Recently visiting Papua New Guinea (PNG), Benny Wenda for once again has disappointed all efforts West Papuans have made to prosper West Papua. While many have championed in making positive trajectory of West Papua’s prosperity and development, Wenda is still selfishly trying to convince himself and others that without him, all growth in the region means nothing.
Instead of trying to be busy with actions to create real changes in West Papua, Wenda continuously campaigns that he thinks the region is a dark place and far from prosperity. During the recent visit to PNG, from 8 to 19 January 2019, Wenda met with local figures to obtain sympathy for his cause.
People that Wenda saw there include Ken Mondiai – leader of PNG Union for West Papua, Governor Powes Parkop, Mathias Wenda, and Sheby Sambom. The last two are leaders of West Papuan Freedom Army who reside in PNG.
During his visit, Wenda received company from local PNGans who support the West Papua Freedom movement, Fred Christian Mambrasar, Dani Halempa and Amy Kaiyo Kemuso.
*Provocative, ruthless messages*
Meeting with those people, Benny Wenda came with provocative words. Firstly, as the leader of the Free West Papua movement, he wants all West Papuans to boycott the incoming public election in the region. The election itself will ask all Indonesians including West Papuans to cast their votes for the next President and Vice President of Indonesia. Wenda wants PNGans to help tell the world and especially West Papuans that they should not vote.
Secondly, Wenda also wants the freedom army to increase their attacks using any arms they have to fight against Indonesians who he sees have taken over West Papua from the natives. He told the freedom army members that it is okay to fire and shoot innocent people as long as it is for the independence of the region.
His messages were a resonance to horrific killings that have just happened in West Papua where dozens of innocent civilians were taken mercilessly by the freedom army.
We Tell The Truth New Zealand, for some reasons, understand why Wenda is persistent to campaign his freedom of West Papua movement. He lost his family members during the early days fights when Indonesia endeavored to integrate West Papua into the country.
We used to put great sympathy for his cause. However, for a long time, Wenda’s moves have seemed to get too far.
He has become a selfish freedom campaigner where he does not understand that he has lost grasp on the fact that West Papua is rapidly developing physically and non-physically. Wenda’s campaigns have turned to be vengeful provocations that often end up with ruthless violence in West Papua.
Having been away from West Papua for a few decades, Wenda never wants to ponder and admit that in this modern era, the most eastern region of Indonesia has been developing. A few problems are still there, but many fields have improved significantly.
Schools, hospitals, libraries and playgrounds are almost everywhere to find in West Papua. Some were built by the government and some other were developed by volunteers. Powered by great optimism, these volunteers come to West Papua for nothing but hoping the region to prosper. Volunteers are coming from various backgrounds including civilians and military members both Native and non-Native West Papuans.
While people are optimistic about the development in West Papua, Benny Wenda and people like him turn their backs on this optimism.
*Prime Minister’s rejection*
In PNG, Benny Wenda also tried to meet with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to request that the PNG government give support to the West Papuan freedom movement owned by Benny Wenda. The prime minister, though, refused.
Peter O’Neill’s rejection was reported to be based upon his understanding that diplomatic relations with Indonesia are primary. The PNG government has recognized Indonesia’s sovereignty over the West Papua region, both in international and regional Pacific forums. The beneficial bilateral relations that have been built between these two sovereign Pacific countries should not be tarnished by selfish interests from someone like Benny Wenda.
In many occasions, Wenda selflessly claims that he is a kind of supreme leader of West Papua Freedom movement where he will ‘legalize’ all means to evict or if necessary murder non-West Papuans who live there. His visit to PNG was the continuation of his ruthless campaigns against Indonesians, including when he praised the recent killings of dozens of civilians and refused to mourn.
He lost members of his family, and that is one thing people would sympathize. However, as he has provoked cold-blooded murders, that is when sympathy is gone. Wenda is nothing but a vengeful leader that will always rely on his selfish, delusional dream about the progress and prosperity in West Papua.
While the region is developing to pursue its prosperity now, Wenda’s delusion has instead tainted the progress and resulted in a great deal of setbacks. It does not stop there, unfortunately.
His PNG visit proves his ruthlessness where he wants PNGans to help boycott the incoming election. For Wenda, the boycott may sound making sense. But for us, it looks like a betrayal to the West Papuans’ dream to be able to cast votes on a one-man-one-vote basis.
Organizations like Indonesia Mengajar, Kitong Bisa, Wahana Visi Indonesia and many more have contributed significantly to the development in West Papua. They do that without begging support from other countries and telling them about the bad stuff from West Papua. Those organizations instead voluntarily give their hand to see a brighter future of the region and the people. They are optimistic that West Papua is on the right track to prosperity and they want to be part of it.
