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Western New Guinea



 
 
Western New Guinea is the western half of the island of New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
. It is the easternmost part of Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, consisting of two provinces: Papua
Papua (Indonesian province)

Papua is the largest Provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands ....
 and West Papua. It was previously known by various names, including Netherlands New Guinea
Netherlands New Guinea

Netherlands New Guinea was the official name of Western New Guinea while it was a colonial possession of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea....
 (1895–1 October 1962), West New Guinea (1 October 1962–1 May 1963), West Irian (1 May 1963–1973), and Irian Jaya (1973–2000). The incorporation of western New Guinea into Indonesia remains controversial with human rights non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization is a term that has become widely accepted for referring to a legally constituted, non-business organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government....
s (NGO), including some supporters in the United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, the British Government, and other bodies, as well as many of the territory's indigenous population.






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Encyclopedia


Western New Guinea is the western half of the island of New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
. It is the easternmost part of Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, consisting of two provinces: Papua
Papua (Indonesian province)

Papua is the largest Provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands ....
 and West Papua. It was previously known by various names, including Netherlands New Guinea
Netherlands New Guinea

Netherlands New Guinea was the official name of Western New Guinea while it was a colonial possession of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea....
 (1895–1 October 1962), West New Guinea (1 October 1962–1 May 1963), West Irian (1 May 1963–1973), and Irian Jaya (1973–2000). The incorporation of western New Guinea into Indonesia remains controversial with human rights non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization is a term that has become widely accepted for referring to a legally constituted, non-business organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government....
s (NGO), including some supporters in the United States Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
, the British Government, and other bodies, as well as many of the territory's indigenous population. Many indigenous inhabitants and human rights NGOs refer to it as West Papua.

During the 1950s the Dutch government began to prepare Netherlands New Guinea for full independence and allowed elections in 1959; an elected Papuan council, the New Guinea Council (Nieuw Guinea Raad) took office on April 5, 1961. The Council decided on the name of West Papua, a national emblem, a flag called the Morning Star or Bintang Kejora, and a national anthem; the flag was first raised — next to the Dutch flag — on December 1, 1961. However, Indonesia threatened with an invasion, after full mobilisation of its army, by August 15, 1962, after receiving military help from the Soviet Union. Under strong pressure of the United States government (under the Kennedy administration) the Dutch, who were prepared to resist an Indonesian attack, attended diplomatic talks. On October 1, 1962, the Dutch handed over the territory to a temporary UN administration (UNTEA). On May 1, 1963, Indonesia took control. The territory was renamed West Irian and then Irian Jaya.

Western New Guinea was annexed
Annexation

Annexation is the legal incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities....
 by Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
 under the 1969 Act of Free Choice
Act of Free Choice

Act of Free Choice was the title of an Indonesian military presentation in 1969 to establish an Indonesian claim that the Melanesian population of Western New Guinea had chosen Indonesian rule and rejected independence....
 contrary to Article XIV and Article XVIII of the 1962 New York Agreement
New York Agreement

The New York Agreement is a document brokered by the United States on behalf of the Indonesian government in 1962 to transfer sovereignty of Western New Guinea from the Netherlands to Indonesia....
. During the rule of President Suharto from 1965 to 1998, human rights and other advocates criticized Indonesian government policies in the province as repressive, and the area received relatively little attention in Indonesia's development plans. During the Reformasi
Reformation (Indonesia)

Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, Indonesia has been in a period of transition. This era has been called the period of "Reformasi" . This is due to a more open and liberal political and social environment in Indonesia after the Indonesian Revolution of 1998 forced the resignation of the authoritarian President Suharto, ending the three decades o...
 period from 1998 to 2001, Papua and other Indonesian provinces received greater regional autonomy
Regional autonomy

Regional autonomy is the term for the decentralization of governance to outlying regions. Recent examples of disputes over autonomy include:...
. In 2001, a law was passed granting "Special Autonomy" status to Papua, although many of the law's requirements have either not been implemented or have been only minimally implemented.

