I think Old Georges is being a bit harsh on BP here. West Papua (Irian Jaya to Indonesians) was indeed sold down the river, is indeed a land occupied, is indeed suffering from the violent imposition of that occupation. However, there’s one huge sticking point here, at least for all of those who think that international law exists or has any validity.
However disgusting the original occupation was, under that very international law it was legal. Indonesia is the de jure sovereign government of West Papua. It may not be de facto, it may not be morally correct that it is de jure, it may not be acting morally as that government, but according to international law, it is the government. And we are supposed to obey international law, yes?
Or, do we only obey it when it already agrees with what we want to do? Which rather opens a can of worms, doesn’t it?
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