Despite facing a well-armed Indonesian Army, many West Papuans are determined to fight for a greater say in their future. William Lloyd George travels to the jungles of West Papua to meet the rebels.
Last week, thousands of natives gathered in West Papua to attend a congress to mark 50 years since Papuan people declared their independence. It was meant to be a peaceful meeting, but on the last day, to the surprise of the security forces waiting outside, several Papuan leaders read out a declaration calling for the independence of West Papua from Indonesia, raised their forbidden national flag, and installed a symbolic government.
Half way into the declaration the police stormed the congress in attempt to break up the meeting. The unarmed attendees fought back. While the number killed in the clash is yet to be confirmed, it is reported to be at least half a dozen. Dead bodies have been found scattered around the island. Some behind the police barracks, others in ditches. Hundreds were injured, and some are still missing.
In response to accusations of a heavy handed response, the island’s police chief said,‘The reason we broke in was because the Congress violated the permit. The permit was only to talk about the basic rights of Papuans.’
Human rights groups around the world were quick to chime in with criticism for the police response. Speaking over a crackly line, a West Papuan activist who wished to remain anonymous told The Diplomat: ‘We were just discussing our rights in a non-violent way, there was no reason to storm in like that, it was terrifying…All we want is our land back.’
The activist is referring to the inclusion of West Papua under Indonesia sovereignty. Although Indonesia gained independence in 1949*, the Dutch government kept control over West Papua until 1961. Keen to get his hands on the resource rich region, Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno, made repeated attempts through the United Nations to gain ownership. Frustrated with a lack of progress, Indonesia deployed tens of thousands of armed troops to take the western half of New Guinea Island by force.
The Kennedy administration, keen to avoid confrontation and the loss of another Asian country to communism, brokered the New York Agreement between the Dutch and Jakarta in 1962.The agreement transferred control of the colony to Indonesia on the condition it committed to hold a referendum on independence, to be called the ‘Act of Free Choice.’
In 1969, 1,025 handpicked Papuans – out of a population of over 1 million – were chosen for the vote. These ‘representatives’ unanimously chose for West Papua to remain within Indonesian sovereignty. Amid allegations of threats to voters, a British Foreign and Commonwealth Office briefing that year found ‘the process of consultation did not allow a genuinely free choice to be made,’ while the US ambassador to Indonesia said, ’95 percent of indigenous Papuans wanted to have freedom.’
Across West Papua, the Act was seen as a complete sham, fuelling protests and inspiring parts of the population to take up arms. The Indonesian military launched widespread campaigns to quell dissent. Thousands of refugees fled the country and members of the resistance set up armed groups deep in the jungle, where they remain today still fighting for independence.
Foreign journalists are rarely granted permission to visit West Papua, and if they are, the trip is heavily restricted. Having arrived in Jayapura, the largest city on the island, I am whisked to the coast and into a boat. I am traveling to meet the rebels, but to avoid detection we take a lengthy boat trip along Papua’s pristine coastline.
Photo Credit: KC Ortiz
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jaqs
i think indonesia goverment is like thief who came to my house and declare my house as his own house !!!! i know the whole story i’ve got from all papuan which mention that on the day “act of self determetion” many of papuans was being terrors by indonesian soldier with condition if they use a small pin on they’re shoulders that reflect red and white as indonesia national flag then the papuan would be free to go if they dont then the indonesian army will shoot them ! now tell me why indonesian goverment greedily over papuans island ? whereas papuans is not a part of malays ethnics papua is melanesian ethnics totally different !!!!! so in my opinion lets papua free and dont try to teach them what is right or wrong that’s their land their house to live… papuan must be free, no more bloody violance please think like human being as inteligent creature, civilized and fear of GOD !!
Andrew
Indonesia substituted its "Act of Free Choice" for the "act of self-determination" described in the 1962 agreement and is required by UN General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV). West Papua became a UN trust territory (colony) in 1962 under the agreement Indonesia signed, and is still entitled to the act of self-determination which people from Java are scared of allowing because they like the profits of harvesting a colony.
