The Island New guinea was divided into two regions, Papua
New Guinea and Papua. Netherland laid claim to the Papua region along with what
is now modern Indonesia (was called Dutch East Indies back then). After World
War 2, Indonesian nationalist declared independence in 1949 and claimed all the
territory of the Dutch East Indies as part of the Republic of Indonesia. By
1961 this included West Papua (US president Kennedy allowed them to keep the
region in an effort to gain a strong ally in Southeast Asia and stop communism
from spreading).
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| Papua and Indonesia on the world map. |
With American backing, the UN agreed to give Indonesia care
taker rights over West Papua on condition that it would oversee the vote of the
people of West Papua in which they would either choose to remain part of Indonesia
or to become an independent nation. This vote was called the “Act of Free
Choice”
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| West Papua in pictures from Al Jazeera |
Instead of keeping their word and going along with what they
had agreed, Indonesia decided to round up approximately 1,000 elders which “represented”
the Papuan people (or tribes) and after threatening and intimidating them, forced
them at gun point to vote to remain a part of Indonesia. Now Indonesia had
acquired a nation with which they shared neither language, history, culture,
religion nor ethnicity. They wanted the region because of its rich resources; West
Papua has the largest gold and copper mine in the world and is the largest tract
of rainforest outside of the Amazon. Plus they have natural gas reserves.
This vote was obviously rejected by Papuan nationalists but
the UN just didn’t seem to care. They turned a blind eye on the injustice, so
West Papua created the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) and have since been in a
struggle for independence. The Independence movement has primarily been through
peaceful protest and international pressure.
Although there has been some guerrilla warfare against Indonesian
administration.
You can imagine how one-sided such a fight would be; a few
thousand unfunded guerrillas with spears and arrows against a well equipped
modern army of such a populous nation like Indonesia. Over the years the Papuan
death toll has reached in excess of 100,000 although most human rights group
believe it to be higher. It’s hard to be sure because Indonesian authorities
ban human rights organisations, foreign reporters and keep the region on a
tight lock down. The region is one of the most controlled places on the planet.
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| A message of thanks to Guyana for supporting West Papuans |
Peaceful activist from the non-violence independent
movement, the West Papuan National Committee (KPNB) are regularly ill-treated,
tortured and even killed unlawfully. West Papuans have had their human rights
stripped from them, speaking against the Indonesian rule or raising the West
Papuan flag can land one in some serious jail time (15years) or in some occasions
even result in death. Even with all the natural resources in West Papua, the
region still remains the poorest province in Indonesia.
“The Papuan people have become guests in their own land” “Economically,
who dominates here? It’s the migrants. It’s Indonesians, not Papuans.” –
Reverend Sokrated Yoman. Human Rights Activist.
“My people are the minority here. If you go around, you just
see immigrants from outside, a lot of Indonesians. You cannot see West Papuans
over here.” – Victor Yeimo. KNPB chairman.
“The Papuans are scared in their own land” – Reverend Sokrated
Yoman. Human Rights Activist.
Final thoughts
One might argue that what
Indonesia is doing isn't that bad compared to other countries; at least they're
not displacing millions and trying to denied the existence of a whole people
(Israel *coughs*). One might even argue that all countries behave like that;
after all such behaviour is all over history. It's politics and a part of life
and we all know life isn't fair. Sometimes these things just have to happen.
Besides Indonesia being so small and weak needs all the extra land and help it
can get.
But that's not the point,
all these arguments might be true but they don't make what Indonesia is doing any
less wrong or excuse any other nation that does thesame. I'm sure there are other ways to persuade a people to join with you instead of brute force. The
point I'm trying to make is that somebody somewhere has to start. “Someone has
to step up and do what is right, if nobody does then others can't follow.” - Brandon Sanderson. Way of Kings.
Now I know some of you will
be thinking I'm just being idealistic, but I don’t mind because afterall
everything in life begins with an idea.
For more
information see sources
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