SourceWest Papuan separatists declare provisional government, tell Indonesia to leave the region
West Papuan separatists say they will form a new provisional government for the region and reject Indonesia's rule, in a significant escalation of a decades-long battle over independence.
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) — a coalition of independence groups — made the announcement on its self-proclaimed independence day, which is marked on December 1 each year.
It said it planned to reclaim the land, appoint its own prime minister and cabinet, and "no longer bow down to Jakarta's illegal martial rule".
The move is the culmination of an increasingly violent conflict being waged between separatists and Indonesian authorities who have no plans to relinquish control of the region.
An island divided for decades
To understand this fight and the gravity of the announcement, you must first understand the history.
The island of New Guinea is divided in two.
The right half is the nation of Papua New Guinea. The left half (where the provinces of West Papua and Papua are) make up part of Indonesia.
Both West Papua and the other islands of Indonesia were first colonised by the Netherlands.
When Indonesia finally became independent in 1949, West Papua did not join.
The Dutch government, acknowledging that West Papuans were culturally and ethnically different to Indonesians, began preparing West Papua for its independence.
During this phase, the Morning Star flag was hoisted for the first time on December 1, 1961.
It was a short-lived celebration, and in 1963 West Papua was absorbed into Indonesia, and the new nation was never realised. And so, a movement was born.
Ray Andrews-Paul is an indigenous Papuan artist born in PNG who moved to Australia two years ago.
From an early age his inquisitiveness led him to question why his people, the Melanesian inhabitants of the island of New Guinea, were separated by a border, and why Papuans living on the western side could not enjoy the same freedoms as those on the east.
This is what sparked his passion for West Papua's self-determination struggle, and it is now fuelled by what he and others say is the ongoing suffering of fellow Papuans still living in the Indonesian province.
"[The flag] represents new beginnings, the birth of a new nation," Mr Andrews-Paul said.
He now fights for independence through demonstrations, media activism and staying in touch with West Papuans so he can broadcast their views.
'Genocide, ecocide, ethnocide'
In the first few years under colonial rule, thousands of Papuans were killed in clashes with the Indonesian military as the resistance against Indonesian occupation swelled.
A plebiscite overseen by the United Nations was organised in 1969, in which Papuans could vote on whether they wanted to remain part of Indonesia or become independent.
This was known as the "Act of Free Choice", but it was later dubbed the "Fake Vote" and "Act of No Choice" by Papuans.
"Only a handful of Papuans were chosen at gunpoint and forced to vote against becoming an independent nation," Mr Andrews-Paul said.
The ULMWP also shares this view, saying the Indonesian military threatened to kill the handpicked Papuan representatives if they voted the wrong way.
The verdict was unanimous, and approved by the UN — West Papua would remain part of Indonesia.
The Free West Papua campaign alleges more than 500,000 Melanesians have been killed by the Indonesian military to date amid the ongoing battle over the land.
It's grown increasingly deadly since 2018 as armed West Papuan separatists confront Indonesian security forces.
In August last year protests by West Papuans quickly turned violent when demonstrators and Indonesian security clashed and militia groups joined the fight.
West Papuan civil resistance leader Victor Yeimo lives between West Papua and PNG and has previously been imprisoned for his activism around West Papua's freedom movement.
"Genocide, ecocide, ethnocide is still going on, very, very seriously today in West Papua," he said, referencing claims Indonesia has repeatedly denied.
Mr Yeimo alleges that as recently as November 20 this year, in Papua's Ilaga district, two 17-year-old students were shot — one fatally — by Indonesian forces.
"Two young men [came] back home to celebrate Christmas then Brigade Mobile [the special operations unit of Indonesian National Police] stopped them and they shot them," he said.
One died and the other escaped "with three bullets in his body".
Indonesian authorities have rejected this claim and instead allege the shootings were carried out by "an armed separatist group".
Mr Yeimo insists this isn't an isolated incident, and says even those West Papuans who at times seem to be living a normal life in Indonesia are yearning for freedom.
