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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.


These armed groups often utilized kidnapping and hostage taking to frighten and threaten the people.    In January 1996, twelve members of the scientific Lorentz Expedition were kidnapped and held hostage for four months by the OPM led by Kelly Kwalik. On May 5, 1999 the TPN/OPM led by Hans Bonay kidnapped eleven transmigrants in Jayapura and held them hostage until May 31, 1999. In January 2001   the TPN/OPM led by Willem Onde abducted sixteen workers of a Korean timber company, including two  Koreans, and held them hostage for a number of weeks. In June 2001, two Belgians were held hostage  by the TPN/OPM led by Kelly Kwalik and were not released until August 2001.

Since the end of President Soeharto's government in May 1998 and in conjunction with the wave of  reforms in many parts of Indonesia, the Papuans felt free to voice their aspirations and to campaign  more actively for an independent Papua. Separatist activities in the form of peaceful movements were increasingly more pronounced, notably carried out by the political wing of the separatist movements. The Papuan Presidium Council (Presidium Dewan Papua/PDP) led by Theys Hiyo Eluay became the principal organization that advocates independence and stresses on political means. In its nation-wide and international campaigns the organization demanded independence they believed had been granted by the Dutch on December 1, 1961 and insisted on a referendum and a reformulation of the history of the Act of Free Choice in 1969.They also cited human rights abuses as the main issue.

The Separatist movements can be divided into two categories, the political and the armed. Even though these two main groups have the same agenda, they do not work together, let alone conduct coordinated joint actions. Each strives for the same purpose independently.

In the present era of reform, the Indonesian Government tolerates political activities as part 01 the exercise of freedom of speech. From raising the Morning Star flag, to distributing political pamphlets, the separatists also stage mass demonstrations and gatherings to mobilize support and articulate their demands to the Indonesian Government and international community.

It has always been the priority of the Indonesian Government to preserve the integrity of the nation by maintaining the Province of Papua within the Republic of Indonesia. Indonesian leaders established   continuing dialog between Papuans and the government. Particularly after May 1998. President Habibie, who succeeded President Soeharto, held a meeting with Team 100, a delegation of 100 Papuans in February 1999. The leader of Team 100, Thom Beanal, read a statement announcing their wish to secede from the unitary state of Indonesia and establish an independent Papua. The President requested the team to rethink their demands, but they instead made use of the opportunity to reinforce Papuan resistance.

President Abdurrahman Wahid, who succeeded President Habibie, continued the policy of dialog and consultation. The President made an important gesture by allowing the Morning Star flag to be flown next to but not higher than the national flag.

The President also permitted the name "Papua" to be applied to the province,  although  this  was not subsequently  endorsed by Parliament.

It was also during President Wahid's administration that the Papuan Presidium Council, established during the Papuan Mass Consultation (Musyawarah Besar papua) on February 23-26, 2000, convened the second Papuan Congress on May 29-June 4, 2000 in Jayapura. The President facilitated the convening of the congress by donating one billion rupiahs and giving his full blessing. Government officials also attended the congress. The congress, however, ended up with calls for Papuan independence and rejected the New York Agreement that it deemed legally flawed because according to them, it excluded Papuan representatives. It also rejected the Act of Free Choice of 1969 and asked the United Nations, the United States and the Netherlands to reconsider their involvement in the process of reunifying West Papua with Indonesia.

The Indonesian government rejected the results of the congress because the Presidium dishonored its commitment to make use of the congress as a forum for discourse in rethinking Papuan history in the context of the unitary state of Indonesia. While keeping its commitment to foster dialog in finding a solution to the Papuan issue, the government also promised to act firmly against any attempt to   implement the resolutions of the Papuan Congress. However, the Presidium came out with greater standing following the congress that had the support and financial assistance of the government.

The raising of the Mcrni.1gStar flag has always been used by the Papuans as a form of asserting their identity and associated with acts of defiance against Indonesian authority. In October 2000 the Indonesian Government eventually banned the flying of the Morning Star flag, because it was being flown with the idea of separatism in mind. The government also rejected the notion that the Papuan Presidium Council had obtained the mandate of the Papuan people to advance the struggle for independence, but considered it as a forum to facilitate reconciliation.

In October 2000 the Presidium attended the Pacific Islands Forum in Kiribati as a member of the Nauru delegation. Nauru and Vanuatu have declared their support for the an independent West Papua. The Papuan issue failed to gain the full support of the Forum apart from Nauru and Vanuatu, but received a mention in the final communiqué of tile, despite the reluctance of the Australian, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea governments. The communiqué expressed deep concern for the violence and loss of lives in the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya and called on the Indonesian Government as the sovereign authority and secessionist groups 10 resolve their differences   peacefully through dialog and consultation.

The international community supports a unified Indonesia with Papua as one of its provinces.  International support was again demonstrated by the Pacific Islands Forum during its August 2001 conference in Nauru. For the first time Indonesia attended as a Dialog Partner of the Forum.  However, this time the Papuan Presidium Council was not included in the Nauru delegation. The Forum's communiqué, again, urged Indonesia to seek a peaceful solution through dialog with the parties concerned and voiced concerns about the continuing violence and loss of lives. It also welcomed the Special Autonomy proposed by the Indonesian Government.

In November 2000 a number of senior Presidium leaders were arrested and detained, including the head of the Presidium Theys Hiyo Eluay, on charges of subversion. They were in detention until March 2001. The first trial began in May 2001 and to have been continued after the death of Theys Hiyo Eluay on November 12, 2001.
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