CORRECTING HISTORY : DECEMBER 1, 1969 WAS NOT WEST PAPUA INDEPENDENCE DAY

West Papua. Some small groups of West Papuan still can not move on from the history and keep campaigning that West Papua has gained its independence from Dutch on December 1, 1969. They claim that Dutch Government has given the independence for West Papua (New Guinea), so they make campaign both domestically in Papua and internationally about the “independence day”. This campaign is incorrect and even manipulative.

Groups that want to break away and separate from Indonesia keep maintaining this “history” for their sake and massively sell their false and wrong history for their own interest.

What really happened on December 1, 1961 was that the Dutch that then occupied the West Papua Territory, forming the Council of New Guinea on February 1961, and the inauguration ceremony was held on December 1, 1961. The formation of the Council was a stratagem of the Dutch Government to the West Papuan people, and certainly not granting the Independence for them, as for almost 350 years the Dutch occupied the entire territory of Indonesia, there was never the slightest desire of Dutch to grant Independence to Indonesia. Even as the Indonesian Government proclaimed Independence on August 17, 1945, the Dutch again tried to come into Indonesia by riding the Allies troops.

Back to West Papua (New Guinea) on December 1, 1969, when the New Guinea Council officially raised the Morning Star Flag at the inauguration ceremony, the Dutch authorities did not accept the denomination of the flag, but just recognized it as a territorial flag (landsvlag), not a national flag. And when the Morning Star Flag was officially raised for the first time outside the Council’s Building, it was raised together with the Dutch flag. Again, it showed that there was not intention from Dutch authorities to acknowledge the Independent West Papua.

Actually, based on the principle of International Law, Uti Possidetis Juris, West Papua should have been with Indonesia earlier, when the Indonesian founding fathers proclaimed the independence of Indonesia. Uti Possidetis Juris principle is used to determine the newly born state territory borders, state that just gains independence, that the territory of the state will inherit all the colonized area from the imperialist. In Indonesian context, automatically the territory of Indonesia should cover up all the territory occupied and colonized by Dutch East Indies, including West Papua, when Soekarno and Hatta proclaimed Indonesian Independence on August 17, 1945.

Unfortunately, the Dutch Authority, not willing to lose all of its occupied territory, didn’t agree to hand over every area to Indonesia, and created maneuvers to hold on one part of Indonesia, namely West Papua. One of maneuvers taken by Dutch Authority was to form New Guinea Council and inaugurated it on December 1, 1961 with the raising of Morning Star Flag. However, it didn’t mean that the Dutch Government has granted independence to West Papuan people, and indeed it didn’t mean that West Papua automatically became an independent entity of state. There are some requirements for an entity to be a state both De Facto and De Jure, and some of them are recognition from other countries, including the United Nations. And it should be underlined that there was no Proclamation of Independence of West Papua on December 1, 1969, and there was no constitution either. So factually, the Independent State of West Papua or Independent State consisting of territory of West Papua is never exist from the beginning. On the contrary, the Act of Free Choice (Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat/Pepera) of 1969 was a legally recognized event by international community and the United Nations, as an irrefutable legal fact that Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) was part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia), and reflected the wish of the West Papuan People to join with their brothers and sisters from hundreds of tribes all over the archipelago to merge into a large entity named Indonesia.

Many main figures of West Papuan struggle for independence, one of them Nicolaas Jouwe, at last realized that their struggle for independence was wrong and event hurt West Papuans. Nicolaas Jouwe that went to Netherland and kept campaigning about the right of West Papua for self determination, on 2010 came back to Indonesia after visiting West Papua and obersving with his own very eyes about the development in West Papua and the conducive situation in his motherland. Nicolaas Jouwe was the main figure of West Papua Independence Movement. He was the Vice President of New Guinea Council, while the President of New Guinea Council was Frits Sollewijn Gelpke, a Dutch civil servant. Nicolaas Jouwe was the only indigenous West Papuan with highest rank when Papua was still under Dutch colonization, and Nicolaas Jouwe was the designer of Morning Star Flag.

Other main figures of West Papuan separatist movement also came back to Indonesia to support the Indonesian Government to develop Papua. Nick Messet, Franz Albert Joku, John Norotow and many other names are now joining with Indonesian Government to bring hope for Indigenous Papuans. They considered that the only option to develop Papua and give welfare to the Papuans is by participating in the development program of the Government of Indonesia.

Although there are abundance of historical facts written and even recorded in international documents, but the small groups of West Papuan keep stubbornly negating the ubiquitous data and spreading their own bogus information. To achieve their goal (precisely for their own interest), they provoke other group to use arms and terrorize Indonesian security apparatus and also to their fellow West Papuans. The recent incidents was the armed West Papuan Separatis group took hostage of 1300 people in Banti and Kimbely Village in Tembagapura, and the continuous shooting from the group to Indonesian Police and army officers. The hostages were not only non-Papuans, but also their fellow indigenous Papuans. Further, the armed group made film showing their cruelty, in which they kicked and beat their Papuan fellow.

When the Indonesian Government take firm and forceful action, the oversea wing of the separatist group, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) with their figure such as Benny Wenda, Octovianus Motte and Andy Ayamiseba, they will whine and cry, and ask for international support as if Indonesian Government conducting human right violation to their rebellious friends.

The savage and criminal action of the separatist group didn’t gain any sympathy even from fellow Papuans, as their actions made the situation unfavorable and people felt threatened and uncomfortable in their daily activities. The armed faction of the separatist group, National Liberation Army of Free West Papua Organization (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Organisasi Papua Merdeka/TNP OPM) is not a hero who defends oppressed small people, because the TPN OPM tends to become a criminal organization that becomes trouble maker for the people. Countless OPN operations that commit robberies, murder, rape and other crimes committed not only to security forces, non-Papuans, but also to indigenous Papuans.

The Papuan people on various occasions continue to denounce the actions of the TPN OPM, ULMWP as well as figures such as Benny Wenda and his friends, as they are a disturbance of security in their own territory, and Benny Wenda and his friends are considered selling their Papuan brothers to the international community by spreading false information about what really happened in Papua. Even in banners placed in the province of Papua, it is clearly written that Benny Wenda is a fraud, a liar who sells his brothers for his own sake.

Some Papuan top figures also strongly ask Benny Wenda and other separatist supporters to stop their actions because the actions malign the people of Papua who are comfortable joining with Indonesia. Even for Benny Wenda, they call him Benny Wenda the Liar.