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The Free West Papau Campaign protest outside Asia House, with Benny Wynde
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Fugitive protests 25 year prison sentence for waving a flag
A FUGITIVE tribal leader sentenced to life for “waving a flag” in Papau New Guinea repeated the act outside Asia House in Marylebone on Tuesday.
Benny Wende was sentenced to 25 years in prison for waving a West Papau New Guinea flag on a demonstration in 2004.
After escaping prison and finding sanctuary in this country he was out again protesting against the alleged “genocide” of West Papau New Guineans under Indonesian occupation.
The demonstrators joining him were angry at plans from petrol giant BP to develop natural gas in “the middle of a genocide”.
Mr Wende, who retains a piece of shrapnel in his leg after his village was bombed six years ago, said: “No one knows about this genocide because they do not allow journalists into the country.
“When I came to Britain because it is the mother of democracy – they laughed.
“I said if they would fix my leg maybe they would help fix the situation in New Guinea too. But the jets that bombed my village are British.”
Richard Samuelson of the Free West Papau Campaign said: “The protest is to show that if we waved these flags in West Papau we would all be put in prison – what do you think about that?” |
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