Human rights activist Rosa Moiwend links Māori culture to her advocacy, highlights military occupation, human rights violations, and resource exploitation in West Papua.
In 2009 Moiwend was a student at Unitec learning English as a tool to use in political debate and negotiation to help her people of West Papua.
For part of her studies she wrote about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and she said she cried and thought, “this is like us in West Papua”.
Te Ao Māori News spoke to Moiwend at Hui Oranga 2024 from AUT’s Ngā Wai o Horotiu where the wharenui is adorned in beautiful carvings.
Moiwend reflected on the first time she saw whakairo when she studied here. She showed her father, and he told her they looked like dema and that was the first time she heard of dema - Papuan spiritual ancestors.
Read explainer on the ecocide and genocide and history of how Indonesia gained power of West Papua.
Loss of language
Moiwend said she could not speak her Indigenous languages fluently but was slowly learning her mother’s and father’s language because she believes it is important.
“I’m here in Aotearoa on Maori land. I feel so privileged because Māori lands actually changed my life a lot in terms of my commitment to the movement,” she said.
“When I came here a few years ago to study, I saw how Māori people, especially young people really have a deep connection with their elders and learn about their culture and language and language was one of the key issues that I found.
“It really touched me because of my own history, so that’s why I said that Māori land is actually bringing the blessing for me to make my strong commitment to my own struggle back home.”
Coerced vote against independence and military occupation
Moiwend said one of the key issues in West Papua was the continuing military operation.
“Especially in the Highlands and in the area rich of mineral and resources,” she said.
“That’s where the main target of military operation and Indonesian military operation came.”
Te Ao Māori News spoke to Ocot Mote, the vice-president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) who said “the UN allowed Indonesia to cut us into pieces, and they didn’t say anything when Indonesia manipulated our right for self-determination”.
The manipulation Mote referred to is the Act of Free Choice. Instead of a national referendum, the Indonesian military hand-picked 1,025 West Papuan “representatives” to vote on behalf of the 816,000 people. The representatives were allegedly threatened, bribed and some were held at gunpoint to ensure a unanimous vote.
Moiwend emphasised the act happened after six years of violent military occupation, human rights violations and exploitation of their resources, which meant the destruction of the environment that was tied to their cultural identity and spirituality.
An example of human rights violations and breaking of international laws was the bombings of Kiwirok civilians by the Indonesian National Armed Forces in 2021.
“Until today, the military operation is still going,” Moiwend said.
“We tried to push the Indonesian government to withdraw all the military and let people go back to their village but it seems like it’s so difficult with the recent situation related to the New Zealand pilot who was being [held hostage] by freedom fighters.”
New Zealand pilot released
West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) has released Philip Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot who was held hostage for 19 months.
Mehrtens wasn’t physically harmed but his brother created a givealittle page to raise funds to pay for food, rent, power, schooling, so that he can spend time processing his trauma before re-integrating back to ‘normal’ life.
Moiwend said she wasn’t justifying holding him captive but explained TPNPB wanted to send a message to the New Zealand government to take a serious concern about the political situation and human rights.
Moiwend said she believes they treated him well because they gave him two chickens to take home, which was a cultural way of showing care.
“I hope that this kind of message also can resonate to the New Zealand community but also to the government to look at the situation.”
She said given New Zealand’s foreign policies and relationship with Indonesia and considering she thought the government could talk to Indonesia and send a message: “Can you please just stop military operation because people are suffering from that not only West Papuan indigenous who are suffering from the military operations but also many Indonesian people who work in West Papua.”