Papua (Indonesian province)

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Papua is a province of Indonesia covering most of the western half of New Guinea and nearby smaller islands, sharing its eastern border with Papua New Guinea. The region was renamed from Irian Barat to Irian Jaya (1973) and then to Papua (2002). (Note that Papua may also refer to either the entire island of New Guinea or to the southern half of Papua New Guinea. See Papua (disambiguation).) Papuans are Melanesian, a Pacific ethnic people including those of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Like the mountains of Greece, Papua has developed a diversity of separate cultures and languages; there are 253 known languages and over two hundred additional dialects.

Table of contents

1 History 2 Government 2.1 Papuan government in exile 3 Postage stamps 4 See also 5 External links

History

Papuans, the native people of New Guinea, have inhabited the island for more than forty thousand years. Like inhabitants of other Pacific islands, Papuans are Melanesian, and share similarities with the people of the Solomons, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Papua has developed a diversity of seperate cultures and languages; there are 253 known languages and over two hundred additional dialects.

It is believed the first Europeans to sight New Guinea were the Portuguese, but it was the Dutch vessel Duyfken which first recorded its travel along the southern coast of Papua in 1605. The Duyfken did not explore the coast of Papua, but sailed south into the Gulf of Carpentaria, landing in northern Australia.

In 1828 the Dutch claimed the south coast of New Guinea west of the 141st meridian, and then added the north coast west of Humboldt Bay in 1848. The Netherlands established trading posts in the area after Britain and Germany recognized the Dutch claims in treaties of 1885 and 1895. (At much the same time, Britain and Germany established their own colonies in New Guinea: Germany taking the north-east part which eventually became the Territory of New Guinea, and Britain taking te south-east part which later became the Territory of Papua.) The Dutch half of New Guinea became part of the colony of Dutch East Indies.

The 1930s saw the first stirrings of a West New Guinean nationalist movement, which grew out of Dutch missionary schools, notably through Rev. Izaak Samuel Kijne who taught Pan-Papuan nationalism and composed the anthem Hai Tanahku Papua-"Oh My Land Papua".

In 1942 the northern coast of New Guinea and the nearby islands were occupied by the Japanese Empire. The war years introduced many Papuans to the reality of an outside world, and saw the formation of the Angganita movement, which opposed Japanese and all non-Papuan incussions. Allied forces, mainly Australian and American and significantly aided by the native people, gradually expelled the Japanese through 1942, 1943 and 1944. (See Pacific War.) With some Papuan assistance, a large Allied base was constructed at Hollandia (now Jayapura) as a staging point for operations in the Philippines.

After the war ended, the Dutch regained possession of the territory. In 1949, the rest of the Dutch East Indies gained independence as the Republic of Indonesia. The Indonesian government immediately demanded possession of Dutch New Guinea, but it was retained by the Dutch as the separate colony of Netherlands New Guinea, with a governor and an administration of its own, directly under The Hague.

In 1952, the Netherlands recognized Papuan self-determination as a right in accordance with Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations, and began preparing the nation for independence. After repeated Indonesian claims for Dutch New Guinea, Indonesia was invited by Holland to present the claim before an International Court of Law, but declined. Concerned that invasion might be a possibility, Holland accelerated its education and technical programs in preparation for independence.

In 1961, the Dutch Foreign Minister, Joseph Luns, launched a plan to have western New Guinea put under UN control. A number of African countries, known as the Brazzaville Group, also called for the territory to be put provisionally under international control. In 1961 an elected Niew Guinea Raad (New Guinea Council) became the first Papuan parliament. The new government adopted a national anthem, the Papuan flag (Morning Star), and decided the territory's official name would be West Papua. The Dutch recognized these symbols on 18 November 1961 (Government Gazettes of Dutch New Guinea Nos. 68 and 69), and these ordinances came into effect on December 1, 1961. The date for independence of Netherlands New Guinea was set for 1970.

The Dutch commitment to eventual Papuan independence led to an undeclared war between Indonesia and the Netherlands in New Guinea. On December 19, 1961, Indonesia commenced a guerrilla war against Dutch forces including a minor naval battle on January 19 1962. Behind the scenes, the Netherlands, under pressure from the United States, began negotiations with Indonesia and in August produced the "New York Agreement". The Australian government, which had been a firm supporter of the Dutch independence position, also reversed its policy.

The agreement, ratified in the UN on September 21 1962, stipulated that authority would transer to a United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) on October 1, and that UNTEA would hand the territory to Indonesia on May 1, 1963, until such time as a a UN-conducted "Act of Free Choice" could determine the will of the people.

