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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