Stop Ecocide at EU launch of West Papua support network

At a meeting and press conference at the EU Parliament building, the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) announced today the formation of its new EU branch, and Stop Ecocide International was invited to take part.

The meeting, ‘West Papua: Human rights, self-determination, and green state vision’, was hosted by Carles Puigdemont MEP, former President of the Government of Catalonia, and Pernando Barrena MEP of the Basque Country. 

Interim West Papuan President Benny Wenda addressed the gathering, joined by Ralph Regenvanu (former Foreign Minister and current Leader of the Opposition of Vanuatu), Alex Sobel MP, and Jojo Mehta (Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International).

Demonstrations and gatherings took place across West Papua over the past two days in support of the meeting which was live-streamed.

President Carles Puigdemont said: ‘West Papua was annexed by Indonesian in 1963. Since then West Papua has been living under a regime of extreme oppression that may qualify as a genocide. We want to put pressure on the EU to acknowledge the West Papuan right to self-determination. It is a moral and historical debt Europeans have towards the people of West Papua.”

Interim President Wenda said: “We demand that the EU stop funding and supporting the continuation of ‘Special Autonomy’ and the further partition of West Papua. Indonesia has misused the EU’s funds to help its military kill my people. All EU investments in West Papua must be suspended until Indonesia allows the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into the territory.”

Jojo Mehta spoke on the Green State Vision proposed by West Papua’s interim parliament, which sets out commitments including making ecocide a serious criminal offence; restoring guardianship of natural resources to indigenous authorities, combining Western democratic norms with local Papuan systems; and ‘serving notice’ on all extraction companies, including oil, gas, mining, logging and palm oil, requiring them to adhere to international environmental standards or cease operations.

Mehta said she was deeply inspired by “the audacity, positivity, and generosity” of the Green State Vision. “The West Papuan independence movement [has] every right to denounce the occupiers, to seek justice for the horrific violence and displacement they’ve suffered… and yet they do not sit in despair and self-pity… instead they have worked together to offer a holistic, practical vision and a genuinely green governance solution to a world that, let’s face it, desperately needs a new model.  

“I believe wholeheartedly in the proverb that it’s always better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.  West Papua’s candle does more than shine in the darkness - the Green State Vision is a beacon for what a future in harmony with the planet - and each other - could actually look like.”