VANUATU is forcing the rest of the MSG to take a stand on West Papua—something that is bound to test the integrity of the grouping in the months and years to come. Its boycott of the leaders’ visit to Indonesia, which incidentally has observer status in the MSG grouping—is rooted in its conviction and clearly not mere politicking. Thats the view of the influential Islands Business Internationa magazine. in its latest edition the magazine went on to say: The apparent cohesiveness among the MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group) member nations suffered a body blow last month when Vanuatu firmly and unambiguously boycotted an MSG leaders’ official tour of Indonesia. This is the first time that such open dissent in the group has hit the news headlines since the formal establishment of the inter-governmental organisation in 2007, though there have been rumblings of dissent on other issues before. In 2010, it was the only nation in the MSG grouping that failed to attend the ‘Engaging Fiji’ meeting, which was held in Fiji and which leaders from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands—the three other major member nations of the MSG—attended along with the leaders of Kiribati and Tuvalu. The meeting was perceived in the media as an alternative to the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting. Fiji stands suspended from the Forum grouping. Vanuatu was conspicuous by its absence. The country has a history of standing its ground on principles and in support of what its people believe in. Its opposition-led boycott of the MSG leaders’ visit to Indonesia is based on its strong belief in the West Papuan cause, which unfortunately has a few friends and supporters internationally. This is despite a consistent stream of reports about human rights abuse, the mysterious disappearance of activists and journalists, the rampant looting of natural resources in collusion with Indonesian authorities and the ruthless silencing of dissenting voices for decades now. https://google.fj/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CCQQqQIoADAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fislandsbusiness%2Fnews%2Ffiji%2F4680%2Fmsg-cohesion-in-doubt%2F&ei=Y_0OU8T_GMjDkgXaoIH4DA&usg=AFQjCNG-lXPbjSTEAYxpFRyV0rlOiJOX1Q
Posted on: Thu, 27 Feb 2014 08:59:13 +0000
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