August 15: Commemoration of the West Papua tragedy

The whole world knows there is a war going on in Ukraine. However, the world ignores that there is a war in Indonesian Papua, and it has been going on for over sixty years!

In Indonesia itself, most people probably know more about what is happening in Donbass and Crimea than what is happening in Maybrat, Kiwirok, Intan Jaya, Nduga, Yahukimo and Puncak Papua. Just like in Ukraine, the human casualties are falling every day in Papua: since the first day of the entry of the Indonesian army, hundreds of thousands of innocent Papuans have been killed.

Today, August 15, the world commemorates the end of World War II. With the exception of Indonesian-occupied Papua, also known as West Papua, this fateful date is commemorated as the start of a long human tragedy:

On August 15, 1962, the Netherlands, former colonizers of West Papua, agreed, under pressure from the United States, to cede West Papua to Indonesia. This was done even though the Netherlands had previously recognized West Papua's independence, declared on December 1, 1961. The Papuan people, who at the time already had a parliament, were not consulted or included in this negotiation, known as the New York Agreement.

August 15 is also remembered by Papuans as the day against racism. Indeed, on the same date in 2019, a group of Papuan students in Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, were brutally attacked in their dormitory by mobs who shouted at them "Monkeys!"

On this occasion, young Papuans, members of the National Committee of West Papua (KNPB) organized a number of peaceful demonstrations. Unfortunately, as usual, the Indonesian authorities responded with excessive repression. At least twenty people were injured.

I.P.