We Know Why We Are Fighting

Anyone of us can easily and normally politicise everything: law, human rights, democracy, peace, justice, and others for the sake of vested interests i.e., economic interests. And most of the interests are for the U.S.A. and Europe, while Australia serves as their loyal servant to fulfill their needs. This is the case faced by countries in the Middle East and the Balkans. The case is the same for West Papua.

Legal Basis

Political  Consideration

Anthropological

Historical Basis

Geography

Human Rights Perspectives

Democratic Basis

Environmental Consideration

1. First of all, the United Nations' Resolution 2504 (XV), 1969 has no legal basis, because the report by the UN Secretary-General and Indonesia to the UNGA were not discussed or questioned as normally. The UNGA took note the reports and issued the resolution. This resolution has no legal basis. 
2. Secondly, there has never been any law passed at the Indonesia's legislation confirming in particular that West Papua is legally annexed by Indonesia and part of Indonesia. Indonesia did so for East Timor, but this never happened for West Papua. 
3. Third, Papuans were totally excluded from involvement in the signings of the New York Agreement and Rome Agreement as well as meetings between Indonesia and the Netherlands in relation to West Papua. Legally, Papuans never made any agreements with anyone whatsoever. In other words, the dealings made between the Netherlands, Indonesia, U.S.A. and U.N. on West Papua's future totally excluded the inalienable rights of the Papuans to self-determination. They legally violated the international standards of practice on self-determination.
4. Fourth, Indonesia did not comply to or obey most of the articles in the agreements between Indonesia, the Netherlands, U.S.A. and the U.N. in  implementing the agreements mentioned above. In  other words, the legal process of Indonesia's occupation in West Papua is unlawful and undemocratic, therefore, it needs re-examining. 
5. Indonesia claims West Papua as part of Indonesia due to the Dutch Colonial Map, but there is no legal basis for this claim because: (1) During the Indonesian independence, Indonesia was legally not under the Dutch but Japan, therefore, Indonesia could  not legally make this claim; (2) In the Netherlands Constitution, West Papua was not part of the Dutch Indies, but it was a separate region with special status as a Province, similar to that of Suriname's; (3). (Back Contents Table)

Politically, West Papua is absolutely not an integral part of Indonesia since the beginning until today. West Papua is purely a re-colonised territory and people.

1. First, West Papua was not involved in the war for Indonesian independent such as those done by people from the archipelago from Acheh to Molucas. West Papua was invaded militarily in 1963 and annexed in 1969 after 24 years of Indonesia's independence.  Until today, there is no Papuan who can claim or who has been awarded as the National Hero for Indonesia's independence. Also West Papua was annexed after almost 20 years of Indonesian independence.
2. West Papua is purely a victim of the Cold-War Era when the U.S.A. was protecting the Pacific Region from the influence of communism. The OPM was successfully banned and the U.S.A. supported the obliteration of the OPM members because Indonesia told the world that OPM is a communist organisation, part of the Indonesia's Communist Party. The was the main reason why Australia was told not to say anything about the re-colonisation. Even until today, the U.S.A. still monitors Australia's position on West Papua politics. The Cold War Era is over, and now Papuans are not fighting for or against communism, we are fighting for our inalienable rights to self-determine our future.  (Back Contents Table)

Human Rights

Even before occupying West Papua, Indonesia has been using "intimidation" and "murder" as its ways to calm down the aspirations of the Papuans to be independent. Many cases indicate Indonesia's violations of human rights far before it legally stepped into the country, but we would like to tell you a number of them.

1. Indonesia initiated, planned and carried out the largest social-engineering project in human history until today, supported by the World Bank, called "TRANSMIGRATION." So many implications of this programme that cause a great pain in our hearts when we try telling them one by one. But in brief, they involved: (1) pushing away tribal people from their lands for the sake of settling the transmigrants; (2) Giving no respect and compensation to the tribal people, but they were told to get away and asking nothing for their lands. Indonesia calls this a 'no-man's land' and they did whatever they wanted on Papua Land; (3) Legally, tribal people have not been recognised as the inhabitants of the lands but the government took them and gave them to the transmigrants; (4) Transmigrants themselves suffered a lot for being transported from far away islands in Java, Bali and Lombok and trying to survive in a new land; (5) Many transmigrants suffered from diseases caused by the re-settlement but government purposefully planned this to happen; (6) Transmigrants are called 'social rubbish' of their original villages, they are dumped into new areas, and let them there. Government has nothing to do with their future, either they die, fail or successful depend on themselves. This has caused enormous cultural shocks and emotional depressions.
2. Besides violating the rights of the Papuans on our lands, we are also killed through various programmes that Indonesia calls it 'for the sake of development.' (1) Sago Plants as the staple food of the Papuans are cut off and replaced by massive rice plantation programmes under Government Development Schemes; (2) All Papuans are forced to consume rice rather than Sago or other staple foods in Papua; (3) Further research and developments of Papuan staple foods have been deliberately ignored;  (4) Other staple foods, mainly in the highlands like pigs are poisoned with various diseases, and until today there has been no investigation on what caused the deaths of thousands of pigs in the highlands. We strongly suspect Indonesia is injecting the diseases in its efforts to finally obliterate Papua as a people and as a country; (5) We, the Papuans know that destroying our foods means killing us as Papuans, this is a violation of our right to live as Papuans.
3. Family Planning Programme has been successfully implemented throughout the country, by limiting the number of children for one family by only two per family, whereas in other parts of Indonesia, this programme have not been very successful or deliberately ignored. Even though Indonesia drops in more people from outside, it also controls the birth of the Papuans. This is purely a violation of our right to live freely as human beings.
4. Development Programmes. Papuans have been pushed away in various development programmes. Many people in the government offices, in projects, in business offices, and in military have been all occupied by the Indonesians. Frankly, the term "development" in West Papua means further destruction of the environment and obliteration of the Papuans. This year, Indonesia is launching what it calls "Autonomy Package" for West Papua, but this is purely an effort to further destroy the Papuans and our land's resources.
5. The people's mobility is totally restricted. We must bring a Travel Permit to move from one village to the other and we must report to the nearest police or army post about our visit to certain villages. Even students who go back to their home-villages are not allowed to do so without Travel Permit from the Police.  Why should we bring permit to move around in our own land? Is this a violation of our right to live freely?
6. Since the declaration of Papua as Military Operation Zone (DOM), hundreds of thousands of us died already, and yet the world does not know what is actually happening deep in the jungles and in remote villages of West Papua. (1) Our girls are raped brutally, (2) There have been a continues practices of tortures , arbitrary arrests, imprisonments without trial, and massacres. These clearly indicate that Indonesia has no political will to take West Papua as an integral part of Indonesia, but merely holding it for the benefits of foreign powers to exploit the human and natural resources and finally to obliterate the people from their land. In other words, Indonesia is still practicing the colonial way of dealing with indigenous people: take away the resources, wipe out the people, and conquer their territory.  (Back Contents Table)

