- At the Melanesian Spearhead Group Leaders' Summit last Friday the United Liberation Movement for West Papua was granted observer status, while Indonesia was upgraded from observer to associate member. Even though it is not the full membership it had hoped for, ULMWP Secretary General Octavianus Mote was pleased, saying 'we will sit across a table from Indonesia as equal'.
- David Robie has been critical of the MSG decision, arguing that promises of aid from Indonesia were responsible for swaying the leaders.
- On The Diplomat, see images of the military wing of the West Papuan resistance movement, the Organisasi Papua Merdeka.
- In the last post of Michael Bachelard's Papua series for The Interpreter, Michael argues that the situation in Papua is more complex than the binary Indonesian oppressor Papuan victim portrayal.
- Giff Johnson is calling on Australia and the region to intervene in Nauru to address the Nauru Government's undemocratic behaviour, which includes bribery allegations and the banning of Facebook.
- The Lowy Institute convened the first Melanesia New Voices dialogue last week, providing a platform for 25 emerging leaders from the five MSG member countries to communicate their biggest concerns and hopes for the future of their region.
- Papua New Guinean women are adapting traditional bilum weaving and designs for modern PNG women and ensuring their livelihoods in the process.
Pacific Island links: MSG Leaders' Summit, Papua, Nauru, Melanesia New Voices and more
Published 1 Jul 2015
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