The European Commission Statement on West Papua Issue

At the end of March, Union’s Heads of Mission in Jakarta, including the Commission Delegation, visited Papua for a fact-finding visit and to reiterate the Union’s concerns to the Indonesian authorities.

Following the Indonesian Parliament’s approval in November last of a regional autonomy law for Irian Jaya (to be called thereafter ‘Papua’), full implementation of this law should make a significant contribution to resolving the difficulties in the province. To support this process in the longer term, the Commission envisages – within its Country Strategy for assistance to Indonesia – to focus on encouraging good governance and the rule of law in the framework of the Government’s decentralisation and regional autonomy policies including Papua.

The Commission shares the stated position of the Union, which firmly supports the territorial integrity of Indonesia, while encouraging the Government to make urgent efforts to address and resolve peacefully Indonesia’s internal conflicts, whether separatist or sectarian in character. Therefore in the present context the Commission is not proposing to call for a review of the ‘Act of Free Choice’ of 1969 regarding Papua.

Source of EU Statement on West Papua: The European Parliament

Notes:

A former Dutch colony, Papua or West Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, after an undisputed vote of about 1,025 representative tribal leaders. The result of the plebiscite was overseen and endorsed by the United Nations.