Photo: Traditional designs painted on bark, made by Papuan women supported by GKI-TP and UnitingWorld. Marcus Campbell
Pacific Conference of Churches calls for action on West Papua
December 20, 2022
The Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) has called for a boycott of all Indonesian products and programmes by the Indonesian Government until Indonesia facilitates a visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to investigate reports of ongoing human rights abuses in the Papuan provinces (West Papua).
President of the Uniting Church in Australia Rev Sharon Hollis invites members of the Uniting Church to pray for the people of West Papua and to consider this call from the Pacific Conference of Churches.
The call comes four years after the Indonesian Government invited the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein to visit the Papuan provinces. That commitment has not been honoured.
West Papua has the highest concentration of Christians in Indonesia, and churches there have called for greater scrutiny, demilitarisation and a commitment to peaceful dialogue, most recently detailed in a statement by the West Papua Council of Churches (WPCC).
The UCA has a partnership with the Evangelical Christian Church in Tanah Papua (GKI-TP) and is a member of the Pacific Conference of Churches.
“We join with our partner church GKI-TP and the Body of Christ across our region in longing for peace and justice in West Papua,” said UCA President Rev Hollis.
“We urge the Indonesian Government to honour their commitment to allow access to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua.”
The UCA holds partnerships with several churches in Indonesia and through UnitingWorld supports some of them to carry out community development projects in poverty alleviation, gender equality, health and education.
“Through our relationships and shared work with churches and ecumenical organisations across Indonesia and the Pacific, including West Papua, we have seen the fruits that can come from open conversations about cultural difference, sovereignty and self-determination,” said Rev Hollis.
“We believe dialogue is an essential first step to building peace and is urgently needed to uphold human life and dignity for our close neighbours in West Papua.”
The Uniting Church in Australia has a partnership with the Evangelical Christian Church in Tanah Papua (GKI-TP), managed by UnitingWorld. We work together on a livelihoods project to reduce poverty and improve health and nutrition.
The UCA is a member of the International Coalition for Papua (ICP), a coalition of faith-based and civil society organisations that are concerned about human rights violations in West Papua and seek greater transparency and peaceful solutions to conflict.
The Uniting Church in Australia is a member of the Pacific Conference of Churches.
Uniting Church Assembly National Consultant Rev Dr Apwee Ting has shared this prayer in Indonesian and English
Doa buat Papua
Disatukan oleh kasih dan kebaikan
Tuhan semesta alam
empunya
laut, sungai, gunung dan hutan
kasih Mu tidak membedakan
mereka yang tinggal
di perkotaan
di pegunungan
di perhutanan
di pedalaman
Ajarkan kami ya Tuhan
untuk hidup bersama
saling mengasihi
karena
setiap tetes air mata
berharga dihadapan Mu
setiap tindakan kekerasan
menjadi duka terdalam buat Mu
setiap tetesan darah
merobek hati Mu
Tuhan Sang Pengasih
Engkau ada bersama
setiap komunitas
dari barat sampai timur
dari utara sampai selatan
dari beragam ribuan pulau yang ada
baik dikota, didesa maupun di lautan
Ajarkan kami ya Tuhan Sang Pengasih
untuk membawa
perdamaian daripada pertikaian
persatuan daripada perpecahan
kebaikan daripada kebencian
keadilan daripada kerusakan
Tuhan Sang Gembala Agung
Engkau berjalan bersama
kami semua
yang berbeda bahasa, budaya,
kepercayaan, tradisi dan suku
Ajarkan kami ya Tuhan
untuk menerima dan
memperlakukan setiap anak bangsa
dari Papua hingga Sumatra
secara adil dan setara
membangun bersama
menuju masyarakat
adil damai sejahtera
di setiap jengkal tanah air Indonesia
Amin
- Rev Dr Apwee Ting
Prayer for Papua
Uniting in love and kindness
God of the universe
Creator of
sea, river, mountain and forest
Your love does not discriminate
those who live
in urban areas
on the mountains
in forests
in rural
Teach us O Lord
to live together
and to love one another
because
every tear drops
precious before you
any act of violence
be the deepest sorrow for you
every drop of blood
tore your heart
Loving God
You are with
every community
from west to east
from north to south
of the various thousands of islands
and
for those who live
in the city, in the village and remote areas
Teach us O Lord of Love
to bring peace rather than violence
unity rather than division
kindness rather than hatred
justice rather than cruelty
Lord the Good Shepherd
You walk together with us
in our differences: languages, cultures, beliefs, traditions and tribes
Teach us O Lord
to accept and respect
children of the nation
from Papua to Sumatra
justly and equally
building together
towards a just society and
peaceful community
in every inch of land in Indonesia
Amen
- Rev Dr Apwee Ting