The Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Matthew Wale, has issued an urgent call for an international investigation into serious allegations that the Indonesian military has once again deployed chemical weapons, specifically white phosphorus, against innocent West Papuans in Kiwirok.
These grave allegations, detailed in Frontier War, include testimonies from West Papuans describing fatalities consistent with the known effects of white phosphorus.
“Relevant UN human rights and chemical weapons monitoring agencies must immediately investigate these heinous allegations. Similar reports implicating Indonesia in such crimes arose in Nduga in 2018. The world cannot continue to ignore these repeated atrocities against the people of West Papua,” Hon. Wale said.
Hon. Wale criticized Indonesia’s longstanding strategy of secrecy and obstruction, stressing that such investigations must proceed freely if Indonesia has nothing to hide.
“If there is nothing to conceal, why block the world’s eyes from witnessing the reality on the ground?” Hon. Wale questioned.
The Leader of the Opposition also criticized the lack of action by Prime Minister Manele in response to these allegations.
“What is Prime Minister Manele doing about these egregious human rights violations against our Melanesian brothers and sisters? What exactly is his ‘special relationship’ with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for?
“Is it to profit from the abuse and persecution of West Papuans? GNUT cannot claim to stand for Melanesian solidarity while turning a blind eye to crimes against humanity on our doorstep,” Hon. Wale rebuked.
The Leader of Opposition called on the MSG and PIF to increase pressure on Indonesia to respect the fundamental human rights and political freedoms of the West Papuan people and to support an internationally supervised independence referendum as the only lasting solution for peace.
“We owe it to our Melanesian brothers and sisters in West Papua to demand justice, accountability, and freedom, and to ensure that our regional voices, through the MSG and PIF, are not complicit in silence,” Hon. Wale concluded.
- Opposition Press
