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News that the 500 West Papuan refugees who had been living at the 8-mile settlement outside Port Moresby for 20 years were facing eviction, was broadcast mid-2006. News that more than 214 West Papuan refugees were granted an injunction to stay until February 15 2007, was reported in December, 2006.

May 31 2007 Vanuatu Daily Post:
West Papuan representative in Vanuatu, Dr Otto Ondawame, reported an incident when Indonesian officials and Kopassus military were escorted to the 8-mile settlement, unannounced, by PNG police. The 8-mile residents chased the "delegation" out of the settlement.

UNHCR Head in Port Moresby, Ms Wallaya Pura, said she was aware of Indonesia's efforts to repatriate the refugees, and of their efforts to coerce the PNG government to support this program. Dr Ondawarme similarly claims that the PNG government was working in collaboration with the Indonesian Embassy in PNG and pro-special autonomy groups led by Frans Albert Yoku to force the West Papuans back to Indonesia.

History: West Papuan refugees in PNG ( Extract from International Commission of Jurists Report July 2007)
"The first refugees arrived in 1968 and some were granted permissive residency. In the 1970s, some of the refugees included OPM members and those convicted of crimes under PNG law were returned to West Papua. A large-scale influx occurred in 1984 and international attention was drawn to the poor standards in the 'temporary' border camps. The UNHCR was reluctantly allowed to establish a presence in Port Moresby to assist with the West Papuan's daily needs. PNG was concerned about illegal entry of West Papuans and the limited financial resources available to give similar standards of social assistance to the refugees as to PNG citizens."

"PNG stopped its program of forced repatriation in the latter half of the 1980s and 1990s, however, in 2003 the PNG government announced that 96 families in Vanimo that were assessed as illegal border crossers would be returned to Indonesia in accordance with the Basic Agreement on Border Arrangements between PNG and Indonesia. The return was to be on a 'voluntary' basis. The UNHCR and the Catholic Church expressed their concerns and the PNG government decided to postpone the repatriations and allow the West Papuans to remain in transmitter camps in March 2003."

"The Australia Section of the ICJ (which had earlier conducted a mission to PNG border camps and Vanimo) wrote to the Prime Minster of PNG, the Hon. Sir Michael Somare urging the PNG government to allow the West Papuan border crosses to remain in PNG and not returned to Indonesia and to treat all those assessed by the UNHCR as genuine refugees (the UNHCR considered that approximately 75% of all the 300 recent West Papuan arrivals in Vanimo should be accorded refugee status in 2001) and grant them permanent residency status. Forced repatriation has been a constant threat since 1984 and the UNHCR has been granted a protective role in monitoring the safety of those returned to Indonesia. After return, some West Papuans have been arrested, tortured or killed. In Prime Minister Somare's response to the ICJ's letter in April 2003, he stated that the possibility of an Appeal Panel from the decisions of the Foreign Minster were being looked into and that the government had never been made aware of evidence showing that repatriated border crossers had been killed by the Indonesian Government." (end of extract)

On Saturday 22nd September police raided the 8-mile settlement to hack down banana plants as a warning to residents they must leave their homes or face forced eviction. On Monday Sept 26th some of the 8-mile residents started camping outside the UNHCR office in Port Moresby asking for the UNHCR to arrange deportation to a third country; their number is now reported at more than 300. Group spokesman Freddy Waromi said that the 8-mile group were divided; some had elected to stay, some had elected to negotiate a return to Papua. He said that he and many others had fled Papua in the 1980s to avoid persecution by Indonesian authorities of the Melanesian Papuans who were supporters of independence.

The refugees outside the UNHRC office said they will continue to camp there until they are deported to another Melanesian country to seek asylum.

Powes Parkop, newly elected National Capital District governor and John Tekwie, have been vocal in support of the West Papuan refugees.

The former governor of Papua New Guinea's West Sepik province, John Tekwie says the United Nations should take responsibility for the West Papuan refugees in PNG. Mr Tekwie says the mass displacement of thousands of people would not have happened if the United Nations had not handed over rule of West Papua to Indonesia.

In an interview with Sam Seke on ABC Radio Australia Pacific Beat he said, "I'm blaming the United Nations - the main body here, because that's their responsibility. The United Nations they forced West Papua to remain as a colony of Indonesia, without a free determination, free will and through and express democratic election conducted by the people and they have forced our people, the innocent people of the Melanesians of West Papua to become part of Indonesia, without their free will and they failed, so they must correct this problem. I'm asking the government of the region to stand up and push the United Nations, to tell them to live up to their responsibility."

The head of the UNHCR Office in Port Moresby says the West Papuan refugees have already been given asylum by the PNG Government - and have the option of residing in the country with formal legal status.

PNG's Deputy Prime Minister Dr Puka Temu says the government is in the process of finding suitable land to relocate the West Papuans.

If the history of questionable practice with regard to repatriation and relocation of refugees in PNG is still the reality then it is likely they will be returned to the Indonesian authorities or to the East Awin camp, near Kiunga, not far inland from the Indonesian/PNG border. (East Awin is funded mainly by the Australian government AusAid.)

A 2003 ICJ report states: "For West Papuans who have established themselves in urban areas, such as Port Moresby, the requirement to return to East Awin appears onerous and unreasonable, especially taking into account the limited facilities in that area and the cost and difficulty of travel. As many of these people have lived in PNG for lengthy periods, a solution needs to be found to regularise their status.ﾓ"

Onerous and unreasonable would seem euphemistic in reference to the treatment of refugees. The UNHCR in PNG should be making sure that the government's responsibilities under international law are fulfilled.

Neil Sullivan
for AWPA WA