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WHATS HAPPENING IN PAPUA

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT PAPUA
VERSI BAHASA INDONESIA

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Constantly being updated. Last update: Fri 3 Jul 21.42 WIB

WHAT HAPPENED
TIMELINE

IMPORTANT: It has come to our attention that important events such as Operasi Koteka, Operasi Tumpas, and Operasi Sapu Bersih have not been included in this timeline. Thank you for the feedback! We are currently working on adding them in. Please keep this in mind while reading!
TRIGGER WARNING: violence, police & military brutality, death, sexual violence

1898–1998

1898
Formally colonized by the Netherlands, West Papua was known as the Dutch New Guinea.

1945
Indonesia declared its independence from Japanese occupation. The Dutch government, however, did not recognize independence.

1949
Indonesia finally became an independent nation-state, being formally acknowledged by the Dutch government. The Dutch New Guinea remained a Dutch colony despite Indonesia claiming that they are also a part of Indonesia. The Dutch government recognized that the Dutch New Guinea was geographically, culturally, and ethnically different from Indonesia, so they prepared for West Papua's independence throughout the 1950s despite Indonesian claims of the land.

1961
The people of West Papua declared independence at a Congress they held, where they raised their new flag—the Morning Star. Only a couple of weeks after Papua declared independence, the Indonesian government started invading West Papua.

1962–63
THE NEW YORK AGREEMENT: The Indonesian government sought help from the Soviet Union. The US urged the Netherlands and its allies to hand over West Papua to Indonesia. The Dutch government then ceded control of Papua territory to the UN under the New York Agreement in August. In May 1963, the UN transferred de facto authority to the Indonesian government with the provision that a referendum to determine the future political status of the territory should be held by 1969.

1963
West Papuans created OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, Free Papua Movement) to coordinate their political efforts to regain independence and freedom from Indonesia.

1967
Indonesia sold a 30-year mining license of West Papua to Freeport. The Papuans were not consulted in this decision.

1969
In July and August, Indonesian General Sarwo Edhi Wibowo implemented the 'Act of Free Choice' (also known as PEPERA) by selecting 1025 out of 800 thousand citizens of Papua to vote. This was done by saying that their villages will be destroyed unless they vote against independence. Subsequently, Papua officially became the Indonesian Province of 'Irian Jaya'. This act was later nicknamed 'Act of No Choice'.

1970
Resistance against the Indonesian occupation began with OPM's armed guerrilla, which carried out a number of attacks against the Western-backed Indonesian military and companies who had taken Papuan land and resources.

1998
In May, President Soeharto stepped down after 32 years in office.
In July, activist Filep Karma led a ceremony to raise the Morning Star flag in a small tower near the Port of Biak Island. After keeping the flag up for 4 days, joint Brimob and military forces opened fire on 200 people guarding the flag. According to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), this killed at least 40. Following this, many of the detained individuals were subjected to ill-treatment. Nineteen people were charged, tried, and sentenced under Article 106 (also known as makar or rebellion) of the Criminal Code. Karma was later released in November 2015 after over a decade in prison.