Raising the flag can land West Papuans in prison for over 14 years; many have already been brutally punished for this "offence".
But the Jakarta banned Papua flag was raised in a ceremony in New Zealand.
A flag raising event in support of the West Papuan symbol, the Morning Star, has been held on the steps of New Zealand's parliament.
It's one of a number of annual West Papua Flag Day ceremonies in New Zealand, in Indonesia's Papua region and elsewhere abroad.
The Morning Star flag was first raised on December the 1st 1961 but was later banned by Jakarta after it assumed control of the former Dutch territory.
The Wellington event, organised in conjunction with the Peace Movement Aotearoa, was attended by half a dozen MPs.
A Hawaiian university student who attended the event, Emalani Case, says as a Pacific Islander, she is obligated to help fellow Pacific people who cannot necessarily stand for themselves.
Ms Case says she hopes to raise awareness about West Papua.
"We were colonised and we have gone through a lot and we are still fighting for our sovereignty, but we can raise our flag and we can fight openly. And I look at the people there who are suffering all these injustices, who are abused, killed and imprisoned. You can be imprisoned for 15 years for just raising your flag whereas I can wear one if I want to. I look at that as just a gross injustice."
A flag raising event in support of the West Papuan symbol, the Morning Star, has been held on the steps of New Zealand's parliament.
It's one of a number of annual West Papua Flag Day ceremonies in New Zealand, in Indonesia's Papua region and elsewhere abroad.
The Morning Star flag was first raised on December the 1st 1961 but was later banned by Jakarta after it assumed control of the former Dutch territory.
The Wellington event, organised in conjunction with the Peace Movement Aotearoa, was attended by half a dozen MPs.
A Hawaiian university student who attended the event, Emalani Case, says as a Pacific Islander, she is obligated to help fellow Pacific people who cannot necessarily stand for themselves.
Ms Case says she hopes to raise awareness about West Papua.
"We were colonised and we have gone through a lot and we are still fighting for our sovereignty, but we can raise our flag and we can fight openly. And I look at the people there who are suffering all these injustices, who are abused, killed and imprisoned. You can be imprisoned for 15 years for just raising your flag whereas I can wear one if I want to. I look at that as just a gross injustice."
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| The Jakarta banned West Papuan Morning Star Flag |
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| West Papuan Flag being raised amongst its Melanesian brother flags |
VIDEO: West Papuan Independence Leader Benny Wenda explains "Morning Star Flag", one of the exhibits in A History of BP in 10 Objects. This "rebel exhibition" was set up without permission inside the BP-sponsored British Museum on April 3rd 2016, and this film was shown to museum visitors to explain the meaning of the object.
Source: Radio New Zealand
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