In 2003, the Indonesian central government declared that the province would be split into three provinces: Papua Province, Central Irian Jaya Province, and West Irian Jaya
West Irian Jaya

West Papua with population around 800,000, is the least populous Provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia on the Western New Guinea of the island of New Guinea....
 Province. Opposition to this resulted in the plan for Central Irian Jaya province being scrapped, and even the designation of West Irian Jaya Province is still legally unclear. Despite this, the West Irian Jaya (Irian Jaya Barat) province was formed on February 6, 2006, and the name was officially changed to West Papua (Papua Barat) on February 7, 2007. The independent sovereign
Sovereignty

File:Leviathan gr.jpgSovereignty is the exclusive right to control a government, a State, a people, or oneself. A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority....
 state
State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
 of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
 (PNG) borders Papua Province to the east.

History

Papuans have inhabited the Australasian continental island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
 of New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
 for over 40,000 years while Austronesians
Austronesian people

Austronesian people are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak, or had ancestors who spoke, one of the Austronesian languages....
 have been there for several thousand years. These groups have developed diverse cultures and languages in situ; there are over 300 languages and two hundred additional dialects in West New Guinea alone (See Papuan languages
Papuan languages

The term Papuan languages refers to those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian languages nor Australian Aboriginal languages....
, Austronesian languages
Austronesian languages

The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia....
).

On June 13, 1545, Ortiz de Retez, in command of the San Juan, left port in Tidore
Tidore

Tidore is in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia, west of the larger island of Halmahera. It is a city, island, and archipelago. In the In the pre-colonial era, the kingdom of Tidore was a major regional political and economic power, and a fierce rival of nearby Ternate, just to the north....
, an island of the East Indies and sailed to reach the northern coast of the island of New Guinea, which he ventured along as far as the mouth of the Mamberamo River
Mamberamo River

The Mamberamo is a large river on the island of New Guinea, in the Indonesian province of Papua .The source of the river is formed from the confluences of its upper tributaries, the Tariku River and Taritatu River Rivers....
. He took possession of the land for the Spanish Crown, in the process giving the island the name by which it is known today. He called it Nueva Guinea owing to the resemblance of the local inhabitants to the peoples of the Guinea
Guinea

Guinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea. The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
 coast in West Africa.

Netherlands New Guinea

Netherlandsnewguinea 1916
In 1828, the Dutch claimed the south coast west of the 141st meridian, and in 1848 added the north coast west of Humboldt Bay. The border at 141° East was 'marked' on the coast by iron signpost displaying the Dutch coat of arms by an expedition in 1881. The Netherlands established trading posts in the area after Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 recognised the Dutch claims in treaties of 1885 and 1895. At much the same time, Britain claimed south-east New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
, later known as the Territory of Papua, and Germany claimed the northeast, later known as the Territory of New Guinea
German New Guinea

German New Guinea was a former Germany protectorate from 1884 to 1914, consisting of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups....
.

In 1923, the Nieuw Guinea Beweging (New Guinea Movement) was created in the Netherlands by ultra right-wing supporters calling for Dutchmen to create a tropical Netherlands in Papua. This prewar movement without full government support was largely unsuccessful in its drive, but did coincide with the development of a plan for Eurasian settlement of the Dutch Indies to establish Dutch farms in northern West New Guinea. This effort also failed as most returned to Java disillusioned, and by 1938 just 50 settlers remained near Hollandia and 258 in Manokwari
Manokwari

File:BirdsHeadPeninsula Topo.jpgManokwari is a city and regency in the Indonesian province of West Papua , at the western end of New Guinea. Since 2003 it has been the capital of the province....
.

In the early 1930s, the need for a national Papuan government was discussed by graduates of the Dutch Protestant Missionary Teachers College in Mei Wondama, Manokwari. These graduates continued their discussions among the wider community and quickly succeeded in cultivating a desire for national unity across the region and its three hundred languages. The College Principal Rev. Kijne also composed "Hai Tanahku Papua
Hai Tanahku Papua

Hai Tanahku Papua is an unofficial anthem of West Papua....
" ("Oh My Land Papua"), which in 1961 was adopted as the national anthem.

A exploration company NNGPM was formed in 1935 by Shell
Royal Dutch Shell

Royal Dutch Shell public limited company, commonly known simply as Shell, is a multinational corporation oil company of Netherlands and United Kingdom origins....
 (40%), Mobil
Mobil

Mobil was a major United States Petroleum company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company....
 (40%) and Chevron's
Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation is the world's fourth largest non-government energy corporation. Headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States, and active in more than 180 countries, it is engaged in every aspect of the Petroleum and gas industry, including exploration and Petroleum#Extraction; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals m...
 Far Pacific investments (20%) to explore West New Guinea. During 1936, Jean Dozy working for NNGPM reported the world's richest gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
 and copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
 deposits in a mountain near Timika which he named Ertsberg (Mountain of Ore). Unable to license the find from the Dutch or indigenous landowners, NNGPM maintained secrecy of the discovery.

