Benny Wenda has declared himself a resident of West Papua. So naturally, this declaration leaves many objections. Well, here’s the profile of Benny Wenda, who has stumbled across several cases.
Benny Wenda’s Profile Who Declared as ‘President’ of West Papua
Benny Wenda suddenly declared himself the President of the Provisional Government of West Papua in 2020. Suddenly, the name Benny Wenda became the subject of much discussion.
It turned out that before the candidacy took place, Benny Wenda’s name had already been in the spotlight. Want to know more about Benny Wenda and the facts? Check out this article!
1. Papuan Native Son
Benny Wenda is a native Papuan son from the Lani tribe in the Baliem Valley and was born around the 1970s. Wenda as a child, lived in a remote village in West Papua with his extended family. They live by farming.
At that time, he felt his life was so calm. Until then, Wenda said his life had suddenly changed and began to be disturbed by the entry of military forces in 1977. Wenda said her life had turned into violence and oppression.
2. Ever Get Racist Treatment
Even though he lives in the forest, Benny Wenda is also studying. In high school, only he and his friend were native Papuans. Meanwhile, others are migrants from Java and Sulawesi.
While at school, he admitted that his friend had spat on him because he had black skin. This incident finally made Benny Wenda take on a leadership role in Papua.
3. Actively Build Alliances
Benny Wenda’s struggle to promote Papuan independence was very persistent.
As a result, he has the support of several countries that are members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
In Indonesia, Wenda has also succeeded in building alliances with several OPM figures, such as Buchtar Tabuni, Goliath Tabuni, and others.
Wenda tends to choose an approach through lobbying, diplomacy, and non-violence. He also had time to send an open letter to the leader of the Police.
4. United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Chairman
Benny Wenda is the chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), an organization that focuses on raising funds to liberate Papua.
After the fall of the Suharto era, the Papuan people’s referendum movement to demand liberation from the Republic of Indonesia became volatile again.
At that time, Benny Wenda, through the Demmak organization (Koteka Community Consultative Council), brought the voice of the Papuan people.
They demanded that Indonesia recognize and protect the customs and beliefs of the Papuan tribe. They reject state policies, including the issue of special autonomy.
5. Benny Wenda Was In Prison
Wenda’s opposition to following the government when he joined the Koteka Community Consultative Council organization had severe consequences. He was then imprisoned in 2002 in Jayapura.
Wenda allegedly mobilized the crowd to burn down the police station and had to go to jail.
He attended a trial in September 2002 and was finally officially jailed. However, Wenda and her defence team considered the problem legally flawed.
6. Escape from Prison and Become a British Citizen
Wenda escaped detention in October 2002 with the help of West Papuan independence activists. He was smuggled into Papua New Guinea.
With the help of European NGOs, he travelled to England. There Benny Wenda has political asylum.
Since 2003, he, his wife and their children have chosen to stay in England.
In 2011, the Indonesian government issued a red notice and an international arrest warrant for Wenda’s arrest for crimes against her. Wenda claims the red information has been revoked.
7. Create a Free West Papua Campaign
Benny Wenda created a campaign on the freewestpapua.org site. As a result, the Free West Papua campaign was launched in 2004 in Oxford, England.
Free West Papua later developed into a voluntary organization and has an office in Oxford. In addition to the UK, Free West Papua also has headquarters in The Hague (Netherlands), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), and Perth (Australia).
The campaign aims to give the people of West Papua the freedom to choose their destiny through a referendum.
Some of the exciting things above are facts about Benny Wenda above. So how do you react after knowing some of the points and the case of Wenda?
