Sunday, September 19, 2021

Australian Democracy?

 Dozens of West Papuans seeking independence from Indonesia were tortured, murdered and thrown into the sea 23 years ago. Australia learned the details of the attack, yet remained silent.

The Indonesian government has either denied or downplayed the deaths. Not one person has been charged with the killings. The massacre is not recognised officially and no government or international inquiry has reported on it. 

A newly released, unredacted intelligence report reveals an Australian intelligence officer, Dan Weadon, an Australian military attaché and intelligence officer connected to the Jakarta embassy,  provided the government with compelling evidence just 11 days after the killings that Indonesia “almost certainly used excessive force against pro-independence demonstrators”. The same officer was also handed photographic evidence by West Papuans on Biak, at great risk to their safety. The photos were distributed to his superiors, but never saw the light of day. Evidence suggests they have since been destroyed by the defence department, despite consistent calls for a proper investigation into the atrocity.

‘Killed like animals’: documents reveal how Australia turned a blind eye to a West Papuan massacre | Australian foreign policy | The Guardian




1 comment:

Mike Ballard said...

A bourgeois democracy is not the same as a proletarian democracy.