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Papua: Politics and Government

Volume 460: debated on Friday 18 May 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans she has to appoint an honorary consul to Papua and West Papua. (137102)

There are no plans to appoint an honorary consul to either Papua or West Papua provinces, consular cover for these provinces is provided by our embassy in Jakarta. In addition, officials from the embassy visit regularly to assess the situation and to identify areas where we can help the people of Papua and West Papua.

The UK’s policy on Papua is that we support the territorial integrity of Indonesia and therefore do not support independence for the province of Papua. We believe that the best way to resolve the complex issues in Papua is through promoting peaceful dialogue between Papuan groups and the Indonesian Government. We believe that full implementation of existing special autonomy legislation is the best way to proceed towards a peaceful, stable and prosperous Papua province.