West Papua: 61 Years of Betrayal

Filep Karma, West Papuan campaigner (1959-2022)

West Papua: 61 Years of Betrayal

Six months before his death, West Papuan leader Filep Karma made it clear: the tragedy of West Papua is not just Indonesia’s fault. The United States, the Netherlands, and the United Nations are also guilty. Those who call Papua an internal affair, he said, simply ignore history.

West Papua's independence was stolen. The perpetrators must be held accountable. For 61 years, Papua has bled under occupation. As Markus Haluk of the ULMWP said, Papua is like a mother screaming while her bones are drained by a vampire.

Indonesia acts like a thief shouting thief. In the name of "sovereignty," it silences Papuan resistance and protects foreign corporate interests. The real motive: profits secured by military force. Meanwhile, those who plunder the land label the defenders of it as enemies.

America, loud in its calls for justice abroad, remains silent on Papua. Its hands are stained by Freeport’s gold. It witnessed the killing of indigenous Papuans and still honors Suharto, the architect of mass killings, as a Cold War hero.

The Netherlands, colonial coward, fled the scene. After promising Papuans independence, it bowed to American pressure and abandoned them. Unlike Japan, which kept its word to Indonesia, the Dutch betrayed the Papuans to avoid a war.

Filep Karma's voice may be gone, but his truth remains. West Papua must take its case to the UN, and the world must stop pretending this is a domestic matter. 

Justice delayed is justice denied, and for West Papua, it feels like a perpetual betrayal.