REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - British Ambassador to Indonesia, Mark Canning, reiterated his government's position on Papuan issue. During his meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Marty Natalegawa on Monday, the ambassador said that British government do not support calls for Papuan independence, despite of the opening of a Free West Papua office in Oxford, UK, last week.
"The position of British government on this matter is quite clear. We respect the territorial integrity of Indonesia and do not support calls for Papuan independence. We regard Papua as being part of Indonesia," he said in a written statement obtained by Republika. "That has always been our view, and this recent development, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the British Government, does nothing to change that."
The British government, Canning said, supported the efforts to address the problems of Papua and hoped to see it enjoy the same level of peace, stability and prosperity as the other parts of Indonesia. He also made those points to Governor of Papua, Lukas Enembe, last week.
"We believe that the Indonesian government is genuinely committed to addressing the problems in that region and hope that the efforts will bear fruit," Canning said.
Earlier, Indonesian government protested of the opening of a Free West Papua office in Oxford. The event was considered as against basic principle of good relationship between Indonesia and Britain. Indonesian government urged the British government to be consistence and discourage any Papuan separatism movement.
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