The case for West Papua will be fraught with difficulty on its way to resolution - if there is ever a resolution. Common humanity demands our sympathy for the indigenous people of West Papua and recognition of the great injustice done to them in the method and manner of facilitating the passage of control from The Netherlands to Indonesia under the 1969 so-called Act of Free Choice. Compounding the situation is Australia's relationship with Indonesia, a close - almost the closest - neighbour of Australia and the world's most populous Islamic nation.
One of the most lucid commentaries on the topic was provided this week by the Rev Professor James Haire, Professor of Theology at Charles Sturt University, and Executive Director of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture. James Haire lived in Indonesia for some 13 years, and he's been back and forth for the last 34, teaching there. He's a personal friend of former President Abdurrahman Wahid. James Haire was speaking on the ABC's Religion Report.
Useful links about West Papua include:
Centre for Christian Ethics RESOURCE SHEET
Papua Press Agency
Australia West Papua Association
West Papua Niugini/Irian Jaya Homepage
Free West Papua
Senator Kerry Nettle's Home Page on the Free West Papua Campaign
National Council of Churches in Australia: West Papua
Edmund Rice Centre: West Papua
TEAR Australia: West Papua
Just Comment: West Papua - The Conflict for Rights
The Big Issue: West Papua - Secret Genocide
