The politics of history in west papua indonesia conflict. Finding a dignified resolution for west papua may 5, 2016 8. The dominant indonesian government view is that the 1969 act of free choice was. The papua conflict is an ongoing conflict in western new guinea papua between indonesia and the free papua movement indonesian. Organisasi papua merdeka opm is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the west papuan or west new guinea territory which is currently being administrated by indonesia as the provinces of papua and west papua, also formerly known as papua, irian jaya and west irian. Benny wenda with members of the international parliamentarians for west papua ipwp in the aotearoa new zealand parliament after signing the westminster declaration. Harold crouch,australian national university policy studies 2 the free aceh movement gam.
The truth and lies 45th anniversary of papua integration to indonesia malariafree indonesia by 2030. Uns involvement in this process was intended to avoid further conflict between indonesia and the netherlands, which could have potentially caused an open war. This article is from the may 2017 issue of new internationalist. Dominic brown was given exclusive access, for over a 2 year period, to follow the nobel peace prize nominated freedom fighter and document his inspirational journey to gain independence for his people and hopefully, one day, be able to return home. The struggle for selfdetermination in west papua 1969. It is really only the papuans who are suffering in this massive freeforall. The struggle for selfdetermination in west papua 1969present download pdf version by. The indonesian democratization in 1998 provided momentum to revise the narration of west papua s history. The west papuan resentment at their poverty adds to the causes of conflict. Home history the severity of freeing west papua from the dutch the severity of freeing west papua from the dutch. The papua conflict richard chauvel and ikrar nusa bhakti eastwest center washington eastwest center washington isbn 1932728082 previous issues policy studies 1 the aceh peace process. Free west papua papua merdeka the struggle for west papua freedom from indonesian colonial rule. Pdf this article explores the west papua issue through the papua new guinea news media.
However, the indonesian government is still putting their biggest effort to embrace the separatists and creating an adequate security for the people of west papua in indonesia. When i was little, our parents talked quietly about politics inside the house. Papua conflict or west papua conflict in 2002 indonesia divided the western half of new guinea into two provinces papua and west papua. This is taken from the pacific history they dont teach us at school dvd. Jakartas perceptions and policies papua has been an integral part of indonesia ever since the proclamation of independence. Thanks to british banks, coal is king in indonesian borneo. United nations administration before its transfer to indonesia in 1963. After little contact with the western world, it was finally formally colonised by the netherlands in 1898. Pdf west papua independence in the papua new guinea press. We must continue to be west papuans for when west papua is free again. Pdf this article examines how the ongoing conflict in west papua between state. Migration of indonesians from other parts of the archipelago into west papua, resulting in.
The contrast between historic and contemporary media coverage in new zealand. Their knowledge of west papua, indonesia, international law, and the study of. While there are obviously many differences in terms of the nature and process of con. Indonesian human rights abuses in west papua yale law school. West papua independence in the papua new guinea press. Given the above the conflict in papua province and west papua province will only grow short of a fundamental shift in indonesian policy including. Melanesian people in west papua live in harmony and have the same chance as any other indonesians. The struggle for selfdetermination in west papua international. However it was not until 1967 that the massive reserve of copper at mt carstenz was first exploited by the freeport mcmoran company of louisiana, which had been granted mining rights by general soeharto shortly after coming to office. The struggle for selfdetermination in west papua 1969present.
Understanding resource conflicts in papua new guinea. The west papuan independence movement a history world. The province is an integral part of indonesia, so when we deal with west papua and its people, msg has no choice but to deal with indonesia, and in a positive and constructive manner, he said. Since then the territory has been the scene of one of the most protracted, complex and volatile conflicts in the pacific. Dublin compass direct news authorities in west papua, indonesia, must move fast to prevent tension between christian and muslim communities escalating into a malukanstyle conflict, according to a recent report by the international crisis group icg. Indonesian security forces have committed gross human rights abuses against the indigenous papuans, with. After papua was handed back to indonesia, pepera was set to take place. We learn about the unifying power of melanesian music, expose the extractive companies that are profiting from papuan repression, and. Free west papua archives west papua national parliament. The conflict is characterised by sporadic violent clashes between security forces and scattered guerrillas of the free papua movement. We are currently experiencing intermittent display of pdf links on some article pages.
Under the dutch, the territory was the easternmost limit of the farflung dutch east indies. Increasing papua and west papua economy through shipping line. West papua had for many years produced significant amounts of oil for anglodutch firm shell amongst others. The second part deals with the current conflict in the territory. On may 4 th 2019, a total of 10 indonesian students are among those who celebrate their graduation at corban university in the city of salem, state of oregon. Ironically despite all the wealth in west papua, it is the countrys second poorest province after west nusa tenggara.