In 1942, the northern coast of West New Guinea and the nearby islands were occupied by Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
. Allied forces expelled the Japanese in 1944, and with Papuan approval, the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 constructed a headquarters for Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Order of the Bath was an United States General officer, United Nations general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army....
 at Hollandia (now Jayapura
Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
) and over twenty US bases and hospitals intended as a staging point
Staging area

A staging area is a location where organisms, people, vehicles, equipment or material are assembled prior to their use....
 for operations taking of the Philippines.

West New Guinean farms supplied food for the half million US troops. Papuan men went into battle to carry the wounded, acted as guides and translators, and provided a range of services, from construction work and carpentry to serving as machine shop workers and mechanics.

The Dutch retained possession of West New Guinea from 1945, but upon reaching Java west they did not find similar levels of support from the population of Java. Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n leaders Mohammad Hatta
Mohammad Hatta

Mohammad Hatta was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Dutch East Indies . He was Indonesia's first List of Vice Presidents of Indonesia, later also serving as the country's List of Prime Ministers of Indonesia....
 and Sukarno
Sukarno

Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia. He helped the country win its independence from Netherlands and was President from 1945 to 1967, presiding with mixed success over the country's turbulent transition to independence....
 had declared independence
Indonesian National Revolution

The Indonesian National Revolution or Indonesian War of Independence was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between Indonesia and the Netherlands, and an internal social revolution....
 weeks before and claimed all Dutch possessions should become part of the United States of Indonesia
United States of Indonesia

The Republic of the United States of Indonesia was a federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of Indonesia on 27 December 1949 following the the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference....
. The dispute continued until the Round Table Conference
Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference

The Round Table Conference was held in the Hague from August 23 - November 2 1949 between representatives of the Netherlands, the Republic of Indonesia and the BFO representing various states the Dutch had created in the Indonesian archipelago....
, which was held from August to October 1949 at the Hague. Unable to reach a compromise on the matter of West New Guinea, the conference closed with the parties agreeing to discuss the West New Guinea issue within one year.

In December 1950 the United Nations requested the Special Committee on Decolonization to accept transmission of information regarding the territory in accord with Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
. Article 73 constituted formal recognition of the territory's right
Right

Rights are legal or moral entitlements or permissions. Rights are of vital importance in theories of justice and deontology.Many contemporary notions of rights are Universality and egalitarianism, with equal rights granted to all people....
 to independence
Independence

Independence is the self-government of a nation, country, or state by its residents and population, or some portion thereof, generally exercising sovereignty....
 and the Netherlands obligation to assist. After repeated Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n claims to possession of Dutch New Guinea, the Netherlands invited Indonesia to present its claim before an International Court
International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands....
 of Law. Indonesia declined the offer. Concerned by Indonesian insurgencies beginning in 1950, the Netherlands accelerated its education and technical programs in preparation for independence. A naval academy
Naval Academy

Naval Academy could refer to one of several institutions:* The United States Naval Academy* The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy of Bulgaria* The Imperial Japanese Naval Academy...
 was opened in 1956, and Papuan troops and naval cadets began service by 1957.

By 1959, Papuans were nurse
Nurse

A nurse is a healthcare professional, who along with other health care professionals, is responsible for the treatment, safety, and recovery of Acute or Chronic ill or injured people, health maintenance of the healthy, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings....
s, dental surgeons, draftsmen
Technical drawing

File:Drafter at work.jpgFile:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F038800-0010, Wolfsburg, VW Autowerk.jpgTechnical drawing is the discipline of creating Standardization technology drawing by architects, CAD drafters, design engineers, and related professionals....
, architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
s, telephone repairmen, and radio and power technicians, cultivating a range of experimental commercial crops and serving as police
Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
, forestry
Forestry

Forestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. Silviculture, a related science, involves the growing and tending of trees and forests....
 and meteorological staff
Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century....
. This progress towards self-government was documented in reports prepared for the United Nations from 1950 to 1961.

