Organizasi Papua Merdeka

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The forbidden morning star flag of West Papua

The Free Papua Movement ( OPM ; German Organization for a Free Papua ) was created in 1964 after the takeover of West Papua by Indonesia with the goal of self-determination and independence from Indonesia.

The movement has no central leadership, there is a military and a political arm. While officially they were only troublemakers, West Papua became a military area of ​​operation. The mere suspicion of being close to the OPM was enough for the immediate killing. Thousands of Papuans have fled the revenge actions of the Indonesian military to this day . At least 100,000 people were killed. The armed conflict in Papua continues to be hidden from the eyes of the international public. In contrast to the OPM, the military was able to expand its influence and is now involved in practically all economic ventures in West Papua.

history

After the Second World War , West Papua remained under Dutch administration despite the proclamation of Indonesia's independence. The Netherlands planned to prepare West Papua for independence instead of handing it over to Indonesia, which built its own legitimacy on the idea of ​​national unity "from Sabang to Merauke" , a multi-ethnic state within the borders of the Dutch East Indian colony from Aceh to West Papua .

After the first Papua Congress in 1951 expressed clear national aspirations of the Papuans and the morning star flag was officially hoisted on December 1st, the Indonesian nationalists went on the offensive. After Sukarno's Trikora speech on the "Liberation of West Irish", the Kostrad troops began to attack West Papua. Under pressure from the USA, the Netherlands agreed in the New York Agreement to surrender West Papua to Indonesia, but with the condition that a referendum , the Act of Free Choice , would vote on membership in Indonesia . The result was unanimous in favor of integration into the island kingdom and was accepted by the UN, although the strong influence of the Jakarta government on the 1,025 elected voters was known. In contrast to East Timor , which was also conquered by Indonesia after its independence from Portugal in 1975, West Papua officially belongs to Indonesia. The Papua conflict is therefore an internal state matter.

Many Papuans lost their lives after Indonesia came to power . Above all, however, through the permanent contempt and humiliation of the Papuans as second-class people, the Indonesians revealed a colonialism that the traditional population did not know during the Dutch rule. The resistance formed with the founding of the OPM by Ludwig Mandacan and Fery Awom in Manokwari on July 24, 1964. Since under the new Suharto order, any political opposition to the Indonesian central power was forbidden, supporters of independence had little choice but to take up arms to grab. The underground movement fought the occupiers with individual guerrilla actions and on July 1, 1971, proclaimed the Republic of West Papua , which Indonesia did not recognize.

In 1977 the ore pipeline of the Freeport mine was blown up. In retaliation, the military launched the Operasi Tumpas (extermination operation) in the mountains. The surrounding villages were attacked, area-bombed and napalm was used with American Bronco warplanes and helicopters armed with machine guns .

In 1984 armed units of the OPM attacked the capital Jayapura . The attack was repulsed by Indonesian special forces and used for human rights violations . Since then, the OPM has been trying to attract more attention to the armed conflict through organizations such as the United Nations or the movement of non-aligned states .

After the kidnapping of 24 foreigners in 1996, combined with the demand for the Freeport mine to be closed and for West Papua to be granted sovereignty, the existence of the OPM could no longer be officially denied.

During the brief Papuan Spring from 1999 to 2001, the political independence movement achieved more than the OPM in the previous 30 years with military violence and conflicts that received little international attention.

The poorly equipped OPM is not comparable to the GAM or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka ( Aceh Liberation Movement ). It is far inferior to the well-equipped Indonesian military, trained by the USA and trained in East Timor , and serves them above all as a pretext to strengthen its own presence in the province, which is lucrative for the military. While the military is largely unpunished, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono has since 2003 banned foreign journalists from entering West Papua.

In 2004 the independence movement of Papua managed to raise the flag of Papua in the island's capital Jayapura.

The chairman of the Baptist Church of West Papua, Reverend Sofyan Yoman Socratez, reported in summer 2006 on a false OPM, created by Indonesian security forces to convey a false picture of the OPM. While the actual OPM favor the peaceful struggle with diplomacy and lobbying, the fake OPM attacks military posts and government institutions.

Under pressure from Indonesia, Australia classified the OPM as a terrorist organization at the end of 2006 , which makes it difficult for Australians and Papuans, who work for a peaceful conflict resolution, to work in public.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.jungewelt.de/2009/07-16/026.php
  2. ^ Briefing Paper by the Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman, New Zealand, August 18, 2006 http://www.westpapua.ca/?q=en/node/449
  3. ↑ Security Cooperation Agreement signed on November 13, 2006 in Lombok - see e.g. B. Richard Chauvel, Papua and the Security Cooperation Treaty with Indonesia. http://www.nautilus.org/~rmit/forum-reports/0636a-chauvel.html