A look back at Swim for West Papua and the historic achievement to carry the voices of over 1.8 million West Papuans to the United Nations.In August of 2017 s
- 6 years ago
A look back at Swim for West Papua and the historic achievement to carry the voices of over 1.8 million West Papuans to the United Nations.
In August of 2017 six young swimmers set out on a 69km journey up the length of Lake Geneva. They carried with them the bones of the people West Papua and voice of a nation in waiting. Banned by the Government of Indonesia, the petition demanded an internationally supervised vote and the Human Right to Self-Determination.
Smuggled between highland villages,1.8 million (over 70% of the population) West Papuan's signed the People's Petition in the largest show of support for a referendum since the early 1960s. The petition was later presented to the United Nations.
Swim for West Papua was the Free West Papua campaign's 2017 grass roots movement to secure a free and fair independence referendum for the West Papuan people who have been the victims of gross human rights violation and slow-motion genocide which began in the 1960s. This 'people-power' petition directly compliments the higher diplomatic efforts of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) and International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP).
Thank you all for adding your signatures to the historic People's Petition for West Papua to #BackTheSwim and #LetWestPapuaVote. The global work to support every Melanesian's right to self-determination and #FreeWestPapua marches on.
Benny Wenda Oridek Ap aki Ap Yanto Dabior Awerkion The United Liberation Movement for West Papua - ULMWP United Nations Free West Papua Campaign (Nederland) International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) PT+foundation
Original Dominic Godfrey report and audio interview published by RNZ for Dateline Pacific (06 Sep 2017)
In August of 2017 six young swimmers set out on a 69km journey up the length of Lake Geneva. They carried with them the bones of the people West Papua and voice of a nation in waiting. Banned by the Government of Indonesia, the petition demanded an internationally supervised vote and the Human Right to Self-Determination.
Smuggled between highland villages,1.8 million (over 70% of the population) West Papuan's signed the People's Petition in the largest show of support for a referendum since the early 1960s. The petition was later presented to the United Nations.
Swim for West Papua was the Free West Papua campaign's 2017 grass roots movement to secure a free and fair independence referendum for the West Papuan people who have been the victims of gross human rights violation and slow-motion genocide which began in the 1960s. This 'people-power' petition directly compliments the higher diplomatic efforts of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) and International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP).
Thank you all for adding your signatures to the historic People's Petition for West Papua to #BackTheSwim and #LetWestPapuaVote. The global work to support every Melanesian's right to self-determination and #FreeWestPapua marches on.
Benny Wenda Oridek Ap aki Ap Yanto Dabior Awerkion The United Liberation Movement for West Papua - ULMWP United Nations Free West Papua Campaign (Nederland) International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) PT+foundation
Original Dominic Godfrey report and audio interview published by RNZ for Dateline Pacific (06 Sep 2017)