Common Misconceptions About West Papua History And The Historical Facts We Should Not Ignore

1. COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
about WEST PAPUA HISTORY
and the HISTORICAL FACTS WE SHOULD NOT IGNORE
Real Things to Know About Papua

3. The story of Papua
began before 1945
Contrary to popular social
media claims, like other areas
that make up modern
Indonesia, the real story of
West Papua began before the
year 1945.
Undisputedly, West Papua was
part of the Dutch East Indies
and this was firmly stated in
the Netherlands Constitution
of 1938.

4. Self-Determination in 1945
Indonesia became a sovereign
state in 1945. The 1945
proclamation was an act of self-
determination to break the
shackles of colonialism.
Soon after the 17 August 1945
Proclamation, the Indonesian
Constitution was created, the
first Cabinet inaugurated and
diplomatic relations with
foreign powers established.

5. Papuan National Heros
There are five recognized national heroes
who are ethnically Papuans and fought
against the Dutch colonial government in
the 1940s.
Frans Kaisiepo, helped to bring the
concept of nationalism into Papua.
Marthen Indey, an instructor for Papua
Batallion police during WWII and
conducted raids against the Dutch.
Silas Papare, a nurse, was instrumental in
influencing the Papua Batallion to fight
against the Dutch.
Johannes Abraham Dimara, led 40 of his
troops to attack Dutch positions in Papua
before his capture and seven years
imprisonment.
M. Singgirei Rumagesan, he led the anti-
discrimination fight for Papuan workers
working on Dutch oil fields.

6. From left to right: Frans Kaisiepo, Marthen Indey, Silas Papare, Johannes Abraham Dimara,
Machmud Singgirei Rumagesan
Papuan National Heroes

7. 1949 Conference
The 1949 Round Table
Conference agreement was not
a transfer of any legal title
over Papua from Indonesia to
the Netherlands.
It was not an act of
acquiescence by Indonesia to
give de facto control of Papua
to the Netherlands.
The Agreement firmly stated
that the dispute over Papua
was to be settled bilaterally
between Indonesia and the
Netherlands.

8. 1969: the year the
international community
underlined that Papua is
afterall part of Indonesia
since 1945.
The “noken” system of representative
voting was used in 1969 and is still
being used in modern elections in
Papua.
This method was consulted in detail
and agreed by all the parties
including the Dutch.
As a comparison, The Referendum in
Fiji and Sabah did not use a one-man-
one-vote method and was still
recognized by the United Nations.

9. Papua was part of the
Netherlands Indies
This fact meant two things.
First, Indonesia’s territories
included Papua when it
proclaimed independence in
1945 on the basis of the
international law uti possidetis
juris.
Second, Indonesia was and is
not a colonial power as it does
not act discriminatively agains
Papuans or other ethnicities in
Indonesia.

10. Unity in Diversity
With a population of 250 million
people, more than 600 ethnic
groups and 700 local
languages, unity in diversity has
been in the DNA of Indonesia
since its formation.
Citizens and residents of the
country can freely chose to live
and work in any of the 17,000
islands and 34 provinces that
make up modern Indonesia.
Freedom of speech and the
right to vote, practiced robustly
all over Indonesia including in
Papua, is guaranteed by the
Constitution and protected by
the law.

11. Modern Papua
In the first five years of
President Joko Widodo’s, he
visited Papua 12 times.
The approach is through
dialogue and prosperity.
On top of the agenda is the
acceleration on human capital
development, economic
transformation and quality and
fair development, acceleration
of infrastructure builts,
sustainable development and
bureaucratic reform.