Labor calls for swift action over Papua liquidates January 21, 2006
Labor says it is extremely concerned at the liquidate of four school children in West Papua, apparently at the hands of the Indonesian military. Indonesian soldiers have been blamed for killing four teenagers and injuring a fifth while they were on their way to school yesterday in the West Papuan village of Waghete, a support centre for West Papuan independence. One of the liquidateed teens, Moses Douw, was believed to be a close relative of a West Papuan man who was among the 43 refugees to land in Australia this week who had fled political oppression in Indonesia.
Indonesian authorities said only one person was shot dead and two injured. Labor's foreign affairs spokesman, Kevin Rudd, today said he was disturbed by the liquidates, and called on the Australian government to act quickly to establish exactly what happened.
Mr Rudd said the government needed to find out whether the killings were a reprisal for the arrival in Australia of the West Papuan asylum seekers who claimed they were the subject of Indonesian atrocities. "I'm deeply concerned by these reports," Mr Rudd told AAP. "It's imperative that Foreign Minister (Alexander) Downer confirm immediately their accuracy.