"They are living in Indonesia, so they need to walk with Indonesia to get a life ... but in their spirit they are fighting for independence," he said.
Indonesia has repeatedly denied any human rights abuses in West Papua.
When asked if it admitted to ever violating the human rights of Melanesians in West Papua, the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra told the ABC: "Indonesia is committed in its obligation to protect all its citizens, including those in Papua and West Papua.
"Any allegation of human rights violations will be investigated, and the perpetrator will be held responsible for the crime according to the prevailing laws."
To these denials, Raki Ap, the leader of the Free West Papua campaign in the Netherlands, has a simple response to Indonesia: allow foreign media to freely enter.
"If you have nothing to hide, open up West Papua," he said.
A 2020 Amnesty International report found foreign journalists faced restrictions and harassment while reporting in Papua, creating conditions for a secret war to be waged.
The Indonesian embassy rejected this, stating that since 2015 media were allowed to visit Papua as freely as any part of Indonesia.
A new government is announced
Today's announcement by the ULMWP of a "provisional government" in West Papua will ratchet up the tension with Indonesia.
The ULMWP is a coalition of various political factions that have all strived for independence over the years.
The unity on this move in notable in itself, and is a dramatic escalation in the aspirations of the cause.
It has previously announced a provisional constitution that outlined how it wanted to govern itself.
The ULMWP says its new "government-in-waiting" first wants to hold a referendum on independence.
If that is passed, it says it will use that legitimacy to take control of the territory and organise democratic elections.
Its interim president will be a man named Benny Wenda, a West Papuan political activist who is living in exile in the United Kingdom.
"This provisional government is declaring the Indonesian state's presence in West Papua illegal," Mr Wenda said in a statement.
"We reject any law, any imposition by Jakarta, and we will not comply.
"We have our own constitution, our own laws, and our own government now. It is time for the Indonesian state to leave."
It comes as Indonesia looks to extend the Special Autonomy law this year.
This law was enacted by the Indonesian government in 2001.
It was designed to grant "special authority" to the Papuan province "to regulate and manage the interests of the local people".
But Papuan activists fighting for independence say only a referendum can give West Papua the solution it needs.
Mr Andrews-Paul welcomed the announcement by ULMWP, saying it was "extremely significant".
"[It's] a historic moment that is a turning point for my people and their fight for their rightfully deserved nation," he said.
"I am speechless. Benny Wenda's letter is so powerful I am in tears. We have the strength and power needed to govern ourselves and we are so close now.
"I worry for all Papuans celebrating their independence day, especially because of the violence they might suffer from embracing the provisional government.
"But there is nothing that will stop my people from expressing their pride and passion for being Papuan and exercising their will to establish official independence."
Indonesia won't give it up easily
Each year, the battle for independence has become increasingly urgent for Papuans because of climate change and deforestation.
Like many parts of the world, West Papua's landscapes are being turned over for development projects.
Mr Andrews-Paul said in many cases, indigenous people were "tricked" into handing over their land by promises that went unfulfilled.
"Indonesia has been exploiting our natural resources and killing us by the thousands, even though us indigenous people know how to protect the earth," he said.
"New Guinea is home to the third largest rainforest on earth, bridging West Papua and PNG, but it is being attacked."
The province of Papua also boasts the largest gold mine in the world, but its people remain among the poorest in Indonesia.
"This is why West Papuans are fighting for the right to self-determination. We just want our island back," Mr Andrews-Paul said.
A spokesperson for the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Teuku Faizasyah, dismissed the legitimacy of Mr Wenda and the ULMWP's move to form a provisional government.
"Under what pretext [does] somebody by the name of Benny Wenda make a self-proclaimed status as representative of the Indonesian people of Papua?" he told the ABC.
"The return of Papua to Indonesia as the successor state of the Netherland East Indies; a colony stretching from the west in Aceh to the east in Papua; is final.
"The process of the transfer or the return of Papua from the Netherlands to Indonesia was supervised by the UN, including through the adoption of a UN resolution."
