Morning Star rises for freedom

THE West Papuan flag, the Morning Star, was raised at 11am on Tuesday at Ballarat Trades Hall.

It’s an annual movement by the Free West Papua Ballarat Support Group to show solidarity with the West Papuan people who are being persecuted by the Indonesian military, and are seeking freedom.

West Papuan refugee, Adolf Mora chose to seek asylum in Australia, and has settled in Victoria, because of the Free West Papua campaign.

“Today is a very important day for all West Papuans to remember the Independence Day. We believe we had independence before, but we haven’t been recognised by the Indonesian government, so we’re fighting for our rights now and spreading the message to international communities,” he said.

“It’s been a privilege for me and the West Papuan people to have this support group in Ballarat…who support the freedom of choice in West Papua,” he said.

“The Australian campaign started from here and made its way down to Melbourne, getting more people to understand the issues.”

The Support Group’s John Lawrence said Ballarat was the first Trades Hall in Australia to fly the flag on 1 December, doing so for six years.

“The Papuans have been rising up and have been crushed down viciously, with many murders by the Indonesian military,” he said.

The group meets at Trades Hall on the first Saturday of each month.