During every single year of the 45 years of Indonesia's brutal occupation of West Papua, successive UK Governments from Harold Macmillan to Gordon Brown have supported and conspired with the Indonesian Generals who rule from Jakarta...from Sukarno, via Suharto to Yudhoyono.Photo: Flying the West Papua flag in Stroud (see earlier posts)
The reasons behind this seem to be clear - and they don't seem to have much to do with either human rights or the rule of international law. Some would say the interests of BP, Rio Tinto, BAE Systems etc are more important.
I have covered this topic before in this blog but I have to say I have been shocked by the latest incarnation of Britain's collusion with the Indonesian Government which has appeared in the form of a letter about the 1969 "Act of Free Choice" (known by Papuans as the 'Act of No Choice') - it came from the current UK Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for the UK's relations with Indonesia, Meg Munn MP.
In that letter, dated 14th January, Meg Munn talks about the 'Act of Free Choice' as if it really was an act of free choice - showing shocking ignorance - deliberate or otherwise - of the facts. She also says the Government 'do not support a re-visitation of the 1969 Act of Free Choice'. Here is my letter to her below -= others may also want to write?
To MEGG MUNN MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Dear Ms Munn,
I have been shocked to read that you have put your name to a letter about the illegal Indonesian annexation of West Papua. I am very concerned that you do not appear to understand the history. It is just not true that in 1969 the West Papuans ‘freely chose to become part of Indonesia’ in a ‘democratic vote’ called the “Act of Free Choice”.
Nobody who has studied the history of that region could possibly conclude that is the case. I would like to note that in August 1969 Brigadier-General Ali Murtopo, special envoy of the Indonesian dictator Suharto, speaking to West Papuans selected to take part in the “Act of Free Choice”, made this threat: “This is what will happen to anyone who votes against Indonesia. Their accursed tongues will be torn out. Their full mouths will be wrenched open. Upon them will fall the vengeance of the Indonesian people. I will myself shoot them on the spot.”
And at the same time, Suharto sent this clear order to his military forces in West Papua: "See that the [act] on West Irian's [Papua’s] future status will yield a clear pronouncement in favour of Indonesia."
Two of your Government colleagues have taken a different view:
“[In the Act of Free Choice a] 1,000 handpicked representatives … were largely coerced into declaring for inclusion in Indonesia”. (Foreign Office Minister Baroness Symons, House of Lords, 13 December 2004.)
“We recognise that it [the Act of Free Choice] was extremely flawed”. (UK Government spokesperson, Baroness Royall, House of Lords, 8 January 2007
Are you aware that had either of these two statements been made by a West Papuan man or woman rather than by British Government Ministers, he or she would now be serving a 10 or 15 year sentence in an Indonesian prison or worse? I understand that daring to disagree with the “official version of history” in Indonesian-occupied West Papua is to put your own and the life of your family’s in danger.
The truth about the “Act of Free Choice” is paramount. I would welcome clarification on this matter.
Yours sincerely, Cllr. Philip Booth
E-MAIL Meg Munn MP on: msu.publicin@fco.gov.uk
For more background reading see the article "The UN & the Act of Free Choice" by British historian, Dr John Saltford at: http://www.angelfire.com/journal/issues/saltford.html
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