West Papua and Kanaky: towards an independent Melanesia!

Today, the Eyes of the World Turn to New Caledonia:

For over a week, Nouméa — the capital of New Caledonia, France’s last remaining colony in the South Pacific — has been engulfed in flames.

The uprising has been sparked by a controversial constitutional reform proposed by the French government, one that would significantly marginalize the political voice of the indigenous Melanesian people, commonly known as the Kanaks. This legal maneuver threatens to dilute Kanak representation by allowing tens of thousands of recent settlers to vote in local elections — a move widely seen as a demographic strategy to suppress pro-independence aspirations.

On May 15, in response to the unrest, French President Emmanuel Macron declared a State of Emergency and deployed military reinforcements. What we are witnessing is not merely civil disorder — it is the eruption of a long-simmering colonial conflict. New Caledonia stands at the precipice of civil war.

But what of West Papua?

Just 3,000 kilometers northwest of New Caledonia, another Melanesian people — the Papuans of West Papua — have been resisting colonial domination for over six decades. Unlike the crisis in Nouméa, however, the struggle in West Papua receives little to no attention from international media or global institutions. Why this silence? Why the double standard?

To answer this, one must understand the shared historical and political context that links Kanaky (New Caledonia) and West Papua — two indigenous Melanesian nations bound by parallel struggles against settler colonialism and geopolitical neglect.

The French Colonization of Kanaky

The colonial story of Kanaky began on September 24, 1853, when Admiral Auguste Febvrier-Despointes raised the French tricolor at Balade, seizing the islands for France. Initially a penal colony, New Caledonia soon attracted the interest of France due to its abundant natural resources, particularly nickel. With the post-WWII economic boom, France intensified its exploitation, turning Kanaky into a profitable territory. Waves of European settlers and labor migrants from Asia and Oceania were imported, transforming the demography and marginalizing the indigenous Kanaks.

By the 1980s, decades of land dispossession and economic exclusion culminated in resistance. In 1984, various Kanak political groups unified into the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), advocating for independence and sovereignty.

The Indonesian Colonization of West Papua

Meanwhile, the story of West Papua follows a tragically similar path. After Indonesia declared independence from Dutch rule in 1945, it turned its eyes to West Papua, a territory left in a transitional post-colonial state. In the early 1960s, President Sukarno, seeking to rescue Indonesia’s deteriorating economy, launched a military invasion of West Papua, eventually leading to the fraudulent “Act of Free Choice” in 1969 — a referendum condemned by many international observers as coerced and illegitimate.

Following the annexation, Jakarta invited multinational corporations — most notoriously Freeport McMoRan — to exploit West Papua’s mineral wealth. Simultaneously, it implemented transmigration programs, relocating thousands of Indonesians from densely populated islands like Java and Sulawesi, turning the indigenous Papuans into a minority in their own land.

Rather than providing meaningful autonomy, Jakarta’s so-called Special Autonomy Law of 2001 deepened structural oppression. The territory remains under heavy military control, with widespread human rights violations reported annually. In 2014, inspired by the FLNKS, several West Papuan resistance factions unified under the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

A Shared Melanesian Struggle

Despite being separated by geography, Kanaks and Papuans share a common destiny. Today, in both territories, indigenous Melanesians comprise roughly 40% of the population, a result of calculated demographic engineering. Their struggle is existential — not only for independence but for survival as distinct peoples.

Markus Haluk, Secretary of the ULMWP, has often emphasized the profound historical and emotional bond between the Kanak and Papuan peoples. “Before the ULMWP’s formation in 2014,” he noted, “West Papuan freedom fighters from the Free Papua Movement (OPM) had already forged ties with the FLNKS. As fellow Melanesians, our destinies are deeply intertwined.”

This solidarity is not symbolic. The Kanaky Solidarity Forum for West Papua has long stood with Papuans. Within the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) — a regional bloc of Melanesian nations — the FLNKS has been a strong and consistent advocate for Papuan self-determination. It was thanks to the FLNKS that West Papua's humanitarian crisis was officially raised for the first time at an MSG meeting in Nouméa in 2013.

What followed was a historic moment: in December 2014, West Papuan organizations formally united under the Saralana Declaration, birthing the ULMWP. This movement was later registered at the MSG Office in February 2015, and in June of that year, it gained observer status in the MSG during a summit in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

In 2018, the FLNKS invited West Papuan representatives to observe New Caledonia’s independence referendum. Although the “Yes” vote fell short by just 4%, the symbolic unity remained strong. “The joys and sorrows of the Kanak Nation are ours too,” said Haluk at the time. “We walk the same path.”

A Fire That Spreads

As New Caledonia burns with the fire of resistance, the flames light the path forward for all Melanesian peoples. The Kanak uprising is not isolated — it is part of a larger, unfinished struggle for decolonization across the Pacific. From Nouméa to Jayapura, the Melanesian nations continue to rise, reclaiming their dignity, identity, and sovereignty.