Anthropologically, West Papuans are not Indonesians, ethnically Papuans are totally different from the Indonesians, therefore, it fulfills the UN's pre-requisite for establishing a new country.  There is not much to say about this but as a matter of fact, Indonesians are ethically Proto-Malays and Papuans are Melanesians, we are ethnically different and therefore it is reasonable to live as two different countries.

Historically, West Papuans had no relations with Indonesians in any way. Only Tidore Sultanate had a connection to the Papuans in Raja Ampat (westernmost part of the Island near Molucas) but there is no other tie with West Papua and other Indonesian kingdoms like Majapahit, Sriwijaya, and Gadjah Mada. There is no historical link whatsoever indicating Papua as part of Indonesia.

Moreover, West Papuans were not involved in the struggles for establishing an independent Indonesia. It was annexed after almost 20 years. This clearly shows that West Papua was re-colonised by a modern colonial power, i.e., Indonesia under the modern imperialist agenda, i.e., to exploit the resources in West Papua. (Back Contents Table)

Geographically there is no connection whatsoever to claim that West Papua is previously or currently an integral part of Indonesia.

1. West Papua is in the Pacific Region, 
2. Previously, the Papua Island was connected to Australia Continent.
3. The distance between Indonesian archipelago and West Papua is reasonable to say that West Papua is not part of Indonesia.
4.  

The Issue of Democracy and West Papua Struggle for Independence

As far as Democracy is concerned West Papuans, in many occasions, had democratically indicated our wills to be independent.

1. On December 1, 1961, the representative of the Papuans declared Papua as a country and as a people will become independent by July 1970. This was not respected by the first Indonesian president Sukartno by launching his Triple Command of People, in which he first said, "Dismiss the Papua Country." 
2. On June 4, 2000, (after 30 years), the Papuans gathered again at the Papua Congress II 2000 and declared West Papua as an independent country but Indonesia once again ignored the demand.
3. Until today, Indonesia rejects to meet the Papua Presidium Council (PDP) which was democratically elected by the Papuans at the Papua Congress II 2000.
4. One of the characteristics of democracy is DIALOGUE, and Papua Congress II 2000 demanded Indonesia to begin talks and dialogues between Indonesia and the PDP but until today, Indonesia has not yet shown its will to resolve the case. Even today, February 22, 2001, the Minister of Defense announced his government's decision not to hold any kind of meeting with the leaders of independence movement in Acheh and Papua. This is obviously a violation of human rights and democratic principles.  (Back Contents Table) 

In Summary, the wish of the Papuans to be independent has been so far channel through democratic representatives and practices, but Indonesia has been ignorant and even massacres more people in West Papua until today.

Environmentally, Papuans can claim that we are the best protectors of the natural environment in West Papua and we can do our best to preserve the original natural ecosystem and ecology, ONLY when we have the right to do so. We will have the right when West Papua is independence, but it is only a daydreaming to think that we can protect the environment when Indonesia is around. 

In the future, West Papua can provide oxygen, impenetrable original forests, wild flora and fauna,  and it can become the world's open laboratory for environmental studies. TPN/OPM can guarantee you that we can do this very well and very easily after Indonesia is out from this land. 

Environmentally, only in West Papua you can see the Glaciers in Tropical Forests and never melted in any season.

1. We are the best protectors of the natural environment in West Papua because the fact says so. All resources taken out nowadays had been well-protected by tribal people of West Papua.
2. We are the best protectors because the natural environment and the land are ours;  to make use and to preserve them not only for us but also for our future generations. No environmentalists or conservationists can claim that they can do better that us, Papuans because we are the owners, we care more than anyone else.
3. Far before legally annexing West Papua into Indonesia, it had already signed various concessions and agreements for exploitations of natural resources from West Papua. Even until today, not more than 10 Javanese Generals had divided up the island into regions for themselves, for lodging, mining, and any activity they want to carry out in their region. (Back to Table of Contents)

FINALLY, WE COME TO THE CORE QUESTION

The Original Morning Star Flag firstly hoisted by Ferry Awom in Manokwari 1963, Given to PDP at Papua Congress II 2000 in Port Numbay

Papua Congress II 2000 was attended by Foreign Observers from Embassies in Jakarta , Journalists and NGOs.

Papua Congress II 2000 declared and re-claimed Papua Independence and told Indonesia to get out from Papua