JAKARTA, Indonesia — Lawyers are challenging Indonesia’s incorporation of the volatile Papua region into its territory in 1969 with a judicial review at the country’s highest court. A spokesman for a group of 15 Papuan lawyers, Agus Sumule, said Thursday the “Act of Free Choice” referendum violated Indonesia’s Constitution because it was conducted in a way that grossly violated the human rights of Papuans. “The legal and political status of West Papua must be resolved through a peaceful, democratic and final referendum under international supervision,” said Victor Yeimo, a leading member of the group. Indonesia restricts foreign media from reporting in its two easternmost provinces, West Papua and Papua, where an insurgency has simmered since Indonesia occupied the former Dutch colony in the early 1960s. Papua has been recognized internationally with the U.N.’s decision as part of Indonesia’s territory,” he said.

Source: Washington Post April 25, 2019 08:46 UTC