Local Council elections were held and Papuan representatives elected from 1955. On 6 March 1959 the New York Times published an article revealing the Dutch government had discovered alluvial gold flowing into the Arafura Sea
Arafura Sea

The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean overlying the continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea. It is bordered by Torres Strait and through that the Coral Sea to the east, the Gulf of Carpentaria to the south, the Timor Sea to the west and the Banda Sea and Ceram Sea seas to the northwest....
 and were searching for the gold's mountain source. In 1959, Freeport Sulphur
Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold....
 approached the Dutch East Borneo company for partnership. An agreement signed in January 1960 to lodge a Dutch claim for the Timika area as a copper deposit did not inform the government about the gold or known extent of the copper deposit.

Election of a national parliament began on 9 January 1961 in fifteen electoral districts with direct voting in Manokwari and Hollandia to select 26 Councillors, of whom 16 were elected, 12 appointed, 23 were Papuan, and one female Councillors. The Councillors were sworn in by Governor Platteel on 1 April 1961, and the Council took office on 5 April 1961. The inauguration was attended by officials from Australia, Britain, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and members of the South Pacific Commission; a large Australian delegation was headed by Mr Hasluck MP and included Sir Alistair McMullan, President of Australian Senate. The United States declined the invitation to attend the inauguration.

After news that the Hague was considering a United States plan to trade the territory to United Nations administration, Papuan Councillors met for six hours in the New Guinea Council building on 19 October 1961 to elect a National Committee which drafted a Manifesto for Independence & Self-government, a National flag (Morning Star), State Seal, selected a national anthem ("Hai Tanahkoe Papua" / "Oh My Land Papua"), and called for the people to be known as Papuans. The New Guinea Council voted unanimous support of these proposals on 30 October 1961, and on the 31st October 1961 presented the Morning Star flag and Manifesto to Governor Platteel who said (translated) "Never before has the oneness of the Council been put forward so strongly." The Dutch recognized the flag and anthem on November 18, 1961 (Government Gazettes of Dutch New Guinea Nos. 68 and 69), and these ordinances came into effect on December 1, 1961.

Incorporation into Indonesia

At the US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 White House
White House

The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian architecture and has been the executive residence of every U.S....
 a proposal to have the Netherlands trade West New Guinea to Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
 was opposed by the Bureau of European Affairs who viewed this "would simply trade white for brown colonialism"; but from April 1961 Robert Komer and McGeorge Bundy promoted a plan to have the United Nations give the transfer an outward appearance of legitimacy. Though reluctant, John Kennedy was told the transfer of the territory was the only means to prevent Indonesia turning to Soviet aid.
Flag of West Papua
The Morning Star flag was raised next to the Dutch tricolour on December 1, 1961, an act which Papuan independence supporters celebrate each year at flag raising ceremonies. National Committee Chairman Mr Inury said: "My Dear compatriots, you are looking at the symbol of our unity and our desire to take our place among the nations of the world. As long as we are not really united we shall not be free. To be united means to work hard for the good of our country, now, until the day that we shall be independent, and further from that day on."

On January 2, 1962, Indonesia, which had made seven known insurgency attempts since 1950, now created the Mandala Command headed by Brig. General Suharto to coordinate military efforts for the territory. Two previous insurgencies, Pasukan Gerilya 100 (November 1960) and Pasukan Gerilya 200 (September 1961), were followed by Pasukan Gerilya 300 with 115 insurgents leaving Jakarta on four Jaguar class torpedo boats (January 15), intercepted in the Aru Sea the lead boat was sunk and 51 survivors were picked up after Commodore Yos Sudarso went down with his boat.

Continuing US efforts to have the Netherlands secretly negotiate the transfer of the territory to Indonesian administration eventually succeeded in creating the "New York Agreement
New York Agreement

The New York Agreement is a document brokered by the United States on behalf of the Indonesian government in 1962 to transfer sovereignty of Western New Guinea from the Netherlands to Indonesia....
" signed in August 1962. The Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
n government, which previously had been a firm supporter of Papuan independence, also reversed its policy to support incorporation with Indonesia.

