Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, once again I would like to call the attention of my colleagues to an ongoing struggle presently being waged many miles away in the Pacific by the people of West Papua New Guinea, or Irian Jaya, as it is known by the Indonesian government. In July, the attention of the world was focused, however briefly, on the immense tragedy caused by the Tsunami which caused the devastation of the coastal villages of Papua New Guinea. In the western half of the same island, some miles away, agonies of another sort were being experienced by the people of Papua New Guinea. It is not my intent, Mr. Speaker, to detract in any way from the horror and the misery inflicted on the people of Papua New Guinea by the disaster which wiped out their coastal villages. Rather, my concern is that we should not forget the devastation wrought by our own fellow human beings. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken on previous occasions about the history of the people of West Papua and about their struggle for independence from Indonesia.”