COLONISATION: Indonesian occupation of West Papua
West Papua, the western half of New Guinea island has about 240 different tribal peoples, each with its own language and culture. Indigenous Papuans in West Papua and Papua New Guinea speak approximately 15% of the world's known languages.
First colonised by the Dutch, Indonesia has occupied West Papua since 1963. Betrayed by western governments hungry for mineral rights, the West Papuan people have been subjected to a virtual genocide by the Indonesian military.
The persecution of the West Papuans is a shame on the people of the pacific. The U.S. has resumed funding to the Indonesian military, who have deployed thousands more troops in Papua. There are reports of torture and mass village burnings in Wamena Area.
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