22 Feb 2010

More plans for West Papua march in Vanuatu despite police cancellation of today's event

8:04 pm on 22 February 2010

The Vanuatu Free West Papua Association says it hope to re-organise a march in support of independence for the West Papuan people of Indonesia within the next two weeks.

The Association's planned West Papua march for today, Vanuatu's Lini Day public holiday, was cancelled last Thursday after the organisers failed to submit a march permit application to police in time.

Under Vanuatu law, an application has to be approved four working days for a protest to take place.

The Association's Chairman, Alain Nafuki, says the march, which is to present a petition to Government urging more support for West Papuan self-determination, could be the biggest in Vanuatu's history.

"The government has diplomatic ties with the Indonesian government and they're maybe a little bit too reserved on that. But we, the people from the street, we are free to decide on what we want to deliberately say to the government about the situation in West Papua."

Pastor Alain Nafuki