Indonesian and Papuan nationalism: what's the difference?

On December 19, 1961, Sukarno declared war on West Papua

Indonesia's first president Sukarno (1945-1967) considered that the West Papuan state declared on December 1, 1961 was a puppet of the Dutch and therefore had to be overthrown. This view continues to be perpetuated in Indonesian school manuals as justification for the annexation of West Papua into the Republic of Indonesia. 

For me, this is more than a historical fraud: it is an insult to indigenous Papuans! This evil narrative is constructed as if in the 1960s, Papuans were still backward and could only parrot their Dutch colonial masters. In fact, West Papua's independence was the result of the nonviolent struggle of Papuan nationalists in the 1950s. Among them were high-level academics: those who studied at Harvard and Leiden. 

Indonesian and Papuan nationalism are two different things : Just as Indonesians see West Papua's independence as a gift from the Dutch colonial government, Papuans also see Indonesia's independence as a legacy from the Japanese fascist regime that occupied Indonesia during World War II. History shows that the foundations of the Indonesian state were formulated by Japanese sponsored organizations. The text of Indonesia's independence proclamation on August 17, 1945 was drafted at the residence of a Dai Nippon naval officer Tadashi Maeda. A man in Japanese military uniform standing behind Sukarno is clearly visible in the photo of the Indonesian proclamation of independence. In some photos, this man is intentionally obscured because it is too embarrassing. 

Proclamation of Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945

Unlike West Papua's independence from the Netherlands achieved without bloodshed, Indonesia's independence from Japan was paid for with the blood and tears of many innocent civilians. 

In order to achieve independence, 

Sukarno did not hesitate to support the Japanese military's campaign to recruit tens of thousands of forced laborers and sex slaves through the lure of education. Sukarno himself admitted this embarrassing fact in an autobiographical book written by American journalist Cindy Adams.

Indeed, it cannot be denied that the legacy of Japanese facism still lingers to this day in the habits of Indonesia's legal apparatus. For the sake of national unity, the Indonesian regime allows human rights violations. The Indonesian police and military are feared for their ruthlessness. They are known to be corrupt, act in accordance with the interests of the ruler and frequently use terror to silence the opposition. To this day, in Indonesian-occupied West Papua, torture of detainees, sexual harassment by law enforcement members still occur under impunity.

The question is, do Indonesians have the courage to see the flaws of their state? Or do they still insist on seeing it through the lens of superficial nationalism? How long can they tolerate this culture of violence? One thing is certain: as long as Papuans exist, efforts to reclaim West Papua's independence will never cease!