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?