Refugees neglected - PNG/West Papua/Indonesia
3/1/08
Men, women and children, including babies, of West Papuan origin looked warm and comfortable as they either sat or slept in their makeshift camp at the police station in Boroko during the rain yesterday. Unlike at Ela Beach where they had moved to in October last year when evicted from a piece of land at Eight-Mile outside Port Moresby, they have excellent toilet and shower facilities at Boroko. For many of them, this is also the first place where they have had running water and electricity since moving across the border from West Papua to Papua New Guinea 30 years ago. The comforts, however, will not last long. The National Capital District metropolitan superintendent Fred Yakasa, who had brought them there initially for police protection, has threatened to move them out unless the Government authorities and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees come quickly to their aid.
See: http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20080103/thhome.htm
Repatriation of West Papuans soon
Harlyne Joku; 3/1/07
Indonesian government departments are currently working on a comprehensive programme to carry out repatriation of West Papuans abroad including Papua New Guineans, the Indonesian Ambassador Bom Soerjanto said yesterday. Mr Soerjanto further appealed to West Papuans interested in being repatriated back to the Papua province to be patient while waiting for the programme to be applied. He said the Indonesian president’s office would be issuing instructions regarding repatriation soon. He made similar remarks on New Year’s eve in response to queries raised on the progress of the repatriation exercise.
See: http://www.thenational.com.pg/010308/Nation%2014.htm