Exposing neocolonialism in West Papua

"Natives and dogs are forbidden to enter."

Throughout history, colonialism has been built on racism. During the Dutch East Indies era, indigenous Indonesians were often identified with animals and equated with dogs: in certain places, there were signs prohibiting entry of natives and dogs. 

Today, this form of racism no longer exists. However, colonialism has not disappeared. In fact, it has only changed form. It used to be obvious, as it was generally perpetrated by white people against people of color. Today's colonialism or what is commonly called neo-colonialism is sometimes difficult to recognize because it has many masks. What makes it even more cruel is that neo-colonialism is carried out by the nation that was once colonized with the sweet jargon of anti-colonialism.

The case of West Papua is the most obvious example. West Papua was invaded by Indonesia in the early 1960s under the pretext of expelling Dutch colonialists. Ironically, this colonization process was facilitated by the United Nations (UN) through a parody of a referendum commonly called the 'Act of Free Choice'. On August 2, 1969, 1,025 Papuans designated as representatives of West Papua were detained at gunpoint and forced to choose Indonesian rule over sovereign independence.

The UN claims that there are only 17 non-self-governing territories in the world. However, the UN classification excludes West Papua, on the grounds that the problem was solved in 1969. Despite public support for decolonization, the UN has done nothing for West Papua. It is alleged that around 500,000 Papuans were massacred by the Indonesian military, yet no action has been taken to hold Indonesia accountable for crimes against humanity in West Papua. This is in light of the role of the Indonesian army in protecting multinational interests that exploit West Papua's abundant natural resources.

Since over than sixty years, a war has raged in West Papua, between the Indonesian Army and independent Papuan combatants. It is one of the longest-running conflicts in modern times. But there has been no serious attention from the mainstream media. Unlike the conflict in Ukraine, which has received international attention since 2014. Sadly, some west papuans and indonesians who try to expose these crimes to the international community are criminalized. Most of them were forced to live in exile, like Benny Wenda and Veronica Koman. 

Papuans who protest about being the target of racism are jailed, while the perpetrators are almost never prosecuted. Perpetrators of racism are increasingly immune and on the rise in Indonesia. This is especially evident on social media. Last May, Victor Yeimo, one of the most vocal activists against Indonesia's systemic racism was sentenced to 8 months in prison for treason, after being detained for 2 years. The same happened to Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti, Indonesian human rights defenders who were accused of defamation for uncovering reports about the alleged involvement of several military figures in Papua's mining industry. Haris and Fatia face up to six years in prison if found guilty.

Edward Snowden once said, "When exposing a crime is treated as comitting a crime, you are being ruled by criminals." Indeed, the longstanding neglect of crime and injustice in West Papua shows how corrupt our political and economic elites are. Massive awareness-building at the grassroots level is needed to fight the tyranny of global capitalism and neo-colonialism. History shows that tyranny never last forever.

I.P.