Major Lowen Gil Marquez, Phil Army
As i observed and analyze the situation in West Papuans, why we did not try to follow religiously the autonomy given by Indonesian parliament and follow properly what stated regulations in granting the autonomy including the accumulation of its shares on the income of the West Papuans in order for them to use its resources for the development of their region, they should talk their different concerns over the cup of coffee that will benefit both to the two opposing parties, there is no substitutes for war to achieved in the long run, only peace can make the problem be solved thru peace-full negotiations by using the heart and understanding. . . for the benefit of mankind. . .
ChianKai’Shake
The Indonesian government is infamous like its ASEAN in their disdain fior human rights-the Asian way according to Lee Kuan yew is to have a one party system like Singapore and all dissent are to be labelled as terrorism!
Stranger
When the mine ceases to generate gold and copper…..independence might be easier…hard to swallow…but thats how world works…
ozivan
West Papuans should learn to live as a part of Indonesia.
They should fight loudly, vehemently and even internationalise their demands for more development, education and higher standards of living equivalent to their Javan & Sumatran brothers. But not on the basis of independence.
President Susilo Yudhoyono is a good, sincere Indonesian leader. The Papuans should first try to directly meet him in person and put up their requests for fairer treatment. Often, the regional Generals and politicians are a corrupted, inconsiderate lot (or ” Little Presidents ” as Leonard R famously term such characters )
ozivan
Would be interesting to hear views from anti-China bloggers, who have been demonizing China over Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia.
Cahyana E. Purnama
The case of West Papua is an important internal affairs for the Indonesian Government. I think it is not necessarily to exaggerate the real fact of small cases that may have induced to ‘silly’ political affairs. It is true that most of people in Papua have been trapped still in awkward idea of a state and as a nation. So, it will be better on how to enthuse the best possible way to help them a proper educational system and set up social-economic assistance-ship that fit to their specific cultural identity, in such a way that they will have in some future days understood the best way to be in a nation – with peaceful life setting and on the best possible rate of prosperity. Most of their brothers and sisters, as in terms of ethnically assumed in the Five Pillars of Indonesian’s Ideology, have also try to give help at best in order to make them gain their proper self-esteem as the people of of this current setting. More over, as most of the people of West Papua have also called themselves as Christians, I think it will be better to sit beside them on the same track for the meaning of faithful and responsible people.
jane
this clash between OPM and indonesian military has getting bigger and bigger over past few years. OPM trying to claim their freedom and indonesian government trying to avoid one of their province to disintegrate. Indonesian government has done several step to avoid the disintegration, like gave west papua status as a special province, the same status that indonesian goverment gave to aceh province after GAM tried to disintegrated from indonesia. But west papua have more complex situation than aceh.
three biggest problem in west papua are :
1. deposit of copper and gold inside grasberg mine. The deposit has been exploited by Freeport McMoran since soeharto’s administration, and even when the contract nearly expired, US government would sent their minister of foreign affair to renew the contract, like what obama’s administration done when hillary clinton visited indonesia. Altrough Freeport gaining large amount of profit from the exploitation, the fact is indigenous mine workers in grasberg mine got lower salary than the foreign employees.This salary diferentiation became the source of working strike among mine workers in september 2011.
2.Indonesian government failed to develop west papua and provide welfare to indigenous west papuans. most of the welfare in west papua enjoyed by minority ethnic groups who came from outside west papua (javanese, sumatrans, etc). These minority having a better occupation than most of west papuans. this led to social jealousy between indigenous west papuans and other ethnic groups.
3. Indonesian government and politicians doesn’t have strong position for west papua. For example, in West Papua Special Autonomy Law wich made by indonesian parliament stated that west papua aoutonomous government had the right to use 80percent mining profit from all west papua mines to develop west papua and provide welfare for west papuans. But the fact is, west papuan’s government only got small portion from mining profit (the is a dispute about how much percent share that west papuan’s government get anually from grasberg mine expoitation, some says only 1percent, some others point 10percent share).
These problems has been occured since soeharto’s administration untill now, and never been resolved.