Dave Edward, chief engineer on board the first Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed by French secret agents in Auckland in 1985, has died at 68. He campaigned for many years for the the protection of the environment including the Antarctic, was on the humanitarian voyage to Rongelap Atoll, and protested against French and US nuclear tests.
Just three months ago I wrote about this issue in my “Dear editor” article exposing the disinformation campaign. There was silence for a while but now the fake letters to the editor – and other media outlets – have started again in earnest.
Yamin Kogoya: “These crimes against Papuans hardly get resolved, and perpetrators walk free while victims get punished. This inhumane treatment brings to mind the tragic killing of George Floyd.”
Moana activists, campaigners, scholars, researchers and Green MPs gathered last Sunday in a show of solidarity for Tahiti’s Ma’ohi Lives Matter rally at Auckland University of Technology and vowed to work towards independence for the French-occupied Pacific territory.
TAPOL is still today very much as Carmel Budiardjo set it up — a small organisation/network of committed staff, volunteers and collaborators, all aiming for a big impact on human rights issues for Aceh, Indonesia and West Papua.
By Ena Manuireva and Tony Fala on David Robie’s blog Cafe Pacific: Members of the Tahitian community living in Auckland will add their voices and feet to support their countrymen/women in Tahiti and rally in a show of solidarity on Sunday, July 18. This rally acknowledges that Ma’ohi Nui communities have fought for redress from France over the nuclear issue for long decades.
“Indonesia is misusing the issue of terrorism to crush our fundamental struggle for the liberation of our land from illegal occupation and colonisation.” – Benny Wenda
Bananas, balaclavas and banners … these were stock-in-trade for human rights activists of the New Zealand-based Coalition for Democracy in Fiji who campaigned against then Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka’s original two coups in 1987 and the “banana republic” coup culture that emerged.
More than 2000 people took part in Auckland on Saturday in a demonstration for justice for Palestine and against “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing”.
Branding armed Papuan resistance groups as “terrorists” has sparked strong condemnation from human rights groups across Indonesia and in West Papua, some describing the move as desperation and the “worst ever” action by President Joko Widodo’s administration.