News Stories
Category: Human Rights
Benny Wenda: UK Government should not welcome Prabowo
November 14, 2024
On behalf of the colonised people of West Papua, I am asking the UK government to cancel their reception of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Prabowo is a blood-stained war criminal who is complicit in genocide in East Timor and West Papua. Right now, Indonesia is sending thousands of industrial excavators to destroy 5 million hectares of Papuan forest, and thousands of troops to […]
Benny Wenda: Stand with West Papua on December 1st
November 12, 2024
December 1st will mark the 63rd anniversary of West Papuan Independence Day and the inaugural raising of our national flag, the Morning Star. On behalf of the ULMWP and the West Papuan people, I call on our supporters everywhere to show your support for our struggle by raising the Morning Star. Whether in your house, […]
Email Sadiq Khan: Don’t welcome war criminal Prabowo
November 6, 2024
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is set to welcome Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on November 19th 2024. Prabowo is an unrepentant war criminal who is complicit in numerous massacres in East Timor and West Papua. The Free West Papua campaign is asking Londoners to email Mayor Khan, asking him to cancel his upcoming meeting with President […]
Interim President: Transmigration and ecocide threatens to wipe out West Papua
November 4, 2024
In his first official visit to West Papua, the War Criminal Prabowo Subianto travelled to Merauke to oversee the ecocidal plantations that are destroying millions of hectares of virgin rainforest. West Papua’s forest is a lung of the earth. Even if you have never heard of West Papua before, our forest allows you to breathe. And yet governments that […]
Benny Wenda: Marape brave to question Prabowo over West Papua
October 28, 2024
On behalf of the people of West Papua, I want to thank Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape for directly raising the issue of West Papua in his meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. This was a brave move on behalf of his brothers and sisters in West Papua. The offer of amnesty for West Papuans by Prabowo […]
Benny Wenda: Prabowo or Jokowi, a referendum is still the only solution
October 21, 2024
As Prabowo Subianto takes office as Indonesian President, the ULMWP restates its basic demand for an internationally-mediated referendum on independence. The continued violation of our self-determination is the root cause of the West Papua conflict. Only a referendum can resolve our issue. This is a frightening time for my people. Prabowo is complicit in genocide in West Papua and […]
Benny Wenda: Tackling climate change means fighting for West Papuan freedom
October 16, 2024
Two gigantic ecocidal developments have been launched in West Papua, showing again that Indonesia’s occupation of West Papua is a threat to the entire world. In Merauke, Indonesia have broken ground on the biggest deforestation project on earth, covering an area bigger than Switzerland, the Netherlands, or Israel and Palestine put together. Five million hectares of […]
President Wenda: ULMWP welcomes Phillip Mehrtens’ release
September 22, 2024
On behalf of the ULMWP, I wholeheartedly welcome the release of Phillip Mehrtens after one and a half years in captivity. The most important thing is that Mr Mehrtens is safely reunited with his family. His safe return has been a top priority and I have been working towards this aim since the beginning, facilitating negotiations, opening new lines […]
West Papua APPG held in UK Parliament
September 10, 2024
The inaugural West Papua All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) of the new Parliament was held in the House of Commons today (10/09/2024). Chaired by Alex Sobel MP (Labour), the APPG was attended by MPs Luke Akehurst (Labour), Alex Ballinger (Labour), Jeremy Corbyn (Independent), Tan Dhesi (Labour), Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour), Lord Richard Harries, and addressed by ULMWP […]
Benny Wenda: Welcome new Pacific Islands Forum call for a UN visit
August 30, 2024
As President of the ULMWP and on behalf of the people of West Papua, I welcome the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Communique reaffirming the 2019 call for a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights visit to West Papua: Leaders recalled their decision from 2019 and 2023 and noted the update from the Special Envoys. The 2019 […]