The Morning Star Concert for West Papua at the Melbourne Concert Hall on Febuary 28 highlighted two things: Australians' ignorance of the issues surrounding West Papua, and their willingness to find out more about it.
Performers from Australia and overseas played to a packed house and a standing ovation at the end of the night, but there's still a long way to go before West Papua can breath free.
Hopes of greater Papuan autonomy after the Indonesian dictator Suharto was overthrown have not eventuated. Papua New Guinea meanwhile looks set to forcibly repatriate into the arms of Indonesian military 400 West Papuan refugees who fled over the border two years ago. The refugees say they have no faith in assurances of their safety, and activists are lobbying the PNG government to relent.
Pictures from the concert 1 | 2 | 3 | Video
[ free west papua + Previous West Papua Feature ]
http://www.melbourne.indymedia.org/
