On this historic day, we confirm the status of the ULMWP as a government-in-waiting, with a cabinet,
Regional Executives, and governing apparatus ready to take control of
our country. The announcement of the ULMWP constitution in 2020 was a
vital step along the road towards achieving a referendum and
independence from Indonesia. Through our constitution we will realise
our dream of creating the world’s first Green State,
where ecocide will be made a crime and every living being will be
protected under the law. The original Bahasa constitution has already
been distributed widely across West Papua. With this English
translation, we are showing the world that we are ready to govern our
own affairs.
With this constitution we honour the spirit of Jacob Prai and Seth Rumkoren, who signed the independence declaration at Markas Victoria in 1971.
Both our announcement and theirs represents an absolute rejection of
Indonesian colonialism and a reclamation of the sovereignty stolen from
us in 1961.
As expressed in the constitutional preamble, the ULMWP recognises all
West Papuan declarations as legitimate. The revolutionary proclamation
of 1971; the first raising of the Morning Star in 1961; the establishment of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) in 1963; Thom Wanggai’s Proclamation of the Republic of West Melanesia in 1988; the Proclamation of the State of West Papua New Guinea in 1997; the Second Papuan People’s Congress
in 2000; the Declaration of West Papua National Authority in 2004; the
Declaration of the Establishment of the West Papua National Coalition
for Liberation (WPNCL) in 2005; the Yeondowa Declaration in 2006; the
Third Papuan People’s Congress in 2011; the Declaration of the National
Parliament of West Papua in 2012; and the Saralana Declaration in 2014: each is an historic milestone in our struggle.
To our solidarity groups and supporters around the world, I ask that
you respect our constitution, which was announced in a democratic
ceremony on the ground in West Papua and reaffirmed through the 1st ULMWP Congress in 2023.
To the people of West Papua, I say have confidence: you are ready to
run your own affairs. Whether you are living in exile, in the cities,
the highlands, the refugee camps, or in the bush as a guerilla, this
constitution belongs to you. Even if you are working within Indonesian
institutions, our governing structure, cabinet, and Green State Vision
all belong to you. All West Papuans must remain united underneath the
ULMWP provisional government. Anyone acting outside the constitution is
delaying our freedom.
Thank you to all West Papuans for keeping the flame of freedom alive in their hearts. Wa wa wa wa wa.
Benny Wenda
President
ULMWP
