19 Aug 2013

Free West Papua Campaign office opens in the Hague

1:20 pm on 19 August 2013

The Free West Papua Campaign has opened its office in the Hague, in the Netherlands.

The office was opened on the 51st anniversary of the New York Agreement under which the former Dutch New Guinea was ceded to Indonesia.

The campaign's coordinator in the Netherlands, Oridek Ap, says the aim of the office is to provide information regarding the situation in Indonesia's Papua region and why his organisation thinks West Papuans need to be independent.

Mr Ap says successive Dutch governments have tried to erase the history of Dutch New Guinea from the national conscience, and that the new office will seek to educate younger generations about what is an important part of their country's history and a major international issue.