Andy and Ian broadcast a show about West Papuan Independence struggle.
Papua Merdeka – a short history
In 1985 I met a man from the small island of Biak off the north coast of West Papua. Mathew Mayer had been conscripted into the Indonesian Army and taught how to shoot a gun and learned some tradesmen skills in repairing helicopter gearboxes. When he returned home Mathew joined Organasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) to fight against Indonesian occupation of his country.
In 1961 the West Papuan’s had declared independence from colonialist Dutch when they raised the Morning Star flag over their country. The Dutch government recognised this act of self-determination but the United Nations placed West Papua under a trusteeship of the Indonesians who themselves, some years before in 1947, had won their own independence struggle from the Dutch.
Similar independence struggles were going on in the region. Independence from German controlled northern New Guinea was declared after the second world war. The British gave up the lower part of New Guinea and Australia became trustee until independence was declared in 1972 with Michael Somare becoming the first Prime Minister of New Guinea.
Not so with West Papua. In 1969 the Indonesians conducted a fraudulent plebiscite – a so called 'act of free choice' when they forced the West Papuans to sign ocer their country to the Javanese in Jakarta. Fortunately, Australian journalist and author of ‘Over the top with Jim’ was present to report the fraud:
In 1969 Hugh Lunn was Reuters correspondent in Jakarta when Indonesia took over the western half of New Guinea and its 800,000 Papuan inhabitants. Only Hugh and Dutch journalist Otto Kuyk were there to tell the world—by morse code—that the UN ‘Act of Free Choice’ was a rort.
Now over 60 years later, the West Papuan struggle is not even on the international agenda of the United Nations. Regional powers, Australia and Indonesia, have muted their struggle preferring to allow transnational companies to exploit the minerals in this highly mountainous country. Indonesian military Kopassi has supressed the growing struggle. Changes of government to President Jakowi has made no difference.
Meanwhile the East Timorese have won independence from Portugal and Indonesia.
NEW LEADERSHIP
Now there is a new chapter in the struggle where Melanesian support form Vanuatu and Kanaky. New leaders have emerged, people like Benny Wenda, Ronny Kareni and others have united the struggle and taken a political stance to gain recognition in the United Nations in Geneva. Two swimmers recently swam across Lake Geneva to present a petition to the United Nations to highlight their concerns. MORE at https://pshift4zzz.wordpress.com/2017/12/02/papua-merdeka/
