failed to reform the economy. This was mainly due to the lack of necessary manufactories and infrastructure for agriculture to develop local industry.
19
This problem led to the country’s dependency on foreign capital and loans from IMF
and World Bank. Although IMF loans did generate short-term economic growth but its long term effects was so devastating. Higher cost of living expense, and
firing thousands of civil servants increased unemployment. Jamaica was once again implicitly colonized through the mechanism of debt. “Jamaica’s colonial
past has become an IMF structural present.”
20
As what Bob Marley sings No chains around my feet but Im not free I know Im bound here in captivity, he is telling the people that a new form of
enslavement has entrapped new free Jamaica. Social and political phenomenon has degraded peoples humanity. This is what Bob Marley was struggling for, and
that he wants the people to know as he sings emancipate yourself from mental slavery cause none but ourselves can free our mind so wont you help me to sing
another song of freedom.
2.2. The Papuan Socio-political History
“A land of disputes” is perhaps the most fitting term to describe the socio-political condition embedded to Papua, the world’s second largest island. It
was once a mysterious and an abandoned land. The first contact with outsiders was when in 1545 a Spanish sailor Ortiz Retez landed on the island on his way to
Panama. He claimed the island for the King of Spain and named it “Nueva Guinea” New Guinea. The naming was due to the similarities of the population
19
Williams, K.F. The Evolution of Political Violence in Jamaica 1940-1980, pp. 258-265.
20
Skopal, Edward, Jr. Hear Them Crying Rastafari and Framing Processes in Reggae Music, p. 10.
with those in Guinea, Africa. The Spanish left afterwards and never returned, the modern name of the land only legalization to them.
21
In 1605 a Dutch man, Willem Janz, landed on the land. However some of his crews were slayed by the
locals which forced them to flee. Another colonial European who landed on the land was the British troops. The Captain, John Hayes, proclaimed it as “New
Albion” in 1793. They set up a wooden fortress in Dore Gulf, Manokwari and name it Fort Coronation. However due to diseases and conflicts with other
European competitors, the English withdrew. The Dutch then took their place and claimed the island in 1828, mainly because of their East Indies authority. Despite
of their claim the Dutch did not set up administrative institutions on the island instead appointed Sultan of Tidore to administer the territory.
22
It was in 1907 that they began to open the land for its natural resources. The Dutch oil company
started to tap into the region. This was followed by the mining corporation between Netherland and America after the wealth of resources available cooper
and gold became increasingly apparent. Regardless of the affinity between the two sides of New Guinea, a border
was drawn down the middle by European colonialists in 1895 and 1910 which officially divided them. The Dutch claimed the western half while the eastern part
went to British and Germans. The first revolt against the European colonial power was recorded in 1930s under a Messianic movement, Koreri around Schouten
Islands where Biak is the biggest one among them.
23
Kamma, a Dutch missionary,
21
Osborne, Robin. Kibaran Sampari: Gerakan Pembebasan OPM, dan Perang Rahasia di Papua Barat. Yogyakarta: ELSAM dan Putaka Pelajar Yogyakarta, 2001, p. 14.
22
Brundige, Elizabeth, et all. Indonesian Human Right Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control, a paper by Yale Law School, 2004, p. 10. Web. May 1
st
. 2014. http:www.law.yale.edudocumentspdfIntellectual_LifeWest_Papua_final_report.pdf
23
Osborne, Robin. Kibaran Sampari: Gerakan Pembebasan OPM, dan Perang Rahasia di Papua Barat, p. 21.
claimed that Koreri is more like a cultural and nationalism consciousness than a religious movement. The Koreri movement was led by a woman named
“Angganita Manufandu” who was entitled “the Virgin of Judah.” She claimed that the Dutch missionaries who happened to be colonialists had stollen and corrupted
the Bible before it was given to the locals and changed it with the teachings that benefited the Dutch in gaining material matters and power.
24
Despite of this anti-white colonial power, West New Guinea increasingly became tenser when the
independence of Indonesia took place in 1945.
25
On July 1945, a month before Hiroshima and Nagazaki were bombed, two meetings were held by BPKI Badan Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, a
committee sponsored by Japan to prepare Indonesia independence, discussing territory borders. The result of the voting was thirty nine voices for Indonesia
territory which consist of ex-Netherland East Indies including New Guinea, north Borneo, Sarawak, Brunei, and Sabah, Malay, Portuguese Timor, and nearby
islands. Soekarno and Mohamad Yamin, were among this group. Nineteen went to favor only ex-Netherland East Indies including New Guinea. While only six chose
only ex-Netherland East Indies, without New Guinea. Mohamad Hatta was among this minority group. According to him the Papuans are Melanesian and that they
deserve to decide their own destiny as a free nation.
