Free West Papua Movement: from Dakar to Port Vila

In 1976, Ben Tanggahma, the representative of the Free West Papua Movement (OPM) in Dakar, stated in an interview with the American magazine Black Books Bulletin:

"The West Papuan independence movement has not received support from any leader in the world. None, except one: Léopold Sédar Senghor from Senegal. Until now, only the Republic of Senegal has given us assistance".

This is the harsh reality that the OPM had to face, where the whole world, including African nations, turned their backs on the suffering of the Melanesian people in West Papua, due to Indonesian annexation in the 1960s.

Indonesia's prestige was at its peak at that time. Under President Sukarno's leadership, Indonesia became the spearhead of the Non-Aligned Movement after the Bandung Conference in 1955. In the 1970s, under the leadership of General Suharto, Sukarno's successor, Indonesia became a major ally of the United States in fighting communism in Southeast Asia during the Cold War.

Undoubtedly, Senegal's first president, Léopold Sédar Senghor, was the only African leader to care about the fate of the West Papuans and to defend their right to self-determination from Indonesia. For President Senghor, oppressed black people were not limited to those living in Africa and America, but also in parts of Asia and Oceania. West Papuan leaders who uphold "Melanesian nationalism" strongly support this idea.

In 1976, President Senghor, a pioneer of "négritude," or global Black emancipation, organized a performance in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, featuring Melanesian nationalists from East Timor and West Papua, who opposed Indonesia's forced assimilation. It was an act of defiance not only against Jakarta, but also against Washington.

The Provisional Government of West Papua, established in 1971, sent Ben Tanggahma to Senegal. Ben shared the same Catholic beliefs as Senghor, a former seminarian. In addition to an office, Ben was also given vehicle facilities. From Dakar, Ben Tanggahma, who wanted to get closer to African leaders and other liberation movements, conducted diplomatic lobbying in a number of countries in the region.

Unfortunately, on December 31, 1980, President Senghor resigned. Since then, Senegal has no longer actively supported West Papuan Independence. Changes in strategic interests, diplomatic closeness to Jakarta, and adjustments to international realpolitics have faded Senegal's idealism to defend the oppressed black people in Indonesia. 

However, the determination of the West Papuans for independence have never faded. Their struggle has made significant progress with the formation of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) at the end of 2014 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Léonie Tanggahma, daughter of Ben Tanggahma, served as an executive member of the ULMWP until her sudden death in 2022. 

The ULMWP, which unites various Papuan independence movements, was founded with the support of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), funded by the Vanuatu government, facilitated by the Pacific Council of Churches, and supported by civil society across the Pacific. 

So far, the MSG has always shown its support for the aspirations of West Papuans. Observer status was given to the ULMWP in 2015. Thus, it is hoped that the ULMWP can soon achieve full MSG membership and have equal dialogue with Indonesia in international forums.