Canberra, 27 July 1967
Secret
[matter omitted]
(e) West Irian Refugees
Mr. Ballard raised the question of possible action against West Irian refugees in T.P.N.G. who were indulging in anti-Indonesian political activities. He pointed out that these refugees were also becoming quite heavily involved in local politics. In the following discussion it was recognised that it would not be legally possible to ban the Port Moresby branch of the Papua National Front, nor would it be politically desirable to deport its main activists to West lrian.2 Nevertheless, it was felt by all present that something had to be done to discourage this kind of activity.
Action to be Taken
It was agreed that the Department of Territories would study, with the assistance of expert legal advice, the possibility of dispersing the hard core of the Papuan National Front from Port Moresby to various outlying areas. This seemed to be the only realistic way of reducing their anti-Indonesian activities.3
[NAA: A452, 1967/4460]
1 Territories was represented by Ballard, Legge, and A. L. Douglas (position unidentified), and DEA by Anderson, Starey, R.F. Osborn (Assistant Secretary, South East Asian Branch), and Mary McPherson (Economic and Social Section, UN Branch). Present also was G.W. Toogood, Assistant Secretary, International Relations and Internal Affairs, Department of the Administrator, PNG.
2 In a memorandum to DOT of 20 July, Hay had written that the political activities of some West lrianese in PNG-‘notably F.N.P. supporters’—constituted ‘breaches of the undertakings they signed when granted permissive residency’. The Administrator opined that if repatriated, ‘it is likely that they will suffer imprisonment, possibly execution, by the Indonesian authorities’. He recommended West lrianese be given a ‘final caution’ and noted that legal advice was being sought on the implications of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) guidelines on repatriation, should it be ‘necessary to initiate action to return any … lrianese’ (NAA: A452, 1964/2188).
3 A footnote here in the original reads: ‘The meeting was advised that the Papuan National Front now consists of 127 financial members with a hard core of 8 or 9 activists in Port Moresby. The Front charges an annual membership subscription of$2 a head and it distributes badges and literature printed in the Netherlands. The leading figure in the Papuan National Front in T.P.N.G. is Hamadi, who lives in Madang. In Port Moresby the leading figure is Sarwom’.