PRESS STATEMENT, Port Moresby,  14 February 2018

United Liberation Movement for West Papua in Port Moresby fulfills prerequisites for MSG membership  

United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) expresses deep gratitude to Prime Minister Peter O’Neill  and the PNG Government for inviting the ULMWP to the 21st Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders’ Summit between 10 and 15 February 2018 in Port Moresby.

ULMWP Spokesperson Jacob Rumbiak hopes its application to become a full member will be realized at this meeting, because “it is the aspiration of all West Papuans to join this organisation of our Melanesian brothers and sisters”.

“Becoming a full member of MSG is not merely a political desire, but more importantly about reconnecting ourselves with our Melanesian family” he added. “This is all about respecting human dignity and family issues.  It is not a political game. We are part of the great Melanesian family”.

West Papuans applied for membership of the MSG in Noumea (New Caledonia) in 2013 but were rejected on grounds that they were not united.  The application was represented in 2014, but PNG Prime Minister O’Neil recommended more work on critical membership-criteria issues.

Later in 2014, the Vanuatu Government facilitated a meeting of West Papuan leaders in Port Vila, where the people united under the coordination of an elected ‘United Liberation Movement for West Papua’ on 6 December 2014.

At its most recent meeting in Vanuatu, in December 2017, the ULMWP reformed its leadership structures to reflect the formation of Executive, Legislative and Judicial functions.  It published its short, medium, and long-term political and social agendas, and demonstrated the unity of the iconic West Papuan military.

“Now, all our friends from around the world, our families in Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, alongside Papuans from Sorong to Samurai, are praying for good news from Prime Minister O’Neil and the other MSG leaders.”

Jacob Rumbiak
Spokesperson, United Liberation Movement for West Papa (ULMWP)

E-mail address: [email protected]

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