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.
A few hours after the United Nations flag was lowered
over West Papua, the Indonesian Government appointed a native son of
West Papua to the office
of governor of the province. Such an
appointment was more than what was
called for in the Agreement, namely
to accelerate the participation of the people in
the local government. Thus
ended colonial rule over
all of Indonesia and a prolonged dispute between Indonesia and the Netherlands. The speedy solution was in itself
achievement and highlighted
Indonesia's commitment to find a peaceful solution to the problem of separation of West Papua from the rest
of Indonesia.
The Act of Free Choice
Another
salient provision of the
Agreement was the Act of Free
Choice that would take place
six years after
the administration had been formally and fully transferred to Indonesia.
For Indonesia this provision
was a compromise solution to promptly
reach a peaceful resolution of the West Papua question
and to meet the demands of the Netherlands to avoid armed conflict. Nevertheless, the Agreement left the method
and procedure of the
Act 0f Free Choice to the Indonesian Government
in consultation with the existing Papuan representative councils as legal
representatives of its people (Article
XVIII).
As had been clarified by the representative of Indonesia to the
United Nations, the Act of Free Choice is not an act of self determination in the strict, traditional, and orthodox sense. This is because Indonesia never considered West Papua as being separate from the rest of Indonesia. The period of six years was
to allow for the Papuans 10 become
reacquainted with the rest of
Indonesia alter having been unjustly divided by the colonial power. It was with such only assurances that the Indonesian Parliament adopted
and ratified the Agreement on September 1, 1962.
Some misinterpretations and misunderstandings, however,
have occurred and persisted
regarding the role of the UN in the Act of Free
Choice and the procedure chosen
to implement it. The New York
Agreement between Indonesia
and the Netherlands was a bilateral instrument concluded between
the two parties themselves and was not reached on the basis of any resolution or any other mandate of the United
Nations General Assembly. The underlying factor,
which called on the Secretary-General to assume an intermediary role, was in response
to pressing international circumstances. Subsequent measures taken by
the Secretary-General, including the
establishment of UNTEA and the dispatch
of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral, Ambassador Fernando Ortiz-Sanz of Bolivia, from 1968
until 1969, were based primarily.
on the provisions of the
Agreement itself. In addition, the fact that the financial
expenses were borne equally by the Governments of Indonesia and the'
Netherlands, as stipulated in Article XXIV of
the Agreement, reflected the limited role of the United
Nations.
The role
of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in the Agreement was clearly restricted. Ambassador
Fernando Ortiz-Sanz acknowledged early on that he "
... was not given any political or administrative
authority, not even a supervisory function.” Rather, his responsibility
according to the agreement was to "advise, assist and participate in arrangements which
are the responsibility of Indonesia for the Act of Free Choice, having in
mind the interests and welfare of the people of the territory".
Despite the limited role of
the UN, in the spirit
of the Agreement the Government of Indonesia actively sought advice and assistance of the UN in determining the method and procedure of the Act of Free Choice.
The of socio-cultural development of Papuan people at that time, the ruggedness of the terrain
and difficulties in communication and transportation,
made the oneman-one-vote system impossible to implement. The Government
of Indonesia therefore chose musyawarah-already a familiar democratic process
with the Papuan people-as the most appropriate method ot self-determination. Musyawarah is an Indonesian
traditional practice of democracy that calls for consultations and discussions towards consensus. This
Act of Free Choice would be done
through regional councils, which would be enlarged to term consultative assemblies. These consultative assemblies
consisted of representatives directly
elected by the people, functional faction that consisted
of interest, social, cultural and religious groups, and traditional factions
that consisted of elected
tribal representatives.
Both the United Nations Representative and the Netherlands were consulted
and approved of the method chosen, as reported in the Djakarta Times
on February 26, 1969.
Papuan legislators also showed
their support with the method of self-determination. The Indonesian Government
in fulfilling its duty to inform the people of Papua and to explain the methods to be followed
for the Act of Free Choice
published an information paper explaining the
New York Agreement. It also communicated additional information concerning what the Government was doing with regard to the Act of Free Choice through newspapers, newssheets and radio broadcasts.
The Government
also ensured basic rights and freedoms such as
freedom of speech, to the extent of immunity from prosecution.
Legally organized political groups
were allowed to function. However, ominous
activities that included widespread intimidation, terror and threats of the so-called "Free Papua
Movement" or "Free
Papua Organization" greatly complicated the situation in the territory. From the beginning,
their intention was to
oppose, sabotage and wreck the implementation of the Act of
Free Choice. Despite provocation, the authorities pursued a policy of restraint
and moderation in overcoming insurrection and armed confrontation and adopted a
policy of clemency and
leniency.
Notwithstanding
the difficult circumstances, the Act of Free Choice was carried out from July 14 to August 2, 1969, with the
active participation of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative as stipulated in the New York Agreement. In his report to the
General Assembly the Special Representative acknowledged that:
"The
petitions opposing annexation to Indonesia... show that without doubt certain elements of the population of West Papua held firm conviction in favor of independence.
Nevertheless, the answer given by the
consultative assemblies to the questions put to them was a unanimous·
consensus in favor of remaining
with Indonesia."
"Finally, on the basis
of the facts presented in this report and the documents referred to, it can be stated
that with the limitations-imposed by geographical characteristics of the territory and the general political
situation in the area,
an act of free choice has taken
place in West Papua
in accordance with the Indonesian
practice, in which the representatives of the population have expressed their wish to remain with Indonesia."
On November 19, 1969, the 24th UN General Assembly
adopted Resolution 2504 (XXIV) that recognized
the results of selfdetermination in West Papua in accordance with the New York
Agreement. With the adoption of the resolution, the international community formally recognized West Papua as an integral
part of Indonesia. Thus ended
the long and costly dispute over the
status of West Papua between Indonesia
and the Netherlands. West Papua has been
rightfully restored to Indonesia and the result of the Act of Free Choice was a revalidation by the Papuan people of the 1945 proclamation of Indonesian independence.
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