In a lobbying campaign to gain support against the injustices inflicted upon his people, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and West Papau independence leader, Benny Wenda was welcomed at Rhodes University on his first official visit to South Africa on Tuesday, 22 February 2015.
Since its annexation, Indonesia has imposed a programme of mass extermination on indigenous West Papuans, slaying an estimated 400 000 people since its occupancy. The West Papuan struggle for independence is one of the longest running conflicts and yet goes largely unreported in mainstream media – the reason for that is the country’s closed and private society. Foreign media and activists are prohibited from entering the country