A
fundamental problem faced by the Indonesian
Government regarding Papua is the local resentment towards
the central government and social discontent arising from the generally
perceived lack of a just and equitable economic distribution. This
resentment and the constant call for independence stem from
deep-rooted grounds. The reunification of Papua with Indonesia
in 1963 was not seen to have brought about improved welfare, wealth, and an affirmation of the basic rights of the
Papuans. Education, the economy,
the culture, and the socio-politics of the Papuan community
were considered to be under par compared
to other provinces. Another source of resentment towards the government
is its lack of understanding of local customary
law and alliance rights controlled by customary community with regard to
tribal land ownership. While concessions for
forest areas have been given to some private companies and transmigration areas
developed, land disputes remain unresolved. In addition,
human rights issues
and denial to
the rights ct the Papuans for improved
welfare
have
not
been
appropriately addressed.
The reforms
that developed following
changes in May 1998 gave
way to more pronounced yet peaceful calls for .secession of the province from Indonesia. This, in turn, has cultivated new hopes for self-government in Papua. The Indonesian Government has fully
recognized the especially unique
characteristics of Papua and believes that a special
autonomy is called
for with regard to
the region. independence is not the answer for
Papua and the government remains committed to maintaining the
unity of the Republic of Indonesia. This policy
would enable the Papuans to manage their own political and economic development, and offers the best prospects for a long-term resolution of problems that have long been associated with Papua.
It also gives the opportunity for the
province to catch up with the
other more developed provinces in Indonesia.
As soon as
the territory of Papua was reunited with the rest of Indonesia, separatist movements in the region
began to emerge. The origins of the separatist movements can be traced
back to the post-independence
period of Indonesia when the Dutch began to lose control of its possession in the then East Indies. Fearing that Papua would become a part of the newly born Indonesia, the Netherlands began to encourage
political development by allowing
political parties, as well as the creation of local armed units, while at the same time discouraging parties who preferred integration with Indonesia.
The
embryo of the separatist movements in Papua was established in 1960 in
Manokwari as the Papuan Voluntary Batallion or Papua
Vrijwillwegers Korps/PVK. Their target
Was to interrupt the reunification of Papua
with the Republic of Indonesia. The movement that was later
known as the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka/OPM) then spread into other parts of the sparsely populated
region and emerged
into a number of distinctive groups led by different leaders and adhering to different orientations. Each group claimed to be the real OPM
and occasionally using the National
Liberation Army/OPM (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional/TPN-OPM) as
their designation. Each group may only have around
100 members and operated
with homemade weapons, but each had the potential to disrupt the peace and threatens the security of the
region.
New York Agreement·
The possibility of a new war in the West Pacific
caused much anxiety in the international community. United Nations Secretary General U Thant took the initiative to send notes to the
two parties concerned, asking them to restrain themselves and to try find a peaceful solution to the West
Papua issue
bilaterally. Indonesia welcomed the UN Secretary General's initiative, because
for more than a decade Indonesia-in
accordance with the provisions of
the Round Table Conference-had been seeking
to find a peaceful solution
to the dispute.
Due
to the breakdown of diplomatic relations between
the two countries, Indonesia
had no alternative but to seek a third party as
intermediary in the bilateral. negotiations. Both governments agreed to the intermediary of the UN
Secretary-General and Ambassador
Ellsworth Bunker of the United States. In March 1962, the so-called Bunker Plan was submitted to both
governments. It was followed
by an agreement-later known as
the New York Agreement-between the
Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning West
New Guinea (West Papua) on August 15, 1962. The agreement provided for the initial
transfer of administration of West Papua by the Netherlands to an interim
UN authority (the United Nations
Temporary Executive Authority-UNTEA) on October 1, 1962 and
subsequent transfer from UNTEA to Indonesian control on
May 1,1963.
After
Round Table Conference (1950-1960)
Several
attempts to resolve the question of West Papua through negotiations within a
year of the Round Table Conference between Indonesia and the Netherlands ended
in deadlock. Consecutive cabinets that came to power after independence, from
the Hatta Cabinets that came to power after independence, from the Hatta
Cabinet up to the Wilopo Cabinet, put the West Papua evident from beginning.
The Dutch government had not the slightest intention to adhere to article 2 of
the Charter of the Transfer of Sovereighty and maintained the principle that
West Irian should be excluded in the transfer of power.
The
Situation for the Indonesian negotiators become even more impossible when the
Dutch government amended Article 1 of its constitution in 1952, in which the
territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was defined. The amended article
stated that the ‘Netherlands’ New Guinea would become a part of territory. This
was certainly in direct contravention with Article 2 of the Round Table
Conference, which stipulated the status
quo of West Papua until a negotiated solution was found.
Round Table Conference, December 1949
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At the conference Dr. van Royen himself stated that "the population of Indonesia consists of about seventeen ethnic
and linguistic groups which, in their turn, contain
a still greater number
of sub-groups.... Common existence under the Netherlands Crown has created a sense of Indonesian
nationality." This statement is most relevant
because it demonstrates not only the common existence but also common fate and common
struggle of the people of West Papua with the rest of Indonesia
against the colonial rule.
Papua and the Indonesian
Struggle for Independence
Papua,
particularly the Digul Region, also played an important
part in the national struggle for independence.
It
became a symbol of the Indonesian struggle against colonialism. In the late 1920s, about 823 Indonesians,
along with 473 women and children, accused of taking part in an uprising
against the colonial government in various parts of Indonesia, were forced into exile
without trial
in Tanah Merah, about 500 kilometers upstream
of the Digul River. In those days
the journey took three days by
motorboat from
the river's mouth on the southern shore to an
area less than one square
kilometer that was cleared from the
surrounding wild tropical
jungles
dotted
with
malaria-infested
ponds.
Later, Indonesian student leaders such as Sutan Sjahrir
and Muhammad Hatta (with whom Soekarno
in 1945 proclaimed Indonesia's
independence) found their way to
Tanah Merah. There, Hatta wrote his famous book "Alam
Pikiran Yunani” (The
World of Greek Thoughts) in which he discussed the ideas of freedom and democracy. In some ways, the label "ex-Digulist"
had become a "proof" of their struggle for Indonesian independence. All of these have strengthened the emotional ties between Papua and the other Indonesian islands.
The Restoration of West Papua
into Indonesia:
1945-1949
After Japan surrendered, the Netherlands returned
to Indonesia as part of the allied force deployed in Indonesia. They ignored the fact
that the Indonesian people had exercised their right to selt.determination and were ready to re-impose colonial rule over the
Indonesian archipelago. An armed conflict between Indonesia and the Netherlands ensued and
it only ended when the parties
concluded a peace agreement at The Hague in 1949 in which the
Netherlands recognized and accepted tile independence and sovereignty of Indonesia.