Louisa Wall MP joined her colleague Dr Duncan Webb, MP for Christchurch Central, in raising the West Papua “Morning Star’ freedom flag in commemoration of 60 years of occupation of the former Dutch colony. In West Papua, raising the Morning Star flag is a criminal offence likely to incur a 15-year jail sentence.

West Papua has been occupied by the Indonesian military since it was handed over, against the will of the indigenous population, to Indonesia in 1963. Since then, the people of West Papua have been subjected to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, cultural genocide, murder and massacre - more than 100,000 West Papuans have been killed. Many live in exile because it is not safe for them to go home.

In her presentation, Louisa Wall acknowledged the work of local organiser and vocal human rights activist Brian Turner, Coordinator, West Papua Action Canterbury, for his tireless efforts in bringing this major human rights issue to the fore and “being a symbol of hope and freedom for the people of West Papua”.

Despite the human rights violations happening to one of our neighbours, the NZ Government has been largely silent in their response to the illegal occupation. Speakers, including Pauline McKay, Murray Overton, and John Minto urged people to speak out and to do all that they can to address the issue by:

Ø Discussing it with people

Ø Contacting local body and government officials and urging them to be involved

Ø Supporting calls for a UN probe into human rights violations.