26
Despite victory of the majority in the voting, on the proclamation day of the Indonesia independence,
Soekarno made no mention of New Guinea to be part of the new nation. The territory lies from the western most island in Sumatra to the eastern most island in
24
Osborne, Robin. Kibaran Sampari: Gerakan Pembebasan OPM, dan Perang Rahasia di Papua Barat, p.23.
25
Saltford, John. The Anatomy of Betrayel: The United Nations and the Indonesian Takeover of West Papua, 1962-1969.
London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003, p. 1.
26
Osborne, Robin. Kibaran Sampari: Gerakan Pembebasan OPM, dan Perang Rahasia di Papua Barat, p.28.
Mollucas. However, the disputes have continued to date. On July 1946, a conference was held in Malino, Southern Sulawesi for
representations from eastern parts of the archipelago to discuss the possibility of Indonesia federation which consist of four full autonomous states. Most of the
delegations favored to form Republic of Indonesia. However, a delegation of New Guinea, Franz Kaisepo, refused to join and that the Papuans required a self
determination. He even proposed a new name for the island “Iryan.” It comes from Biak which in a simple translation means “fog.” This is to describe the
uprising of the island like fog coming up from the sea. Despite of this philosophical name, later Indonesia adopted it and made it became IRIAN, a
political acronym of “Ikut Republic Indonesia Anti Netherlands.”
27
This new apolitical name of Irian Barat West Irian was used by Soekarno when he issued
Tri Komando Rakyat the Peoples Triple Commands to free Papua from the
Dutchs occupation. It is later in 1973 under Soehartos administration that the name changed to Irian Jaya.
From August 23 to November 2, 1949 another conference known as Konferensi Meja Bundar
Round Table Conference was held in Hague between Indonesia and Netherlands. Both sides agreed to establish Republik Indonesia
Serikat United States of Indonesia with the Dutch Queen as the head and
Soekarno as the President. The Netherlands also agreed to cede sovereignty of East Indies to Indonesia but kept Papua as its final foothold in Southeast Asia.
They both agreed that the status of West New Guinea will be decided in further talks within a year which later proven to be fail.
27
Osborne, Robin. Kibaran Sampari: Gerakan Pembebasan OPM, dan Perang Rahasia di Papua Barat, p. 31.
The Dutch promised to bring West New Guinea into a better future by educating and training the local indigenous people to govern their own country
before they leave. They started the process of nation building of Papua in 1950’s. By 1957, they had created several positions for Papuan in government services. In
February 1961 the Dutch launched West New Guinea Council, a representative body intended to encourage the establishment of a Papuan political elite that
would eventually govern the region after Dutch withdrawal.
28
The working time period was ten years where they can declare an independent when the people
agree.
29
On December 1, 1961 the WNG Council voted to rename the territory West Papua with a national anthem, Hai Tanahku Papua O My Land Papua,
and a national flag, Bintang Kejora The Morning Star. This was enough to pull the trigger. Soekarno got very furious and the tense grew hotter. On
December 19, 1961 in Yogyakarta, Soekarno issued Tri Komando Rakyat the People’s Triple Command calling for total mobilization of Indonesians to liberate
Irian Barat West Irian.
Indonesian government began to embark on military tactics against Netherlands in West Papua. Paratroops were launched on the island and forced the
Dutch to withdraw. Both of them were engaged in battle contacts along the West Papua shores. In the assistance to feed his eagerness in winning the battle of West
New Guinea, Soekarno turned to Soviet Bloc to support his diplomatic pressure and massive military expenditure.
30
His visit to Moscow in 1956 resulted in the granting of US100 million credit. By 1962 Indonesia was the largest
28
Brundige, Elizabeth, et all. Indonesian Human Right Abuses in West Papua: Application of the Law of Genocide to the History of Indonesian Control,
p. 13.
29
Osborne, Robin. Kibaran Sampari: Gerakan Pembebasan OPM, dan Perang Rahasia di Papua Barat, p. 54.
30
Saltford, John. The Anatomy of Betrayel: The United Nations and the Indonesian Takeover of West Papua, 1962-1969, p. 7.
non-communist recipient of Soviet Bloc aid with credits exceeding US1.5 billion. Between 1962 and 1963, his government spent approximately US2 billion on
military equipment. It can be seen that almost all of Indonesian naval vessels that sunk during the battles were Russian-built.
With this threat, Washington took a position asserting that giving Indonesian the control of the territory seemed to be the only solution to avoid
Indonesia being driven into Soviet Bloc.
