sentence in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago with a history of secessionist rebellions.

Indonesia won sovereignty over Papua, a former Dutch colony on the western half of New Guinea island, in 1969 after a vote among a select group of Papuans widely seen as a sham.

Many Papuans accuse Indonesia’s military of violating human rights in the province and complain that the bulk of earnings from its rich natural resources flow to Jakarta.

2

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