"West Papua conflict"

Outline

Introduction

Discussion

Global economic is the issue in West Papua conflict.

Where does justice lies in this global economy era?

West Papua conflict is under capitalist global war

Conclusion

Introduction

West Papua is one of the least known regions that falls within the boundaries of Asia. Papuans are the indigenous inhabitants of the huge island of New Guinea; located 300 miles north of Australia, whose traditions date back 9,000 years (Blair, p230). The eastern half of the island consists of the independent nation of Papua New Guinea, while the western half of the island consists of the easternmost province of Indonesia, West Papua. Papuans often describe themselves using racial categories the most common distinction they make between themselves and the Austronesia's (e.g., Indonesians) is that Papuans have "black skin and kinky hair" and Indonesians have "light-colored skin and straight hair". Western Christian missionaries, beginning with the Dutch in the mid- 19th century, later followed by the Australians, Canadians, and Europeans, were the first to establish permanent residences in both coastal and highland regions of West Papua. Today the overwhelming majority of Papuans self-ascribe as Christians, most being pre-literate (Blair, p230).

In the early 17th century the Netherlands colonized the vast archipelago of the East Indies, calling the region the Dutch East Indies. The Netherlands also colonized the western half of the large island of New Guinea, calling it Netherlands New Guinea. More than 300 years later, on August 17, 1945, the Republic of Indonesia, consisting of the decolonized islands of the Dutch East Indies, was born in the wake of a triumphant nationalist movement inspired by the charismatic leadership of Sukarno. Meanwhile, in Netherlands New Guinea, Dutch colonial officials stepped up their program to train Papuans to fill a variety of leadership positions in the local government in anticipation for a politically independent West Papua. Despite the fact that West Papua was never part of the original land transfer from the Netherlands to the Republic of Indonesia, after fifteen years of Indonesian independence from the Netherlands, President Sukarno launched Trikora Campaign, sending military paratroopers to West Papua in an effort to incorporate the region into the Republic of Indonesia (Rutherford, p183).

Following intense political rankling among Indonesia, the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Nations, without consulting Papuans themselves, the United Nations demanded a vote, called the "Act of Free Choice" (1969), to determine the will of the Papuans regarding political independence or integration into the Republic of Indonesia. In preparation for the vote, the Indonesian military chose 1,024 Papuans to represent roughly one million Papuans throughout the region. Surprisingly, the vote was unanimous in favor of incorporation. As it turned out, though, the vote was a sham, the United Nations representative, Dr. Ortiz-Sans, was absent to monitor the process and voters were given free goods, such as cigarettes and food, coercing Papuans to vote for integration (Suter, p18).

European and Asian newspapers vilified the illegitimate process, portraying in cartoon strips Indonesian soldiers threatening Papuan voters with guns pointed to their ...