12 Jun 2002

Tony Blair asked to raise Papua issue with Megawati

3:09 pm on 12 June 2002

The British based Indonesian Human Rights Campaign, or Tapol, is asking the Prime Minister Tony Blair to raise the issue of human rights in Papua, Aceh and Maluku provinces, when he meets the Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri later this week.

President Megawati will be in the UK as part of a European tour.

On Papua, Tapol drew particular attention to the unsatisfactory nature of the official investigation into the assassination of the Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay.

It has asked Mr Blair to ask President Megawati to recognize the need for Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission to investigate the murder under its powers to investigate possible crimes against humanity.

Papuans have claimed that the killing of the independence leader, believed to have orchestrated by the military, undermined their human rights.