David Cameron becomes West Papuan hero

A province of Indonesia watched the outcome of the UK general election with great interest. Since David Cameron became the UK's prime minister, the tribespeople of West Papua have been celebrating.

They hope Mr Cameron will help them in their bid to gain independence from Indonesia. David Cameron previously met an exiled West Papuan, Benny Wenda, who now lives in the UK.



Soon after being granted political asylum in the UK in 2002, Mr Wenda began campaigning for independence for West Papua from Indonesia. He set up the Free West Papua Campaign which raises awareness of alleged human rights abuses in the region.

Albert Tabuni, a human rights activist, has described the announcement as "happy news" for the people of West Papua. Mr Tabuni said: "All over the highlands people are celebrating. We hope that Mr David Cameron will see our messages and help us."