{"id":2028,"date":"2020-12-01T15:29:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T15:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/?p=2028"},"modified":"2024-01-02T15:38:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T15:38:03","slug":"2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/?p=2028","title":{"rendered":"West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda named as interim president"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"author-name mar-mr-1 no-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/author\/profile\/295152.David_Lynch\/\">By David Lynch<\/a><a class=\"twitter-button no-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/@davi_lynch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@davi_lynch<\/a><span class=\"job-title\">Politics Reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Benny Wenda, the newly-declared president of the interim government of West Papua, lives in exile in\u00a0<a class=\"section-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news\/yourtown\/oxford\/\">Oxford<\/a>\u00a0after escaping imprisonment in Indonesia.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/resources\/images\/12093107\/?type=responsive-gallery-fullscreen\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Today, West Papuans declared they would form a &#8216;provisional government-in-waiting&#8217; for their homeland region, which is currently split into two provinces under the control of Indonesia.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inArticleAd-1\" data-name-place=\"DFP_outbrain\">\n<aside>\n<div class=\"ob-smartfeed-wrapper feedIdx-0\">\n<div id=\"outbrain_widget_0\" class=\"OUTBRAIN\" data-ob-contenturl=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news\/18912788.west-papuan-independence-leader-benny-wenda-named-interim-president\/\" data-ob-installation-key=\"NEWSQ15BEE3GLF6A6AL9EECN9\" data-widget-id=\"AR_2\" data-ob-mark=\"true\" data-browser=\"chrome\" data-os=\"win32\" data-dynload=\"\" data-idx=\"0\">\n<div class=\"ob-widget ob-feed-layout AR_2\">\n<div class=\"ob-widget-header\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"ob-cards\">\n<div id=\"outbrain_widget_1001\" class=\"OUTBRAIN\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news\/18912788.west-papuan-independence-leader-benny-wenda-named-interim-president\/\" data-widget-id=\"FMS_CP_1\" data-card-idx=\"1\" data-feed-father-idx=\"0\" data-ob-mark=\"true\" data-browser=\"chrome\" data-os=\"win32\" data-dynload=\"\" data-idx=\"1001\" data-ob-installation-key=\"NEWSQ15BEE3GLF6A6AL9EECN9\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"ob-widget ob-grid-layout FMS_CP_1 ob-feed-idx-0-12485-88515\" data-dynamic-truncate=\"true\">\n<div class=\"ob-widget-footer\">\n<div class=\"ob-pixels\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mr Wenda leads a campaign called United Liberation Movement for West Papua, which aims to transform the provinces into an independent nation, free of Indonesian rule.<\/p>\n<p>While protests in support of independence took place across eight cities in Indonesia, Mr Wenda and supporters gathered in central Oxford to raise awareness of the cause.<\/p>\n<div id=\"inArticleAd-2\" class=\"advert-container mar-block-ad mar-block-ad--in-article\">\n<div id=\"DFP_in_article_2\" data-google-query-id=\"CJWMvt2Cv4MDFZdGQQIdcisOjA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/154725070,22694024870\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news_2__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The number of supporters was intentionally restricted and social distancing was maintained, to comply with rules about gatherings during the current lockdown.<\/p>\n<p>The four who showed up waved the West Papuan flag, known as the Morning Star, which also flies from the top of Oxford Town Hall every December 1.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"editor-image\" title=\"Oxford Mail: \" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 575w,(max-width: 992px) 962w,(max-width: 1400px) 1400w, (min-width: 1401px) 1401w\" srcset=\"\/resources\/images\/12093108.jpg?type=mds-article-575 575w, \/resources\/images\/12093108.jpg?type=mds-article-962 962w, \/resources\/images\/12093108.jpg?type=mds-article-642 1400w, \/resources\/images\/12093108.jpg?type=mds-article-620 1401w\" alt=\"Oxford Mail: \" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>The morning star on the roof of the town hall<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The date is an important day for West Papuans, who declared independence from Dutch colonial rule on December 1 in 1961.<\/p>\n<p>The declaration of the new government was also held on the same date because of its importance.<\/p>\n<p>The group at Carfax also handed out cakes emblazoned with &#8216;Free West Papua&#8217; to passersby in an attempt to start up conversations about Mr Wenda&#8217;s cause.<\/p>\n<p>At one point early in the morning, two homeless men living in sheltered accommodation approached the group to ask for a cake.