Swindlers and Empires: A Cautionary Tale from Papua

I once asked a wise man, “What is a swindler?”

He answered without hesitation:

“A swindler is a despicable man so cunning he convinces the very people he robs to worship him as a savior.”

Hitler and the Cult of Collapse

History is not short of such men.

In the last century, Germany handed itself over to one—Adolf Hitler. He rose from a failed artist to absolute power by exploiting national humiliation, economic despair, and ethnic hatred. With fiery speeches and iron will, he promised a tausendjähriges Reich—a thousand-year empire of glory.

The people cheered. He gave them highways, jobs, tanks, and the illusion of purpose.

But what did it all lead to? In just twelve years, Germany lay in ashes. Cities bombed flat, millions dead, and a moral stain that the country still wrestles with.

Today, few dare to defend Hitler without scorn—but in 1936, he was their savior.

This is the swindler’s genius: sell hell wrapped in gold.

Prabowo and the Mirage of "Golden Indonesia"

Fast forward to the present, and the spectacle repeats—albeit in different clothes.

In Indonesia, a former general—Prabowo Subianto—rises once more. A man shadowed by credible allegations of war crimes in East Timor and Papua, now dressed in civilian garb, preaching national glory and “Golden Indonesia.”

He doesn’t build autobahns or promise Aryan purity. Instead, he waves the flag of populism with a free lunch program—literally, nasi bungkus for the masses. In exchange, he asks for loyalty, obedience, silence.

He speaks of economic growth, national unity, military strength.

But beneath the slogans, something rots. In Papua—the easternmost province still under Indonesia’s boot—his message is clear: no dialogue, no justice, no understanding. Only more soldiers, more bullets, more excuses.

He blames “foreign interference,” as all authoritarians do, while his own military plans an escalation of violence under the guise of “stability.”

Papua: The Colony That Won’t Bow

But Papuans are not fools.

They’ve heard this tune before—from Soeharto, from SBY, from Jokowi, and now from Prabowo. The melody changes, but the lyrics remain: security, unity, progress—all enforced with guns.

If Indonesia sees Papua as its promised land, rich in gold, gas, forests, and geostrategic leverage, Papua does not see Indonesia as its future.

Except for the well-fed elites and Jakarta’s proxies, Papuans know that “Golden Indonesia” is a golden cage.

An anonymous Papuan activist recently declared in a whisper that roared louder than any general's speech:

“Enough is enough. When we were colonized by the Dutch, we never begged for bread. With Indonesia, we never asked for rice, let alone a free lunch from Jakarta. For six decades, Indonesia has only made Papuans poorer, more miserable, and more alienated. If Indonesia wants prosperity in Papua, it must first return what it stole: our right to self-determination. Stop deceiving us with your sweet promises. We are not children. We are not yours.”

A Nation Built on Broken Promises

The irony is unbearable. On August 17, Indonesia celebrates independence from Dutch colonialism.

And yet, it sustains a colonial system in Papua. It denounces foreign imperialism, while practicing it at home. It feeds corruptors and pardons terrorists, but cages Papuan students for waving a flag.

Indonesia claims to be the fourth-largest democracy in the world.

But no true democracy demands loyalty at gunpoint.

No true democracy criminalizes dissent and labels indigenous resistance as terrorism.

No true democracy builds its future on the silence of a conquered people.

If Prabowo is the future, then Indonesia is not walking toward glory, but sleepwalking toward authoritarianism—wrapped in a flag, fed on free lunches, and driven by the delusion that oppression can last forever.

Papua will remember.

The world is watching.

And history has never been kind to swindlers.