The Papuan Resistance to Occupation

During the shameful 'Act of Free Choice' in 1969, anyone campaigning for a vote against Indonesia was labelled as a subversive. Papuan communities who opposed integration were bombed from the air with military equipment supplied by Western nations and subsidized in part by Canadian, American and British taxpayers.

Civil society in Papua has repeatedly called for international support to make the region a 'Land of Peace'. They ask the Indonesian army and all militia groups to lay down arms and respect human rights so conflicts can be resolved through dialogue. However, anyone promoting even peaceful alternatives to full integration with Indonesia is an immediate target for arrest, torture or assassination by security forces.

Indonesia has attempted to destabilize the region by separating its 250 distinct tribes into four provinces. Even so, the need for unified response to a foreign invasion has resulted in a widely-supported elected body called the Papua Presidium Council (PPC).

The PPC is a pacifist coalition of tribal leaders, faith-based and non-governmental organizations, currently chaired by Amungme tribal leader Tom Beanal. (Amungme lands were expropriated by the Indonesian government and U.S.-based Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.) Beanal took on the leadership role after the military abducted and assassinated his predecessor, Theys Eluay (see Special Topic: The murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay).

Prior to the PPC, and still active, is the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) which has continued low-level guerilla warfare operations since 1965. OPM members are mostly armed with traditional bows, arrows and spears, and the occasional firearm captured from Indonesian forces. Guerilla forces were, and still are rooted out in what the Indonesians call 'clean sweep' operations.

Since the 9/11 incident, Indonesia has been trying to regain military support from the U.S. by labeling the OPM as a terrorist organization. This is ironic, since the OPM has reportedly never killed nor had a policy of attacking civilians (unlike Indonesian forces). In fact, the OPM has communicated directly with the U.S., Australia and neighbouring Papua New Guinea to warn of the build-up of Islamic terrorist organizations (like Laskar Jihad) in West Papua. Furthermore, over the last ten years, the OPM has re-directed its strategies principally to non-violent tactics and human rights education.

In contrast, there is compelling evidence that Indonesian military elite have been funding, protecting and training Islamic terrorist organizations to destabilize the region and taunt the OPM. In July 2004, Edward McWilliams, a former senior US diplomat to Jakarta asserted: "If we go after the [OPM] Free Papua Movement, we are basically conspiring in a cover-up."

Papuans desperately need diplomatic aid to fend off a determined invader, and ultimately ever to see justice. They continue to plead for international support of the concept of West Papua as a 'Land of Peace', asking the international community to pressure Indonesia to pull out its troops so that a fair independence vote can be supervised by the UN.

To date, very few countries have expressed support at the UN, as there is little to gain politically. Tiny Vanuatu is the notable exception, and the Netherlands has also voiced its concern on occasion. But recently New Zealand offered itself as a venue for dialogue, and there are other encouraging signs that the world may be starting to take notice. The Jesuit brotherhood, Irish parliament, British House of Lords and Bishop Desmond Tutu all issued statements in 2004 about West Papua.

Unlike the years leading up to independence for East Timor, there are only a handful of activists outside West Papua working to support the Papuans' goal of self-determination. Solidarity groups are just now beginning to appear, gaining membership and realizing increasing synergy through online collaboration. Here in Canada, WestPAN has been working with like-minded organizations in the U.S., Ireland, Indonesia and in West Papua itself.