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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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After years of difficult negotiations and otten-bloody clashes between the two parties, the Netherlands and Indonesia agreed to hold a conference for the purpose of arranging the transfer of power over the former Dutch colonies in the East Indies. As a preliminary step, a fact-finding team was formed. The Republic of Indonesia was represented. by Dr. Mohdmad  Roem, while the Dutch  Government  appointed Dr. J. H. van Royen as  their representative. Their agreement, which later came to be known in history as the Roem-VanRoyen Statement was concluded on May 7, 1949. reasserted the United Nation Security Council resolution of January 28, 1949, which stated that the Round Table Conference  would take place with a view to accelerating the unconditional transfer of real and complete sovereignty to the United States of Indonesia in accordance with the Renville Agreements.

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.

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