On December 1, 2022, the West Papuan community in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, gathered to celebrate a day that many West Papuans considered their “Independence Day.“ Unfortunately, the PNG police swept in and prevented them from celebrating. This is disturbing because PNG police are doing what the Indonesian government had been doing to West Papuan since taking over in 1969. And it is apparent that they were doing this at the behest of the Indonesian government.
December 1
The West Papuan people regarded this day as a special day in their history. After Indonesia became an independent country, the Netherlands administration, after failing to retain Indonesia as its colony, retained West Papua. The Dutch government argued that West Papuans had the right to have their own independent country, citing the differences between Indonesia and West Papua: They are linguistically and ethnically different. To show their support for an independent West Papuan, on December 1, 1961, the Dutch administration hoisted the Netherlands’ national flag alongside West Papuan ‘Morning Star’ flag. This move infuriated Indonesia, which responded by attempting to take over West Papua by military force. They were defeated, however, defeated by a determined Dutch military and their indigenous West Papuan partners.
In 1969 the Indonesian government took over West Papua with the help of the democratic world – Britain, US, Australia, and the Netherlands, using a controversial agreement they signed that no West Papuans signed or even read.
53 years on, West Papua are still under the oppressive colonial government of Indonesia. They have been under the shackles of a new colonial government – the Republic of Indonesia for far too long. But even if five decades had passed since the West Papuans were betrayed by the UN and the democratic world, they never forgot that day,
PNG doing dirty work for Indonesia
A West Papuan leader by the name of Mr. Frank Makanuey called out the PNG government for violating the very freedom PNG stands for and the United Nations Charter. As quoted by EMTV, Mr. Makanuey said, “This is an ongoing campaign and ongoing struggle and it is not just a struggle, it is a legal right under the United Nations article that the indigenous people of West Papua or any people around the world must have the rights to serve with determination.” He urged the PNG government to allow them to celebrate or protest, which are among the defined human rights of all free nations.
We urge the PNG government to honor and respect West Papuans who have been living in West Papua all their lives. They are PNG citizens too, and should not be treated differently. And it is important that the PNG government allows them to celebrate their Independence Day, and not to bow to Indonesian pressure. To assist the Indonesian government of violating even the citizens of PNG because of their heritage or their ethnic connection to West Papua, is absolutely wrong. It puts PNG in the column of human rights violators! This is something the PNG government shouldn’t be associated with. PNG is an independent and a democratic country, and it as a democratic country, its citizens must be allowed to exercise their rights to gather and to celebrate!
Again, we call on the PNG government to please respect the rights of West Papuans who are PNG citizens themselves, living in PNG. They should be afforded the freedom they sought when they escaped West Papua in the hope of living in freedom.
Thank you.