<\/p>\n<p>After spotting the message on the icing in the tasty treats they began to speak to the newly-nominated president about his cause.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement released to coincide with the announcement about the new West Papuan government, Mr Wenda said: &#8220;Today, we honour and recognise all our forefathers who fought and died for us by finally establishing a united government-in-waiting.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Embodying the spirit of the people of West Papua, we are ready to run our country. As laid out in our provisional constitution, a future Republic of West Papua will be the world\u2019s first Green State, and a beacon of human rights \u2013 the opposite of decades of bloody Indonesian colonisation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Today, we take another step towards our dream of a free, independent and liberated West Papua.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While Mr Wenda has been named as the leader of a Free West Papua, the rest of the government in waiting is yet to be nominated. This will likely take place next year.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Wenda was granted political asylum in the UK in 2003, after escapinng prison in Indonesia, where he had been arrested for leading protests.<\/p>\n<p>He then became the leader of the Free West Papua campaign in the UK, formed by several pro-Papuan activists in Oxford in 2004.<\/p>\n<p>Last year the Papuan leader was granted the freedom of Oxford.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"editor-image\" title=\"Oxford Mail: \" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 575w,(max-width: 992px) 962w,(max-width: 1400px) 1400w, (min-width: 1401px) 1401w\" srcset=\"\/resources\/images\/12093111.jpg?type=mds-article-575 575w, \/resources\/images\/12093111.jpg?type=mds-article-962 962w, \/resources\/images\/12093111.jpg?type=mds-article-642 1400w, \/resources\/images\/12093111.jpg?type=mds-article-620 1401w\" alt=\"Oxford Mail: \" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Benny Wenda<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Speaking outside Carfax Tower yesterday, Mr Wenda said he had come to think of Oxford as a &#8216;second home&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>He said: &#8220;I feel that Oxford is my second home and I believe the people of Oxford will support me so that I can go back to my home as a free man.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"inArticleAd-4\" class=\"advert-container mar-block-ad mar-block-ad--in-article\">\n<div id=\"DFP_in_article_4\" data-google-query-id=\"CJeMvt2Cv4MDFZdGQQIdcisOjA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/154725070,22694024870\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news_4__container__\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news\/17775238.west-papuan-independence-leader-benny-wenda-receive-freedom-oxford\/\"><strong>READ AGAIN: West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda to receive Freedom of Oxford<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The indigenous Papuans are a different ethnic group to other people in Indonesia.<\/p>\n<p>Though they declared independence in 1961, their land was incorporated into Indonesia after a referendum in 1969.<\/p>\n<p>According to the news agency Reuters, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry has rejected the declaration of a West Papuan government.<\/p>\n<p>It has previously described the West Papuan Independence campaign as a separatist movement.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news\/18912788.west-papuan-independence-leader-benny-wenda-named-interim-president\/\">https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/news\/18912788.west-papuan-independence-leader-benny-wenda-named-interim-president\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/resources\/images\/12093107\/?type=responsive-gallery-fullscreen\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/resources\/images\/12093106\/?type=responsive-gallery-fullscreen\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oxfordmail.co.uk\/resources\/images\/12093109\/?type=responsive-gallery-fullscreen\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By David Lynch@davi_lynchPolitics Reporter Benny Wenda, the newly-declared president of the interim government of West Papua, lives in exile in\u00a0Oxford\u00a0after escaping imprisonment in Indonesia. &nbsp; Today, West Papuans declared they would form a &#8216;provisional government-in-waiting&#8217; for their homeland region, which is currently split into two provinces under the control of Indonesia. Mr Wenda leads a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-independence-leader-benny-wenda","category-ulmwp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2028"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2033,"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2028\/revisions\/2033"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}