New era for Free Papua Movement

New era for Free Papua Movement

By Ikrar Nusa Bhakti

This is the first of two articles on the history of Irian Jaya
and the current aspirations of the Irianese.

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian control of Irian Jaya since 1963
has been free of challenges from some sections of the Irianese
people. Over the last 30 years, the Irianese rebels associated
with the Organisasi Papua Merdeka or OPM (Free Papua
Organization) have carried out sporadic actions both in Irian
Jaya and abroad, to express their resistance to the Indonesian
rule.

The new era of the movement emerged ten years ago, when well-
educated Irianese, mostly university students, spoke publicly
about their anti-Indonesian feelings in the Irian cities of
Jayapura, Biak, Manokwari and Sorong as well as in Jakarta.

A peaceful demonstration by a group of 300 Irianese students
in front of the United Nations building in Jakarta on July 20
came on the heels of a series of Irianese student demonstrations
in Jayapura, Sorong, Manokwari and the central highlands of Irian
Jaya in early July.

On July 28, Irianese leaders living in Jakarta called on
President B.J. Habibie to grant immediate autonomy to their home
province and accused the central government of failing to bring
prosperity to their territory.

They also demanded a change in the name of their province to
West Papua, saying that Irian was not a name but an acronym for
Ikut Republik Indonesia Anti-Nederlan (Join the anti-Netherlands
Republic of Indonesia).

The acronym was popularized by founding president Sukarno from
1961 to 1963, during Indonesia's struggle to free West Irian from
the Dutch.

Based on a historical perspective, however, it was Markus W.
Kaisiepo who on Sept. 8, 1945, used the word Iryan (not Irian), a
Biak-Numforese word meaning "hot country", "hot land" or "hot
place" as the traditional name for the New Guinea mainland, to
refer to the whole of West New Guinea.

Markus' introduction of the word Iryan was first published in
Penjoeloeh, a newspaper published by ex-Digulists (Ex-communist
activists and Indonesian prisoners in Digul, West Irian) in
Brisbane, Australia. It was first used officially by his cousin
Franz Kaisiepo at the Malino Conference in July 1946.

The question is why separatism is still alive in Irian Jaya
even though this easternmost province has been part of Indonesia
since May 1, 1963, following the Act of Free Choice (Penentuan
Pendapat Rakyat) held under United Nations supervision in West
Irian in July and August 1969.

Do they really want independence from Indonesia or just to get
more attention from the central government, particularly because
the government has paid more attention to East Timor since 1976?

The source of separatism in Irian Jaya (formerly Dutch New
Guinea, West New Guinea or West Irian) emerged during the last
days of the Dutch colonial era between 1950 and 1962.

While Indonesia turned to diplomacy within the United Nations
to recover the sovereignty of West Irian, the Dutch stepped up
economic and political development to thwart Indonesia's attempt
to gain outside support for their cause by increasing the
perception of West Irian as a viable independent state.

The Dutch subsidy to the territory's budget (excluding
defense) increased from US$4.3 million in 1950 to almost $28
million in 1962.

Soon after the establishment of pro-Dutch political parties in
West Irian, the Dutch introduced a form of democracy which came
from the top to the down.

In February 1961 both direct and indirect elections using a
common roll for all inhabitants and a simple majority system were
held for the Dutch-created quasi-parliament, the Nieuw-Guinea
Raad (New Guinea Council). About 54,000 West Irianese
participated in the elections and when the New Guinea Council was
installed on April 5, 1961, Irianese held 22 of the 28 seats.

The Dutch also allowed pro-Dutch Irianese leaders -- the West
Papuans might called them pro-Nationalist leaders -- including
Nicolaas Jouwe, P. Torey, Markus Kaisiepo, Nicolaas Tanggahma and
Eliezer Jan Bonai to become members of a National Committee and
invited 70 Irianese to organize a meeting on Oct. 19, 1961.

At the meeting, the political symbol of a flag (Bintang Kejora
or the Morning Star), an anthem (Hai Tanahku Papua or Hi Our
Mother Land, Papua) and a name of the territory (Papua Barat or
West Papua) and its people (Orang Papua Barat or West Papuans)
were introduced and adopted.

According to the late Australian journalist, Peter Hastings,
they also introduced a national coat of arms featuring the crown
dove and a motto identical to Indonesia's (Unity in Diversity).
The motto was later changed to One People One Soul.

It seems significant that the meeting did not stipulate a
national language because the lingua franca of Irianese was
Malay/Indonesian. Permission to employ those symbols was granted
by the Dutch and the Papuan flag was officially raised next to
the Dutch tricolor (Red, White and Blue) on Dec. 1, 1961.

Since then, almost all anti-Indonesia or pro-West Papua
independence movements have use these symbols of the Free Papua
Movement.

After five months of talks, however, Indonesian and Dutch
negotiators signed "the Agreement between the Republic of
Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands Concerning West New
Guinea (West Irian)" at the UN headquarters in New York on Aug.
15, 1962.

Under the New York agreement, the Netherlands transferred the
administration of the territory to a United Nations Temporary
Executive Authority (UNTEA) on Oct. 1, 1962, and then after May
1, 1963, the UNTEA and Indonesia jointly administered the
territory.

A transitional period followed in the history of Irian Jaya
until 1969, when the Act of Free Choice was held. There were
confusion and dismay in West Irian during this period,
particularly for Irianese leaders who had placed their faith in
Dutch promises for self-determination and independence.

Pro-Dutch Irianese leaders felt betrayed, wondering how the
Dutch could decide West Irian's fate without consulting them. In
mid-September 1963, some Irianese leaders organized a meeting of
the National Congress in Hollandia (now Jayapura), which was
attended by about 80 Irianese leaders. After a week of
discussions the congress decided to accept "The New York
Agreement" but favored the holding of the Act of Free Choice in
1963.

The congress expressed a willingness to cooperate with the UN
and Indonesian authorities in order to maintain peace and order;
confirmed that the act of self-determination granted to the
Irianese people meant external self-determination; and finally,
requested that the UN interim administration (UNTEA) guarantee
the Papuan flag and anthem.

For the Indonesian government, the transitional period
presented the challenge of convincing the Irianese people that
their interests would be best served if their territory was part
of Indonesia.

Regrettably, the basic thrust of the government policy on West
Irian was directed at winning the Act of Free Choice, neglecting
economic development or initiatives to improve the standard of
living and prosperity of the Irianese people.

The focus of government activities was to ensure the movement
of government machinery. The government, therefore, showed little
interest on economic matters.

It cannot be denied that during that period, Indonesia was
facing economic difficulties, whose impact was felt in West
Irian. It was a public secret that some Indonesian civilians and
military officers took a lot from West Irian, creating an
impression that Indonesia was "holding up" West Irian.

The writer is a senior researcher at the Center for Political
and Regional Studies at the National Institute of Sciences.

Window A: The new era of the movement emerged ten years ago, when
well-educated Irianese, mostly university students, spoke
publicly about their anti-Indonesian feelings in the Irian
cities of Jayapura, Biak, Manokwari and Sorong as well as in
Jakarta.

Window B: Do they really want independence from Indonesia or just
to get more attention from the central government, particularly
because the government has paid more attention to East Timor
since 1976?