West Papua's bid to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group is one step closer, after delegates at a meeting in Vanuatu agreed to form an umbrella organisation to represent their interests.
March in support of West Papua in Vanuatu's Port Vila Photo: RNZI / Hilaire Bule
Earlier this year, the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation put forward a campaign to join the regional group, but the bid was knocked back because of a lack of a more representative bid.
The chair of Vanuatu's West Papua Unification Committee, Pastor Allan Nafuki, says this has been resolved with an agreement on Saturday to form the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
Pastor Nafuki says the group will be made up of the KNPB, the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation and the Federal Republic of West Papua.
"Under that heading they will make an application to be submitted into the MSG. In January, they're coming back to Vila to complete the application and then that will be sent to the June MSG meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands."
