11 Nov 2015

Australian PM urged to talk to Jokowi about Papua

9:05 am on 11 November 2015
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks about the shooting at a press conference in Melbourne

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks about the shooting at a press conference in Melbourne. Photo: AAP

There are calls for Australia's prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to raise the matter of human rights abuses in West Papua with his Indonesian counterpart.

Mr Turnbull is due to meet Joko Widodo for talks tomorrow in Jakarta.

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua has called on Mr Turnbull to discuss violence by security forces aganst West Papuans.

The ULMWP says that since President Jokowi signalled his intention for a peaceful solution to the West Papua problem, Australia's government should be proactive about being part of this solution.

Meanwhile, the Australia West Papua Association has written to Mr Turnbull urging him to raise issues such as the crackdown on peaceful civil society groups, intimidation of journalists and the killing of civilians including school children by Indonesian security forces.

Echoing the ULMWP, the AWPA is asking for Canberra's support for the request from Pacific Islands Forum leaders to Jakarta to allow a Forum fact-finding mission to West Papua.

The talks between Australia and Indonesia's leaders represent an opportunity to repair the bilateral relationship after damages sustained during Tony Abbott's tenure as Australian prime minister.

However, Mr Turnbull is widely expected to maintain his predeccesor's stand of not questioning Jakarta on Papua issues.

The new Australian prime minister, responding to a recent ULMWP letter, indicated that his government would prioritise economic interests over support to reinscribe West Papua on the UN list of territories to be decolonised.