BY Netani Rika
INDONESIAN security forces have arrested 50 protesters who want human rights abuses in West Papua to be addressed by Pacific leaders.?
The protest in Sentani called on leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum on Nauru to raise the issue of self-determination for Papuans.
?Armed police arrested the protesters and removed banners.?
West Papua was anexxed by Indonesia with the support of the United States, Australia and the United Nations in 1969.?
Since then Indonesian forces have tortured and killed more than 500,000 Papuans. ?
The United Movement for the Liberation of West Papua which was behind today’s protest has consistently sought support from Pacific governments for help.?
This includes recognition in the Melanesian Spearhead Group and at the UN. ?But these moves have been blocked by Fiji and Papua New Guinea, Indonesia’s largest allies inn the region.