The agreement, ratified in the UN on September 21, 1962, stipulated that authority would transfer to a United Nations Temporary Executive Authority
United Nations Temporary Executive Authority

The United Nations Temporary Executive Authority / United Nations Security Force in West New Guinea was established during October 1962 in accord with Article two of the New York Agreement to administer the colony of West New Guinea until the 1st May 1963....
 (UNTEA) on 1 October, 1963, and that once UNTEA had informed the public of the terms of the Agreement had the option to transfer administration of the territory to Indonesia after May 1, 1963, until such time as an "Act of Free Choice
Act of Free Choice

Act of Free Choice was the title of an Indonesian military presentation in 1969 to establish an Indonesian claim that the Melanesian population of Western New Guinea had chosen Indonesian rule and rejected independence....
" could determine the will of the people. Under Article 18 of the Agreement "all adults, male and female, not foreign nationals" were to be allowed to vote in an Act "in accordance with international practice". On May 1, 1963, UNTEA transferred total administration of West New Guinea to the Republic of Indonesia. The capital Hollandia was renamed Kota Baru for the transfer to Indonesian administration and on 5 September, 1963, West Irian was declared a "quarantine territory" with Foreign Minister Subandrio administrating visitor permits.

The Act Of Free Choice

Although United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2504 did acknowledge that an event called Act of Free Choice took place, neither the General Assembly nor International Court of Justice gave their opinion about the event, nor did they claim the Act to have been any form of self determination. Although the United Nations representative Ambassador Fernando Ortiz-Sanz was unable to get Indonesia to allow a "one-man, one-vote" within the territory, the Indonesian authorities declared that there was a unanimous vote against independence. However, participants and other observers question the conduct and legitimacy of the process. It is widely reported that just 1000 tribal elders were allowed by the Indonesian military to vote, in direct contravention of Article 18 of the New York Agreement which stated "The eligibility of all adults, male and female, not foreign nationals to participate in the act of self-determination to be carried out in accordance with international practice". As such the vote was not an expression of self-determination. Men who were selected for the vote subsequently testified that they had been blackmailed and threatened at gunpoint into voting against independence with threats of violence against their families and communities. Although Indonesia denies these allegations, recently released United States government correspondence indicates that the pro-Indonesian outcome was effectively agreed in advance between Indonesia and the U.S.

Indonesian clampdown on independence activities

Since the 1960s, consistent reports have filtered out of the territory of government suppression
Suppression

The term Suppression may refer to:* Oppression* Censorship* Voter suppression* Cultural suppression* Religious intolerance* Suppression of dissent...
 and terrorism
Terrorism

Terrorism, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the systematic use of terror, "violent or destructive acts committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands." At present, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism....
, including murder
Murder

Murder as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide....
, political assassination
Assassination

Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure. Assassinations may be prompted by ideology, politics, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by contract killing, revenge, or celebrity or may be mental disorder....
, imprisonment, torture
Torture

Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadism gratification of the torturer, as was the case in the Moors M...
, and aerial bombardments. The Indonesian government disbanded the New Guinea Council and forbade the use of the West Papua flag or the singing of the national anthem. There has been considerable resistance to Indonesian integration and occupation, both through civil disobedience (such as Morning Star flag raising ceremonies) and via the formation of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or Free Papua Movement) in 1965. The movement's military arm is the TPN, or Liberation Army of Free Papua. Amnesty International
Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London, England in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and...
 has estimated more than 100,000 Papuans
Papuan languages

The term Papuan languages refers to those languages of the western Pacific which are neither Austronesian languages nor Australian Aboriginal languages....
, one-sixth of the population, have died as a result of government-sponsored violence against West Papuans, while others had previously specified much higher death tolls.

After General Suharto replaced Sukarno as President of Indonesia, Freeport Sulphur
Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold....
 was the first foreign company awarded a mining license, a 30 year license to mine the Tembagapura region of Papua for gold and copper.

In 1969, General Sarwo Edhi Wibowo oversaw the Indonesian conduct of the widely criticized "Act of Free Choice
Act of Free Choice

Act of Free Choice was the title of an Indonesian military presentation in 1969 to establish an Indonesian claim that the Melanesian population of Western New Guinea had chosen Indonesian rule and rejected independence....
." Prior to the vote, the Indonesian military rounded up and detained for one month a large group of Papuan tribal leaders. The Papuans were daily threatened with death at gunpoint if the entire group did not vote to continue Indonesian rule. Assembled troops and two Western observers acted as witnesses to the public vote; however, the Western observers left after witnessing the first two hundred (of 1,054) votes for integration. Concerned over Communism in South East Asia, and with an eye toward extracting Papua's vast mineral wealth, the US and other Western powers ignored protests over the circumstances surrounding the vote The process was deemed to have been an "Act of Free Choice" in accordance with the United Nations requirements, and Indonesia formally annexed the territory in August. Dissenters mockingly called it the "Act of No Choice" or "Act Free of Choice."

