Over to you UN: West Papua update plus ANOTHER update

This topic has been such a common thread in this blog for years.

Now there is more news.  It appears, on its face, that some momentum may be building.

How many people must be murdered before the UN steps in amongst a genocide.

As this article quotes:

"A 2004 report from Yale Law School said the Indonesian government had "acted with necessary intent to … perpetrate genocide against the people of West Papua""

Come on UN, step up and carry out your obligations to the people of West Papua.

Or you should be disbanded, and all the tax free earnings of your tens of thousands of employees used for the correct purpose.

If you are new to this topic, the article is a great backgrounder.

Without the blood and gore that has been spilt.

Indonesia of course, says that West Papua is part of Indonesia and always has been.  They don't even look like each other, let alone have cultural similarities or speak the same language(s).  Its an island for goodness sake.

Free West Papua.

Same day:  and another UPDATE (maybe the UN read this blog?)

UN has been granted access to West Papua by Indonesia

The UN moves..........

FREE WEST PAPUA

Update West Papua

There are many ways to eradicate a race of people.  One of them is to cut down all their trees.

One of the few remaining natural growth forests in the world. West Papua.

So Indonesia is doing exactly that.

United Nations. Shame Shame Shame

Maybe Trump is correct.  The United Nations is a waste of time and money.

I should say, Trump is correct.

In January 2012 I wrote a blog entitled "When to intervene in a genocide".  In that I illustrated with absolute clarity; not my clarity - using the UN laws and regulations; that it is obligated, ie "must" intervene in a genocide.

Please read the blog, it is important.  However, key point is this:

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide came into effect on 12 January 1951 by vote of the UN General Assembly.  It has been adopted by the International Criminal Court. 

In Article II it defines genocide as:

Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a)    Killing a member of the group

(b)   Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

(c)    Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part

(d)   Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group

(e)    Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Further, the UN Security Council must, by law (Resolution 1674), take action to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.   


Think West Papua.  Details of genocides and other nefarious actions by or on behalf of the world countries against the Papuans is detailed in the above blog.

Now.....1.8 million Papuans (70% of the population) have signed a petition calling on the United Nation to conduct a free vote about independence for this nation, from Indonesia.  ABC covers this extensively in a very thoughtful article here.  

As they describe it, hand by hand this petition was passed around the nation.  In secret.  It is illegal under Indonesian law (of course!  Not so the marriage postal vote in Australia).  

Typically, it is reported, that Papuans who piss off Indonesia are disappeared.  It is difficult to imagine 1.8 million people disappearing, however I would not put it past the Indonesians to try**.

This petition was ultimately delivered to the UN in New York.  Hand delivered.

The UN denies ever receiving the petition.

Here goes a tautology....the UN denies ever receiving the petition.

Which is beside the point.  

By law, its own law, established by its own members, it must intervene in genocides.  

Whether the people are black or not.

Got it?  If it is Eastern Europe the UN is there.  Black people (with a stunningly ancient cultural heritage, oh and did I mention a land rich with natural resources?); forget it.

Shame on you United Nations.  Shame on you Freeport.  And shame on you Australia for standing by and doing nothing for your closest neighbour.

Shame Shame Shame

**Fifty years ago the Indonesians killed half a million of their own citizens; as shown in recently released US documentation.

UPDATE:  Australia is expected to be appointed by an uncontested vote to join the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.  According to the Guardian, it lobbied hard to be appointed on the following issues:

"Australia has campaigned globally for its position on the human rights council, arguing it will promote gender equality; good governance; freedom of expression; indigenous rights; and strong national human rights institutions."

I cannot think of a thing to say to that, Australia's dishonesty is so appalling.

When to intervene in a genocide

A confluence of three events occurred this week with respect to genocides.  The first was the news that France is passing a law that makes it a crime to deny genocide occurred.  It is in particular targeted, reputedly, at the Turks with respect to the Armenian genocide.  The Turks are not happy. 

The second was the replay of an interview with Christopher Hitchens (RIP) in which he referred to Kissinger being within listening distance as the Indonesians considered their invasion of East Timor.  And how this genocide then unfolded and flew in the face of international law.

So I looked up this international law.  On trusty old Wiki.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide came into effect on 12 January 1951 by vote of the UN General Assembly.  It has been adopted by the International Criminal Court. 

In Article II it defines genocide as:

Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a)    Killing a member of the group

(b)   Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

(c)    Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part

(d)   Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group

(e)    Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Further, the UN Security Council must, by law (Resolution 1674), take action to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.   

Not all are mentioned, but some of the genocides over the past century are all too familiar:  Bosnia; Rwanda; East Timor; Holocaust; Khmer Rouge; Darfur (Sudan); Soviet POWS.  It is unclear why none of the deaths from Japanese in China (Nanjing) or the Pacific are not mentioned.  But there you have it. 

So it is clear, the world is required to act in the face of a genocide as defined. 

The third event was that I watched the film Balibo.  

It illustrates with implacable clarity the malicious brutality of the Indonesian’s invasion of East Timor in 1975.  It tells the true story of crimes that were covered up for over 30 years.  

A friend grew up in Papua New Guinea, a child of an Australian Major.  He often spoke of the very real threat the community felt from a cross border invasion by the Indonesians from Irian Jaya (the left half of the island of New Guinea).  It was a cloud on the horizon at all times, or a flapping flock of vultures.  There were stories too of people fleeing across the border from West Papua, of rampant deaths, whole villages flattened to make way for the millions of Indonesians being supplanted into the country.

It is difficult to know how widespread the abuse of the nationals is, but there has been plenty, and for a long time.   It is ignored by the international press and there is little or no diplomacy records either about this country of 2.6 million people.  Getting news out is almost impossible and journalists fear for their lives.  

Whole villages are being eradicated and there is no question that with the deliberate death of 400,000 nationals this would be considered genocide.  And the massive profits taken out of the resource (and culturally) rich country are not for the Papuans.  And the US company Freeport should hang its head in shame and every shareholder also.  It is the largest publicly traded copper and molybdenum producer in the world, and operates its PT Freeport Indonesia.  Reputedly, many many deaths of the Papuans have occurred in its name.

There are protests of course, but expect to be shot.  There are protest groups as well, such as 

Free West Papua;  and another domiciled in the UK.

There is a detailed and recent published history here.  Titled:  West Papuans Cry for Help. 

Wake up world!! It has been too long already!!