DECEMBER 6, 2025 — Supporters of West Papuan self-determination marked West Papuan National Flag Day on December 1st, says the National Indigenous Times, with ceremonies held globally to raise the Morning Star flag, the national emblem first officially flown in 1961.
The flag was displayed at numerous locations, including for the nineteenth consecutive year at Leichhardt Town Hall in Sydney, Australia, on Gadigal Country.
The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) reflected on the history of West Papua, stating, “as the Dutch prepared to give the West Papuan people their freedom, it is one of the great tragedies that at their moment of freedom it was cruelly crushed and West Papua was basically handed over to Indonesia in 1963 by the international community.”
The association also underscored the danger faced by those observing the day in the territory itself, saying, “In Indonesian-occupied West Papua, the brave people who raise the flag will be risking arrest, beatings and even death for this act.”
During the Sydney ceremony, West Papuan Jack Warisyu, who raised the flag, expressed disappointment with the Australian government’s stance, noting, “West Papua is on our doorstep, only 200 miles from the Australian border, and it is very sad that the Albanese government keeps on denying the our fight against injustice, against discrimination, against human rights abuse just for our right to self-determination.”
Successive Australian federal governments have supported the Indonesian government.
