Australians support W Papua independence

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Friday June 16, 2006 20:15 by West Papua

MORE than 75 per cent of Australians support self-determination or independence for Papua, a new poll shows.

Massive Australian support for West Papua

From The Australian, 19th April 2006

MORE than 75 per cent of Australians support self-determination or independence for Papua, a new poll shows.

The Newspoll, published in The Australian newspaper today, found 76.7 per cent of respondents believed Papua should have the right to self-determination or independence.

The poll, which comes amid Indonesian anger towards Australia over the granting of visas to 42 Papuan refugees, was commissioned by businessman Ian Melrose, who has campaigned for a better deal for East Timor over oil and gas rights in the Timor Sea. Only 5.5 per cent of Australians opposed self-determination for Papua, while 17.7 per cent said they did not have an opinion on the issue or did not know.

Papuans are fighting for independence from Indonesia , saying that because they are Melanesian, their culture is completely different to that of the rest of the country.
East Timor, a former Indonesian province, won independence after the intervention of the United Nations.

see http://westpapuaaction.buz.org/latest-news.htm#1

see Kelly Newton-Wordsworth http://www.williamsriverproduce.com.au/kelly.htm

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Papua

see Daily Ireland http://dailyireland.televisual.co.uk/home.tvt?_ticket=Y...opp=1