West Papua supporters held a peaceful rally at the Prime Minister鈥檚 Sydney residence, Kirribilli House, on August 15 to mark the signing of the New York Agreement, which betrayed the people of West Papua.
On August 15, 1962 an agreement was signed between the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning West New Guinea.
A vote on a Dutch/Indonesian resolution on the agreement by the UN General Assembly on September 21, 1962 was adopted and included this statement:
鈥淭he Agreement contains certain guarantees for the population of the territory, including detailed provisions regarding the exercise of the right of self-determination under arrangements made by Indonesia with the advice, assistance and participation of the Secretary-General who will appoint a United Nations Representative for this purpose. The act of self-determination is to take place before the end of 1969.鈥
In 1969, Indonesia chose 1025 electors (one representative for about every 700 Papuans) to vote in the UN-sanctioned election. Under coercion, the electors voted to integrate with Indonesia. The West Papuan people call this 鈥渢he act of no free choice鈥.
It is time to put West Papua back on the listing of UN trust territories.
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