A former Prime Minister of Solomon Islands has strongly criticised the Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo's recent visit to Indonesia.
Manasseh Sogavare, who is now a senior Opposition MP, says Mr Lilo's praise of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's move to open up West Papua to the international community cannot be genuine.
The Solomon Star quotes Mr Sogavare as saying the Prime Minister displayed deliberate ignorance about the decades of intolerance and human rights abuses that cost the lives of more than 500,000 West Papuans.
At the Melanesian Spearhead Group's June summit, Mr Lilo called for West Papuan self-determination rights to be recognised and for rights abuses to be addressed.
However, Mr Sogavare says contrary to the rhetoric, Mr Lilo's Jakarta visit was about Indonesia using a member of the MSG for its image-building strategy.
The opposition has described government policy on West Papua as incompetent and is pushing for parliament to deliberate a whitepaper on the matter.