In 1971, construction of the world's largest copper and gold mine (also the world's largest open cut mine) began. Under an Indonesian agreement signed in 1967 (two years before the "Act of Free Choice"), the US company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold....
 obtained a 30-year exclusive mining license from Suharto in (dating from the mine's opening in 1973). The pact was extended in 1991 by another 30 years. After 1988 with the opening of the Grasberg mine
Grasberg mine

The Grasberg mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua, at , and employs 19 500....
 it became the biggest gold mine and lowest extraction-price copper mine in the world. Locals made several violent attempts to dissuade the mine owners, including sabotage of a pipeline that July, but order was quickly restored.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Indonesian state accelerated its transmigration program
Transmigration program

The transmigration program was an initiative of the government of Indonesia to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia to less populous areas of the country....
, under which tens of thousands of Javanese and Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
n migrants were resettled to Papua. Prior to Indonesian rule, the non-indigenous Asian population was estimated at 16,600; while the Papuan population were a mix of Roman Catholics
Catholicism

Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its Theology and doctrines, its Catholic liturgy, Ethics, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, Protestants
Protestantism

Protestantism is a movement within Christianity that originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the three principal traditions of Christianity, together with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy....
 and pagan people following tribal religions. Critics suspect that the transmigration program's purpose was to tip the balance of the province's population from the heavily Melanesian Papuans toward western Indonesians, thus further consolidating Indonesian control. The transmigration program officially ended in the late 1990s, although so-called "spontaneous migration" by western Indonesians voluntarily relocating to provinces such as Papua seeking economic opportunity has increased and remains at high levels.

A separatist congress in 2000 again calling for independence resulted in a military crackdown on independence supporters. In 2001, a now-majority Islamic population was given limited autonomy. An August 2001, US State Department travel warning advised "all travel by US and other foreign government officials to Aceh
Aceh

Aceh is a Provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Nanggr?e Aceh Darussalam....
, Papua and the Moluccas (provinces of North Maluku
North Maluku

North Maluku is a Provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and the province of Maluku ....
 and Maluku) has been restricted by the Indonesian government".

During the Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid

Abdurrahman Wahid is an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001. The long-time president of the Nahdlatul Ulama and the founder of the National Awakening Party , Wahid was the first elected president of Indonesia after the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998....
 administration in 2000, Papua gained a "Special Autonomy" status, an attempted political compromise between separatists and the central government that has weak support within the Jakarta government. Despite lack of political will of politicians in Jakarta
Jakarta

Jakarta is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a List of urban areas by population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa , Jayakarta , Batavia, Dutch East Indies , and Djakarta ....
 to proceed with real implementation of the Special Autonomy, which is stipulated by law, the region was divided into two provinces: the province of Papua
Papua (Indonesian province)

Papua is the largest Provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands ....
 and the province of West Papua, based on a Presidential Instruction in January 2001, soon after President Wahid was impeached by the Parliament and replaced by Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri

Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Soekarnoputri , was President of Indonesia from July 2001 to October 20, 2004. She was the country's first List of Female Presidents, and the first Indonesian leader born after independence....
. The division of the province has neither directly cancelled the Law of Special Autonomy of Papua nor engaged ongoing protest in the region. There was brief consideration of dividing the territory into thirds, but the plan was quickly abandoned. The plan again gained support in early 2008.

In January 2006, 43 refugee
Refugee

Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecutionOwing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality,...
s in a traditional canoe landed on the coast of Australia with a banner stating the Indonesian military was carrying out a genocide in Papua. They were transported to an Australian immigration detention facility on Christmas Island
Christmas Island

The Territory of Christmas Island is a Territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, Western Australia, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
, 2,600 km (1,400 nmi) north-west of Perth, and 360 km (190 nmi) south of the western head of Java. On March 23, 2006, the Australian government granted temporary protection visas to 42 of the 43 having determined all 43 were bonafide refugees. A day later Indonesia recalled its ambassador to Australia. A number of expatriate
Expatriate

An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently Residency in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence....
 Papuans currently campaign for independence in Australia, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and other countries, and call for international support for their campaigns. Their claims, which sometimes include allegations of historic or present genocide
Genocide

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise genocide definitions, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ....
, are strongly challenged by Indonesia, and Papuan independence is not supported by any recognised government except that of Vanuatu
Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of the Solomon Islands, near New Zealand....
.

