Vanuatu's Foreign Minister Edward Natapei Has Boycotted a Melanesian Spearhead Group Mission To Indonesia.

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Vanuatu, 14 January 2014 - Mr Natapei believed the mission would not achieve what the MSG leaders wanted such as meeting some leaders of pro-independence movements, to enhance the mission's understanding of the Papuans's membership bid. As things turned out he was accurate with Indonesian authorities arresting several West Papuan activists who attempted to contact the MSG visitors.

Presenter: Brian Abbott

Tony Wilson, editor of the Vanuatu Independent

WILSON: It's something that's been very much a part of the leadership of the current Prime Minister, Moana Carcasses, since he came into power in March last year. At one stage late last year he even took the opportunity during a visit to the United Nations in New York to strongly talk about the future plans for West Papua and possible independence, and his attitude and strong stance has met a real chord with the people here in Vanuatu.

ABBOTT: Tony a decision by the minister to boycott seems to be the right decision because this MSG mission only saw what Indonesia wanted them to see?

WILSON: That's correct. It was made last Friday morning after the government here received the program from the Indonesian authorities and immediately the Prime Minister wrote a letter to the chairperson of the MSG raising the concerns of his government. Now you need to understand that the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation is based in Port Vila, and at an MSG meeting in Noumea last year the leaders agreed that they wanted a fact-finding mission to West Papua to see whether or not the people felt this particular organisation was the legitimate representation of the West Papuan people. They wanted to be able to go in there and meet church leaders, meet chiefs, meet the people generally and find out if this group had the feeling and the backing of the people and whether in fact it was the right sort of group to become a member of the MSG and represent that country.

ABBOTT: So because they've only been able to see what Indonesia wants them to see will they be any closer, the people who've gone on this MSG group; Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and also I believe there was a delegate from Vanuatu but not the Foreign Minister, will they be any closer to being able to realise whether this group actually represents the views of the people of West Papua?

WILSON: My understanding is not from this particular mission at present. As it stands though the government here is still strongly supporting this particular group and are rallying behind their application to join the MSG, and I think ultimately they'll push for that membership. Whether or not that happens is another matter. I know there's some opposition, particularly from Fiji, but this particular mission is exactly what they said it was going to be here, it was the Indonesian authorities showing the MSG leaders exactly what they wanted them to see.

ABBOTT: What's this likely to do to Vanuatu's relations with Indonesia itself? There was certainly some strain in that relationship over the provision of uniforms for police I believe in the last 12 months. What stage now is that diplomatic relationship at?

WILSON: I think you could call it frosty at best. The previous leadership under Prime Minister Sato Kilman he was quite a deal closer to the Indonesian leaders, and in fact we had scenes here under his prime ministership when Indonesian military planes arrived carrying all sorts of strange gifts for the country, including ambulances and things like that. Since Moana Carcasses has taken over the reins of prime ministership, things have changed quite dramatically and he's made it quite clear that he's got a very, very strong stance on West Papua and that has definitely led to a cooler relationship with the Indonesian leaders.

ABBOTT: Another change in Vanuatu with the change of Prime Minister are controls on the media. I believe the Prime Minister has stepped in to ban talkback on Radio Vanuatu because somebody went on the radio and attacked the Prime Minister himself?

WILSON: That's correct, someone came on onto a talkback program on the government radio station and used some rather unpleasant language aimed at the Prime Minister, and the talkback program has since been suspended. One of the obvious issues is that they don't seem to have the delay system that you see in radio stations in western worlds, or if they do have it it isn't working properly. But it's something of a storm in a teacup really that I'm sure will be resolved in a short period of time.

ABBOTT: Is there much government interference in the media in Vanuatu Tony?

WILSON: No, not really at all. They get angry at things that are said in the media or said on radio, like government or opposition leaders do across the world, but generally speaking their anger is as far as it goes, they don't actually step forward. I've never been told as an editor in more than three years don't write this or you have to write something a certain way, that has never occurred.

ABBOTT: Can you tell us about this strange ship rescue that occurred late last week in Port Vila?

WILSON: Yeah we had an incident last Thursday night where an inter-island trader and passenger ship, the motor vessel ... cargo sank with 32 passengers and crew onboard. Fortunately all those onboard were rescued safely. What it's really highlighted though is this country has absolutely no rescue system, no coastguard as such and it was probably more luck than anything else that saw these people rescued.

ABBOTT: How were they rescued if you don't have a coastguard?

WILSON: Well one of the crew members was able to ring the owner of the vessel who came out in his own private boat and he picked up a percentage of people. Now we do have a Pacific class patrol boat, the Tukoro, and it eventually was launched and went into the rescue. But it had to wait until its 20 crew members came from their various homes before it could sail from Port Vila to this stricken vessel.

SOURCE : www.radioaustralia.net.au