Papua: A Nation Betrayed, A Wound That Festers

Papua: A Nation Betrayed, A Wound That Festers

Theys Hiyo Eluay, a revered Papuan leader and freedom fighter, once declared that if Nazi Germany had ruled West Papua, it might have treated Papuans more humanely than the Indonesian regime. In his reflections, Theys also noted that during a century of Dutch colonial rule in West Papua, not once did a Papuan fall victim to public extrajudicial killings by security forces. Even the Japanese occupation during World War II, harsh as it was, did not perpetrate the kinds of systematic massacres that have marked Indonesian control since 1963.

More than two decades after Theys' assassination in 2001, the situation in Papua remains dire. Arbitrary arrests, mutilations, and extrajudicial killings persist with impunity. When perpetrators are brought to trial, they are often low-ranking soldiers receiving symbolic or lenient sentences. Meanwhile, Papuans who speak out against these injustices face criminalization.

Victor Yeimo, spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was among those punished not for violence, but for naming the violence: he accused the Indonesian state of systemic racism against Papuans. For this, he was charged with treason. “We are the ones being insulted,” he said, “but we are also the ones who are imprisoned.” In May, after already spending two years in detention, he was sentenced to eight more months in prison.

Tired of the unending racism and brutality, three youth organizations—the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP), the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP), and the Central Highlands Papuan Student Association in Indonesia (AMPTPI)—jointly issued a statement denouncing Papuanophobia, the deep-seated prejudice that has persisted for over six decades.

The root of this injustice traces back to August 15, 1962, when the Netherlands, which had recognized Papuan independence on December 1, 1961, handed West Papua over to Indonesia under U.S. pressure. This betrayal was nothing short of a political conspiracy—a theft of a nation.

It is time to expose the long-suppressed history of West Papua. As Professor Franz Magnis-Suseno once wrote, “Papua has become a rotting wound in the body of the Indonesian nation.” And yet, as Indonesia prepares to celebrate its 78th year of independence on August 17, one must ask: Can a nation truly call itself free while denying freedom to others?

Pancasila—Indonesia’s foundational principles: belief in God, humanitarianism, national unity, democracy, and social justice—rings hollow when the state’s only response to Papuan voices is terror, intimidation, and criminalization.

Until justice is done and dignity restored, Indonesia’s independence will remain incomplete—and its conscience, deeply stained.