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Indonesia protests Oxford City Council’s award to Papuan separatist
Indonesia has criticized the Oxford City Council in England for awarding Papuan separatist Benny Wenda an honorary title, accusing the council of legitimizing the violence that has erupted in the country's easternmost provinces.
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Indonesian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Rizal Sukma speaks at a year-end dinner in London on Dec. 14. (Courtesy of/The Indonesian embassy to the United Kingdom)
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ndonesia has strongly criticized a decision by Britain's Oxford City Council to honor Papuan separatist Benny Wenda with its Freedom of the City award, accusing the council of legitimizing the violence in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.
The Indonesian Embassy in London said the award was given to the wrong individual, arguing in a press statement that Wenda was an actor and supporter of the use of violence for achieving political goals.
The mission also questioned the council's assumption that paints Wenda as a "peaceful campaigner for democracy" despite abundant evidence linking him with various bouts of armed violence in Papua. It said the award could hamper efforts to increase cooperation between Indonesia and the United Kingdom, especially with the city of Oxford, just as the two sides celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations.
“Giving an award to an individual with a criminal record [who is] in an armed separatist movement shows the Oxford City Council's failure to understand the person's track record, as well as the actual progress made in the development of the Papua and West Papua provinces," the mission said in a statement issued on Wednesday (Thursday in Jakarta).
Wenda has been linked to the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), an armed separatist group that claimed responsibility for killing 31 civilians in Nduga, Papua on Dec. 2, which the government claims is the deadliest in the group's long and often brutal campaign to gain international attention.
At least one TNI officer was killed in a clash with the TPNPB in May, the latest incident to result in casualties and to spike tensions. Both sides have denied any wrongdoing.
A UK citizen with a Papuan heritage, Wenda is the leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), an umbrella organization that brings together several political and armed factions of the separatist movement.