31
U.S. President John F. Kennedy played a role in setting a negotiation between the Dutch and the Indonesians. On August
15, 1962 the two warring nations signed the New York Agreement under the patronage of the United Nations. In this agreement there was not any single
representative of indigenous West Papuan whose land being disputed took part. Under its terms, the Netherlands had to transfer its authority to United Nations
Temporary Executive Authority UNTEA on October 1, and the U.N. administration would hand over the territory to Indonesia on or after May 1, 1963.
Further in the agreement, sometimes after the take over Indonesia must make a referendum under U.N. supervision to allow the West Papuans to decide their own
fate, whether or not to join Indonesia. On May 4, 1963 Soekarno arrived in West New Guinea West Irian for a visit. He appointed Eliezer Bonay as Governor and
banned all existing Papuan political parties and unofficial political activities. There were about 1500 Indonesian commandos remain in the territory to assist the
local police. However, they were involved in harsh tactics to restrain Papuan nationalist sentiment. Ever since armed struggle began between Indonesian
military and pro-independence Papuan resistance movement known as OPM
31
Saltford, John. The Anatomy of Betrayel: The United Nations and the Indonesian Takeover of West Papua, 1962-1969, p. 11.
Organisasi Papua Merdeka which was founded the same year after UNTEA pulled out. Sporadic rebellions began to spread around the territory particularly in
the Bird’s Head region. One of well known revolts was “Arfai Assaults” who was led by Sergeant Permenas Awom, an ex-PVK Papua Volunteer Korps in Dutch
time. Together with several OPM guerrillas they killed several Indonesian soldiers and took their guns and ammunitions. Indonesian military responded by targeting
civilians as well as OPM fighters. Killings, disappearances, torture, and rape of Papuans deliberately carried out by Indonesian military forces as a form of
explicit power domination. In addition to that, the Indonesian government organized mass migrations from Java to West Papua under transmigration
program, a political driven agenda to equalize the number of local inhabitants. This was an implicit form of the power domination.
Like fishing in the murky pond by neglecting the political unrest in the territory, U.S.-based multinational mining corporation, Freeport, signed its
contract with the Indonesian government under its new appointed president, Soeharto. Freeport was given a power over the local population and resources,
including the right to take land, and to resettle the local inhabitants without proper compensation. This situation even worsened the situation leading to the
referendum. The people felt like they were going to be robed to nothing under Indonesian authority.
1969 was a time of the biggest scam in all of Papuans’ history just like ‘911’ to the Americans.
32
1969 provokes an historical monologue. It is the time when the “Act of Free Choice” or “Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat PEPERA was
32
Glazebrook, Diana. Permissive Residents West Papuan Refugees Living in Papua New Guinea, p. 22.
held. Under the terms of New York Agreement in accordance with international practice, all eligible adults have the right to vote. However, instead of one man
one vote, Indonesian government arranged 1.025 selective representatives out of approximately 700.000 populations from eight assemblies. Most of those selected
representatives were not eligible since many of them were old men who could not read and write. They were put in a solitary where they were intimidated,
brainwashed and bribed. They could not speak to people outside. Soldiers guarded the entrance and they were accompanied wherever they went. They were also fed
well and given gifts of teapots, plates, Sanyo radios, bicycles, and Honda motorcycles, things which are considered to be fancy in that time for Papuans.
Some even were given Javanese women.
33
All of these things make it clear that 1969 “Act of Free Choice” or “PEPERA” was a form of mockery to Papuans. Its
implementation is bare: tactical selection, concealment, bribery, and seduction by objects associated to pleasure. To Papuans it was a fraudulent while to Indonesian
government it was an unanimous victory. Planes scattered pamphlets on Papuan sky proclaiming the victory.
Discontent with the condition OPM began to intensify its sporadic rebellions. The clash with Indonesian militar broke in several places, Manokwari,
Enarotali, Byak, and Jayapura.
34
As a response Indonesian government began its military operations to infiltrate the island from any form of Papuan national
sentiment.
35
The Indonesian militar targeted not only OPM freedom fighters but also civilians. Any forms of social, religious, cultural activities were put under
33
Glazebrook, Diana. Permissive Residents West Papuan Refugees Living in Papua New Guinea, p. 23.
34
Osborne, Robin. Kibaran Sampari: Gerakan Pembebasan OPM, dan Perang Rahasia di Papua Barat, pp. 91-99.
35
Ibid, p. 310.
suspicion by Indonesian government. People were intimidated and lived in terror. Some were forced to flee across the border of Indonesian and Papua New Guinea
and lived in exile.
36
The annexation and mal-administration by Indonesian government has fostered Papuan nationalism. West Papuan experience
of Indonesian colonialization has caused the raising of what is called by Johanes Baptist Metz as
memoria passionis or collective memories of suffering that they long for freedom. It is estimated that over ninety per cent of the West Papuans in that time
wanted independence.
37
3. Theoretical Concepts