West papua stands on a knifeedge between freedom and disaster. And finally when i worked at an ngo in jayapura, i became very aware of human rights violations. This policy, along with a more comprehensive history of the conflict, has been. The free west papua campaign exists to alert the world to the ongoing genocide in west papua, which is under brutal indonesian military. Jakartas perceptions and policies by richard chauvel and ikrar nusa bhakti. If the dutch refusal to include west new guinea in the transfer of sover. The province was in 1973 renamed irian jaya, victorious irian, by the indonesian president, general soeharto. Political and constitutional conflict in the west papua region of. The road to home is a feature length documentary by british filmmakeractivist dominic brown of dancing turtle films. Indonesia required a transfer of power as the basis of negotiation.
The preamble agreementhighlighted that papua is a dispute matter between indonesia and the netherlands. As part of his visit to aoteaora new zealand, on 10th may benny wenda attended an historic meeting of the international parliamentarians for west papua ipwp. In the conflict between west papua and indonesia, history also has. The conflict was described by bougainvillean president john. Located on the western rim of the pacific, bordering the independent state of papua new guinea, west papua is a melanesian nation in waiting. About the campaign history the free west papua campaign was launched in 2004 in oxford, uk, and is led by benny wenda an exiled west papuan independence leader and chairman of the united liberation movement for west papua ulmwp. Conflict management in communitybased natural resource. But over 40,000 years ago australia was settled by people of dark skin and fuzzy hair. The severity of freeing west papua from the dutch onwest. Papua is no more or less part of indonesia than yogyakarta or manado.
History of west papua early days west papua was originally populated by melanesian people some tens of thousands of years ago. The future of west papua was then decided through the act of free choice in. It seeks to identify the reasons behind the decline in coverage of west papua in the png press. West papua is a land rich with resources, they have the worlds largest gold mine, rain forests and lots of land. This article explores the west papua issue through the papua new guinea news media. Bank of indonesia will help to marketing the papuan original coffee. We have grown from being a volunteer organisation through to having permanent offices in oxford. One condition of the transfer of administrative control was that there would. It is indeed true that the conflicts in west papua have yet to be erased. But a newly independent republic of indonesia began to assert its claim over the province and a. When i was at university in the 1990s, the free west papua movement was growing. West papua free videos watch, download and enjoy west. Free west papua campaign png is lead by fred mambrasar in port moresby, papua new guinea. The free papua movement organisasi papua merdeka or opm is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the west papuan territory which is currently being administrated by indonesia as the provinces of papua and west papua, also formerly known as papua, irian jaya and west irian.
But west papua is a nation that grew up with and is shaped by experiences of living under indonesias military. This changed me and i decided to work for west papua and its people. The resource industry with the widest geographical impact in papua is the logging industry, whose concessions cover nearly a third of the province. Africanglobe muslims are slaughtering the a boriginals of west papua after taking occupation by force, and killing their dreams of independence granted onto them its so easy to forget that muslim violence and oppression is an everyday reality in many small places around the world too. Free papua movement has led a lowlevel insurgency for. The entire western half of the island was previously known as west papua, and this name continues to be used by west papuans and. Working paper 5 conflict management in communitybased natural resource projects. Indonesia has been carrying out a systematic genocide for 50 years against the people of west papua. West papua is the western half of new guinea, like tasmania it was separated from the australian mainland around 5,000bc. Authorities must act now to prevent malukanstyle conflict, report says. Benny wenda launches westminster declaration for west. Subsequent to the withdrawal of the dutch administration from the netherlands new guinea in 1962 and implementation of indonesian administration in 1963, the free papua movement has conducted a lowintensity guerrilla war against. Mischa wilmers talks to the exiled leader of the free west papua movement about his lifelong struggle for justice. The fight to free west papua from the dutch takes a long and harsh process.
I read news about 100 papua new guineans png near the border of indonesia merauke and boven digoel who wanted to be indonesian citizens. West papuas enduring struggle for independence west. The islands that now make up indonesia were also colonised by the. Everything began when indonesia declared its independence in 1945. The bougainville civil war, also known as the bougainville conflict, was a multilayered armed conflict fought from 1988 to 1998 in the north solomons province of papua new guinea png between png and the secessionist forces of the bougainville revolutionary army bra, and between the bra and other armed groups on bougainville. Experiences from fiji and papua new guinea michael warner april 2000. It was aimed to finish the indonesian and dutch conflict coming with main. A recent development in this long campaign is the suspicious death of a commander of the rebel free papua movement opm, danny kogoya, on december 15. In this issue, we hear the voices of people living under indonesian occupation and fighting to be free. This important study introduces the history and people of west papua, tracing the origins of the international conflict surrounding their struggle for.