West Papua activists protest in Darwin ahead of Indonesian presidential election
7 July 2014
Free West Papua protestors have demonstrated outside the Indonesian consulate in Darwin as the Northern Territory's Indonesian community went to the polls.
The group, Territorians for a Free West Papua, says it was protesting in support of Papuans fighting for their independence from 51 years of Indonesian rule.
Activists say the protest was about more than supporting the Papuans' right for independence from Indonesian rule.
They say there are reports of the Indonesian military threatening Papuans who boycott the presidential election.
"The ramifications already have been four killed two days ago and 42 arrests," activist Cindy Watson said.
The Darwin spokesman for Australians for a Free West Papua, Rob Wesley-Smith, says the concerns of protesters need to be raised.
"People voting today, they should bear in mind what's going on in West Papua and the role that has been played by one of the presidential candidates, Prabowo," he said.
The activists say neither presidential hopeful will deliver self-determination for the Papua region.
"West Papua is like East Timor a few years ago, they haven't got their freedom, they're being slaughtered," Mr Wesley-Smith said.
The Indonesian Consulate's election chairperson, Ferdi Mauboy, has rejected the comments.
"Learn that Indonesia is Papua, West Papua is part of Indonesia, I don't know of any struggle."
For the Indonesians in Darwin, the election and the chance to vote from Australia is significant.
Voters were unfazed by the presence of the protesters, as they walked through the gates of the Indonesian consulate in Darwin to cast their vote.
The protesters say they're not trying to influence voters and cast no blame whatsoever on the Indonesian people.
The votes of about seven hundred Indonesians in Darwin will be counted with the 188 million votes expected in Wednesday's election.
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