For now, activists are hoping a global flag-raising event of the Morning Star today will bring international attention to the cause that has reached a tipping point.
"It's a big risk if you want to celebrate," Raki Ap said.
"But because of the momentum globally, a lot of West Papuans find the courage ... because the sentiment is so deep in every Indigenous West Papuan.
"The desire for freedom is everywhere."
Source
West Papua independence leaders declare 'government-in-waiting'
Province’s breakaway movement nominates exiled leader as interim president as conflict-ridden Indonesian region marks independence day
West Papuan leaders have declared a provisional “government-in-waiting” of the contested Indonesian province, as the United Nations said it was “disturbed by escalating violence” there, including the killing of a child allegedly by security forces.
The province marks independence day on 1 December, the anniversary of West Papua’s declaration of independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961 and the raising of its now-banned Morning Star flag.
The Indonesian military took control of the province in 1962, and it has been subject to a fierce separatist struggle ever since.
The independence movement, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), has laid out a new constitution and nominated exiled leader Benny Wenda as its interim president.
“Today, we honour and recognise all our forefathers who fought and died for us by finally establishing a united government-in-waiting,” said Wenda, who is based in the UK.
“Embodying the spirit of the people of West Papua, we are ready to run our country.
“As laid out in our provisional constitution, a future Republic of West Papua will be the world’s first green state, and a beacon of human rights – the opposite of decades of bloody Indonesian colonisation. Today, we take another step towards our dream of a free, independent and liberated West Papua.”
Ahead of 1 December, often a date of significant unrest and violence, the spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, Ravina Shamdasani, said: “We are disturbed by escalating violence over the past weeks and months in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua and the increased risk of renewed tension and violence.”
Shamdasani said in one incident on 22 November, a 17-year-old was shot dead and another teenager injured in an alleged police shootout. The boy’s body was found at the Limbaga mountain in Gome district of West Papua.
She also cited the killing of church pastor Yeremia Zanambani, whose body was found near his Hitadipa district home riddled with bullets and stab wounds. Zanambani “may have been killed by members of the security forces”, Shamdasani said.
“Earlier, in September and October 2020 there was a disturbing series of killings of at least six individuals, including activists and church workers, as well as non-indigenous residents. At least two members of the security forces were also killed in clashes.”
Thirty-six demonstrators were arrested in Manokwari and Sorong in pro-independence protests at the weekend.
Indonesian-controlled Papua and West Papua form the western half of the island of New Guinea.
The people indigenous to the provinces are Melanesian, ethnically distinct from the rest of Indonesia and more closely linked to the people of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia.
The Dutch colony of Papua until 1961, the region was militarily annexed by Indonesia in 1962, and formally incorporated into the Indonesian republic following a UN-backed 1969 referendum called the Act of Free Choice. But the vote was widely condemned as fraudulent, with just over 1,000 selected Papuans forced, some threatened with violence, to vote in support of Indonesian rule.
Indonesia regards Papua and West Papua as integral and indivisible parts of the Indonesian state, and has consistently said it is working to develop the region.
Papua and West Papua are rich in natural resources – Papua’s Grasberg is one of the world’s largest gold mines – but are among the least developed provinces in Indonesia, with endemic poverty and high levels of childhood malnutrition.
Jakarta is currently trying to extend the “special autonomy” provisions that were first introduced to West Papua in 2001, ostensibly to give Papuans a greater share of revenue from their rich natural resources and greater political autonomy. Those provisions are set to expire at the end of the year.
Pro-independence protesters say the special autonomy law is being used to repress Papua’s independence movement, and are demanding a referendum on secession from Indonesia.
We'll see what this means, but the situation is steadily escalating and they enjoy some fairly broad support domestically despite the continued betrayal of the majority of the globe. The ongoing ethnic cleansing and colonial dispossession of the Papuan people by Indonesian forces must be brought to an end - but it will require armed struggle, and piece by piece, the movements are establishing themselves to be able to take up that struggle more effectively.
