West Papua is a breathtakingly beautiful land unbelievably rich in natural resources. Less than 150 km from Australia and bordering the independent state of Papua New Guinea, West Papua has a landmass roughly half the size of New South Wales. Indonesia and West Papua were former Dutch colonies. The Republic of Indonesia was created in 1949 when it was officially granted independence after a long struggle against their former colonial masters.

Recognising that West Papua had no strong political and cultural ties with Indonesia, the Dutch retained control of the territory and, with support from Australia, began to prepare West Papua for independence. Indonesia, however, maintained its claim to all the former Dutch territory and conflict erupted. Concerned that Indonesia was seeking support from the Russians, the United States brokered an agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia. It was the cold war and the United States and other Western powers like Australia considered West Papua a price worth paying to stop Indonesia's perceived drift towards communism. West Papuans were excluded from consultations, which finally resulted in the 1962 New York Agreement. While limited, the New York Agreement did stipulate that the West Papuans political and human rights were to be upheld. Transitional authority was assumed by the United Nations who quickly passed authority over to Indonesia on the condition that there was to be an internationally acceptable act of self-determination within six years.

The 1969 act of self-determination was called the Act of Free Choice. A cursory inspection of the process soon shows why West Papuans call it the Act of No Choice. West Papuans political and human rights were fundamentally violated. 1022 West Papuan men, less than 1% of the population, were handpicked by Indonesians and under duress and outright violence were told to ‘vote’ for integration with Indonesia. Those that campaigned for independence were imprisoned, beaten, disappeared or killed. Whole villages were strafed and bombed from the air. Thousands fled into neighbouring Australian New Guinea. During the turmoil two West Papuans boarded a light aircraft to alert the United Nations General Assembly to the travesty of injustice that was taking place. When they landed on Manus Island, in what was then Australian New Guinea, Australian officials at the request of the Indonesian foreign minister at the time, arrested and jailed them. In this climate of fear, it is not surprising that 100% of those who ‘participated’ in the Act of Free Choice ‘chose’ to remain with Indonesia.

Both armed resistance by the OPM (Free Papua Movement) and unarmed resistance, mainly in the form of peaceful flag raisings started as soon as Indonesia took control of the territory on 1st May 1963. Following the fall of Suharto in 1998 widespread peaceful public expressions of the people’s aspirations culminated in the formation of a parallel parliament, the Papuan Presidium Council (PDP) with a clear mandate to pursue independence. The leadership committed itself to a path of peaceful dialogue and ‘the straightening of history. However, after the initial euphoria felt by West Papuans during this flowering of the 'Papuan Spring', in August 2000 the military acted quickly to reassert their control over the province. In November 2001 the leader of the PDP, Theys Eluay, was assassinated by Kopassus, Indonesian Special Forces.

At the same time Jakarta gave the province Special Autonomy in an effort to resolve the long-standing conflict. However, instead of implementing the legislation – one that the vast majority of West Papuans reject – Jakarta is now attempting to divide the province into three. This move not only contradicts greater self rule supposedly guaranteed under Special Autonomy but is seen by West Papuans as an attempt to undermine their identity. Many fear Special Autonomy will ultimately see a three-fold increase in the numbers of military personnel stationed in the contested territory.

Although a blanket of fear has returned to the resource rich province, West Papuans continue to creatively search for peaceful ways to resist what they almost universally describe as an occupation secured by international fraud for the purpose of exploitation. Theft by outsiders maintained by military violence. In 1999 Australians did themselves proud and stood up for the East Timorese. It’s time we did the same for the West Papuans.

Why does Indonesia want West Papu and why does Australia give its support
West Papua is a land of unbelievable wealth. It has extensive mineral deposits including nickel, gold, copper as well as oil, natural gas, valuable tropical timber and fisheries...