Since 1962 consistent reports have surfaced of programs of suppression including killings, imprisonments, and aerial bombardments. The Indonesian government disbanded the New Guinea Council, and forbade the use of the new flag or the singing of the national anthem. There has been considerable resistance to Indonesian integration and occupation, both through civil disobedience (such as Morning Star flag raising ceremonies) and via the formation of the quasi-military Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or Free Papua Movement) in 1964.

In 1969 Indonesia conducted the "Act of Free Choice." Public voting was deemed to be unnecessary and the Indonesian military selected representatives, provided them with some training in the Indonesian language, and encouraged the representatives to provide a public vote for the assembled troops and two western observers. The observers left after witnessing the first two hundred votes for integration. This procedure was deemed to have been an "Act of Free Choice" in accordance with the United Nations requirements and Indonesia formally annexed the territory in August.

In 1977 construction of the worlds largest copper and gold mine (also the worlds largest open cut mine) began. Under a Indonesian agreement signed in 1967 (two years before the "Act of Free Will") the US company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc holds a 30 year exclusive mining license for the region from the official opening of the mine (1981). Locals made several violent attempts to dissuade the mine owners, including blowing up a pipeline in July, but order was quickly restored.

The 1990s saw Indonesia accelerate its Transmigration Program and ship approximately 1.2 million Islamic Javanese into West Irian over a ten year period. (Prior to Indonesian rule, most people in the territory belonged to Catholic, Protestant or tribal religions.) A separatist congress in 2000 again calling for independence resulted in a military crackdown on independence supporters. In 2001 a now majority Islamic population was given limited autonomy. An August 2001 US State Department travel warning advised "all travel by U.S. and other foreign government officials to Aceh, Papua and the Moluccas (provinces of North Maluku and Maluku) has been restricted by the Indonesian government".

Government

The nature of Indonesian government in Papua is controversial. International opinion varies a great deal. Some view it as naked colonialism, others maintain that Indonesia represents a legitimate authority with a willing people. Frank expression of views is complicated by the delicate and troubled relationship many nations have with Indonesia.

According to the United States Country Studies - Library of Congress report about Indonesian government structure:

"Since independence the nation has been centrally governed from Jakarta in a system in which the lines of authority, budget, and personnel appointment run outward and downward. Regional and local governments enjoy little autonomy. Their role is largely administrative: implementing policies, rules, and regulations. Regional officialdom is an extension of the Jakarta bureaucracy. The political goal is to maintain the command framework of the unitary state, even at the cost of developmental efficiency. Governments below the national level, therefore, serve essentially as subordinate administrative units through which the functional activities of Jakarta-based departments and agencies reach out into the country."

In 1999 it was proposed to split the province into three government controlled sectors, sparking Papuan protests (see external article). In 2003 President Megawati signed an order dividing Papua into three Islamic controlled provinces: Central Papua (Papua Tengah), Papua (or East Papua - Papua Timur), and West Papua (Papua Barat). The formality of installing a local government for Jaraka in Papua Barat (west) took place in February 2003 and a governor was appointed in November; a government for Papua Tengah (central) was delayed from August 2003 due to violent local protests. It appears the creation of a government for this area has been shelved.

Papuan government in exile

The Papuan Presidium Council is a 31-member umbrella group established in 2000 to negotiate a referendum to end the Indonesian occupation of western New Guinea. The Council was chaired by Theys Eluay, chief of the Sentani tribe and former Chair of the Act of Free Choice Council established by Indonesia in 1969. Eluay was assassinated on November 11, 2001.

Another organization, the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM or Free Papua Movement) often portrayed as a militant movement, claims to seek peaceful dialogue and to maintain the native Melanesian culture.

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Postage stamps

During the 1960s, the region had its own postage stamps. The first were overprints reading "UNTEA" (United Nations Temporary Executive Authority) applied to the stamps of Dutch New Guinea, issued in 1962. There are four slightly different types of overprint, three types applied locally, and a fourth made in the Netherlands and sold by the UN in New York City.

These were superseded on 1 May 1963 by stamps of Indonesia overprinted "IRIAN BARAT" and a series of six commemoratives whose designs included a map of Indonesia stretching "from Sabang to Merauke" and a parachutist landing in New Guinea. These, as were later issues in 1968 and 1970, were inscribed both "IRIAN BARAT" and "REPUBLIK INDONESIA". The last issue specifically for the territory consisted of two depicting birds (Black-Capped Lory and Bird of Paradise), issued 26 October 1970.

See also

• Human rights violations in western New Guinea

External links

• Online Library West Papua, Irian Jaya
• PapuaWeb
• "Human Abuse in West Papua - Application of Law to Genocide"
• "Prison, Torture and Murder in Jayapura - Twelve Days in an Indonesian Jail" (Neue Zuercher Zeitung, 2000)
• Map showing the three new provinces