Senator Bob Carr: I did not say that at all. I did not say anything remotely like that. What I did say is something I stick to absolutely, and that is: we raise human rights. It is the Australian government position to raise human rights in Papua. Our ambassador does it regularly. Our ambassador has formal meetings with the Indonesian government to pursue our policy of talking about rights in the Papuan provinces. That is the first point. That is our policy. It is the Australian government policy, so do not attempt to arrogate it. It is the Australian government policy to pursue human rights issues in Papua. What I did say is that people who hold out to the people of Papua the promise of success in secessionism--
Senator DI NATALE: But who is doing that?
Senator Bob Carr: The people who fly Papuan flags and the people who talk the language of secession and independence. They are planting in the minds of people who actually live in the place the notion that this campaign has some kind of international resonance, and that is a cruel deceit by self-indulgent people safe in their own beds, safe in a democracy. It is a cruel deceit about the potential of a demand for secessionism. Australia and the world recognise Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua.
Senator DI NATALE: I suggest to you that it is incredibly patronising and incredibly arrogant that you would suggest that a movement within a nation of people who are able to make decisions for themselves are somehow being controlled by people externally. 'Planted the seed of secessionism'? This is not a seed that has been planted by anyone. This is--
Senator Bob Carr: This is the Greens Party cause of the day.
Senator DI NATALE: Can I finish my question, please?
Senator Bob Carr: It is cause de jour. That is what you would use it to, for fun. It is a game for the Greens Party. It is a little game.
Senator DI NATALE: Can I finish my question, Senator Carr?
Senator Bob Carr: But its implications on the ground for Papua can be very serious.
Senator DI NATALE: Again, I find the notion that somehow standing up for the democratic rights of a people is a cause for the day. That is, again, deeply offensive. I personally have never stood up for independence for the West Papuan people. I have stood up for the right of the West Papuan people to make decisions for themselves.
You talk about the Australian government raising the issue of human rights with the Indonesians. Let us talk about some specific examples. On 1 May, there was a peaceful protest to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indonesian control over the province. We had the Australian media reporting that police reacted violently to the protest. Two people died as a result. Many more were wounded. How did you raise those concerns with the Indonesians?
Senator Bob Carr: I will confirm to the committee in the next few hours but, to the best of my recollection, that was one of the cases raised by our embassy. Our embassy sought further information and continued to express Australian concerns about the behaviour of security forces, including police, in West Papua. But we do it routinely. That is the Australian government position. We do it in the context of accepting Indonesian sovereignty over the territories as a matter of international law.
It should be noted that the colony of West New Guinea held national elections in 1961 and members of the Australian Senate attended the installation of the New Guinea Council in April 1961. Six months later the Council issued a manifesto stating their people's wish to form a nation to be called West Papua, and the flag which incites the danger of Indonesian response which Bob Carr refers to is the flag which the Dutch raised on behalf of the West Papuan people on 1st December 1961; the morning star.
Morning Star flag by Wikipedia
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