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Irian Jaya: Blood on the Cross

An ABC Four Corners report about the ‘Red Cross’ involvement in the WWF hostages saga in 1996 and the resulting slaughter of the indigenous peoples of West Papua!

Deep in the rainforests of West Papua a story is emerging of a brutal massacre of the innocent native peoples of West Papua. Piecing together the evidence from Jakarta, London, the Middle East and Geneva this major investigation reveals how the International Red Cross, the British military and South African mercenaries came to be involved in the murder of civilians.

In May 1996 a Red Cross helicopter swooped down onto the Highland village of Geselema in the rainforests of West Papua or Irian Jaya. They were due to meet with the Free West Papua guerrillas, or OPM, and continue their negotiations for the freedom of Western hostages. But on this day Papuans report that white soldiers and Indonesian troops burst out of the helicopter and opened fire. Through the green lens of British surveillance video the figures of Papuans can be seen running away. So why was a Red Cross helicopter carrying soldiers? What were white soldiers doing attacking Papuan civilians? And why three years later, have the Red Cross still not fully investigated the incident that has associated their emblem with the murder of innocents?

Kelly_Kwalik_Morning_Star

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