Namah: Treaty threatens lives

 OPPOSITION Leader Belden Namah has again lashed out at the extradition treaty signed between the PNG and Indonesian governments last week.

“It is very clear that the signed extradition treaty was initiated by the Indonesian government to extradite those wanted by their own government,” Namah said in a statement yesterday

He said more than 9,000 West Papuan refugees lived in PNG and “a good number of them are wanted by the Indonesian government”. 

“We must defend and protect our stock with reference to six Melanesian societies that are part of the global community – Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia and West Papua. 

“The signing of the extradition treaty will in no way protect our Melanesian brothers and sisters who deserve nothing less than their own political freedom,” he said.

He added that the treaty could not be aimed at controversial figure Djoko Tjandra as he was a PNG citizen as confirmed by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill last week. 

“There are thousands of West Pa­puans living in PNG that do not have citizenship status, making them eligible for extradition if requested by the Indonesian government,” he said. 

Namah urged O’Neill to publish the contents of the treaty to dispel all misconceptions.