An independent Fijian community movement has called on Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to "uphold justice, stability and security" for Kanaky New Caledonians and the West Papua region.
Mr Rabuka was recently appointed Melanesian Spearhead Group chair. The inter-governmental body protects five Melanesian cultural states of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji in addition to the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia which represents the Indigenous peoples of the French territory.
Indonesia, through its two Papuan provinces across Western New Guinea, is also an associate member of the group since 2015 after the NGO (Non-Government Organisation) Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji was first launched in 1997 at a World Human Rights Day rally.
The Fijian coalition which was founded by the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre is a coordinating network for non-government organisations in aspects of human rights education, advocacy and also project work.
In a recent statement after Mr Rabuka hosted the Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders' summit last month in Suva, the coalition came out warning of grave concerns over Indonesia's "chequebook diplomacy" as an obstacle for the self-determination aspirations of Melanesian peoples.
Indonesia is seen by the Melanesian sphere as a controversial associate member in what is widely seen in the Papuan region as a "complication".
The statement says with Rabuka's "extensive experience as a seasoned statesman in the Pacific, we hope that this second chapter will chart a different course, one rooted in genuine commitment to uphold justice, stability and security for all our Melanesian brothers and sisters in Kanaky New Caledonia and West Papua".
The coalition added the summit's theme – 'A peaceful and prosperous Melanesia' – served as a reminder that even after several decades of regional bilateral meetings "Melanesian leaders have made little to no progress in fulfilling its purpose in the region – to support the independence and sovereignty of all Melanesians".
"Fiji, as incoming chair, inherits the unfinished work of the Melanesian Spearhead Group," the NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji said in the statement.
"As rightly stated by the late great Father Walter Lini, 'We will not be free until all of Melanesia is free'.
"The challenges for Fiji's chairman to meet the goals of the Melanesian Spearhead Group are complex and made more complicated by the inclusion of Indonesia as an associate member."
Complicating matters further was the perceived lack of equality in the relationship between Indonesia and the rest of the full Melanesian members, including accusations of Indonesia actively repressing its Papuan citizens.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group has stopped short of suggesting Indonesia's status as one of the world's emerging economic powers to be counterproductive and a particular obstacle in its own self-determination goals for the former Dutch colony.
"Indonesia plays an active role in the ongoing repression of West Papuans in their desire for (its own) independence," the statement said.
"Its status as an associate member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group raises serious concern about whether it is appropriate as this pathway risks further marginalising the voices of our West Papuan sisters and brothers."
NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji has a record of being an outspoken critic of Mr Rabuka on multiple domestic matters.
But the coalition acknowledged the Prime Minister has always had a longstanding commitment to Kanaky people in New Caledonia.
The pro-independence riots of May 2024 served as a "stark reminder that much work remains to be done to realise the full aspirations of the Kanaky people", according to its statement.
As the Pacific await a "hopeful and favourable outcome" from an observational Troika Plus fact-finding mission to New Caledonia after the past civil unrest with the island's Indigenous people, the coalition said it trusts Mr Rabuka to "carry forward the voices, struggles, dreams, and enduring aspirations of the people of Kanaky New Caledonia".
The coalition also called on Mr Rabuka to ensure the core founding values and mission of the Melanesian Spearhead Group are upheld, to reassess Indonesia's appropriateness to be an associate member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, and to elevate discussions on West Papua and New Caledonia at the Pacific Islands Forum.
