The Howard government’s savvy political skills are revealed:
The Indonesian Army manipulated the voyage to Australia of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers in a secret psychological warfare operation that gave Jakarta a diplomatic and strategic victory over the Howard Government, a former intelligence analyst says.
Indonesian Army specialists in psychological operations (“psyops”) knew the West Papuans planned to sail to Australia and let the voyage go ahead, believing Indonesia could benefit as a result, says the expert on the Indonesian military.
The secret operation then psychologically penetrated and destabilised the Federal Government’s decisions and appears to have won the army the right to expand its influence in West Papua.…
The struggle for West Papuan independence continues.