International Parliamentarians for West Papua

On October 15 2008, the International Parliamentarians for West Papua
International Parliamentarians for West Papua

The International Parliamentarians for West Papua is a cross-party political group comprised of politicans from around the world who support self-determination for the people of West Papua....
 was launched at the Houses of Parliament, London. The group was set up by exiled West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda, and is chaired by the British MP Andrew Smith (politician) and Lord Harries. The group set out aims to develop international parliamentary support for West Papuan self-determination, through "recognising the inalienable right of the indigenous people of West Papua to self-determination, which was violated in the 1969 “Act of Free Choice”. Some of the founding members of the group were also involved in a similar group that was set up for East Timor prior to it gaining independence from Indonesia. So far the group has gathered support from politicans in countries including the United Kingdom, The United States of America, Australia, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Regions

Indonesia structures regions by Regencies and districts within those. Though names and areas of control of these regional structures can vary over time in accord with changing political and other requirements, in 2004 Papua province (including what is now West Papua province) consisted of 27 regencies (kabupaten), 2 cities (kotamadya), 117 subdistricts (kecamatan), 66 kelurahan, and 830 villages (desa).

Westpapua1
As of 2004, the Regencies in Papua province were: Asmat
Asmat Regency

Asmat Regency is one of the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia in Papua , Indonesia. The capital of the regency is Agats. Asmat Regency consists of an area approximately 29,658 km? with between 59,000 and 70,000 inhabitants, most from the Asmat people ethnic group....
, Biak Numfor, Boven Digoel, Jayapura
Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
, Kota Jayapura, Jayawijaya, Keerom, Mappi, Merauke
Merauke

Merauke is a town in Merauke Regency, Papua province, Indonesia. It is next to Maro River.The Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier in Merauke is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Merauke....
, Mimika, Nabire, Paniai, Pegunungan Bintang, Puncak Jaya
Puncak Jaya

Puncak Jaya , sometimes called Mount Carstensz or the Carstensz Pyramid, is a mountain in the Sudirman Range, the western central highlands of Papua , Indonesia....
, Sarmi
Sarmi

Count Ferdinando Sarmi was the head of the Sarmi fashion design house in New York City....
, Supiori
Supiori

Supiori is an island just west of Biak in the Schouten Islands in Papua province, Indonesia. It has a rugged surface with highest point at 1034 metres. Its area is 659 square kilometres....
, Tolikara, Waropen, Yahukimo, and Yapen Waropen. The Regencies in the same time period for West Papua province were: Fak-Fak, Kaimana, Manokwari
Manokwari

File:BirdsHeadPeninsula Topo.jpgManokwari is a city and regency in the Indonesian province of West Papua , at the western end of New Guinea. Since 2003 it has been the capital of the province....
, Raja Ampat, Sorong
Sorong

Sorong is a coastal city and regency in the eastern Indonesia province of West Papua . It is the gateway to Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands, species rich coral reef islands in an area considered the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity....
, Kota Sorong, Sorong Selatan, Teluk Bintuni, and Teluk Wondama.

In 2003 the western-most third of Papua province was split into a separate province, called West Irian Jaya, which was itself renamed West Papua province in 2007.

Jayapura
Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....
, founded in 1910 as Hollandia, had by 1962 developed into a city with modern civil, educational, and medical services. Since Indonesian administration these services have been replaced by Indonesian equivalents such as the TNI (military) replacing the Papuan police force. The name of the city has been changed from Hollandia, to Kotabaru then Sukarnopura and finally Jayapura.

It is the largest city in Western New Guinea, boasting a small but active tourism industry, it is a neat and pleasant city built on a slope overlooking the bay. Cenderawasih University
Cenderawasih University

Cenderawasih University is a university in Jayapura, in the province Papua , Indonesia. The university is the leading educational institution in the province....
 campus houses the Jayapura Museum. Tanjung Ria beach, well-known to the Allies during World War II, is a popular holiday resort now with facilities for water sports, and General Douglas MacArthur's
Douglas MacArthur

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Order of the Bath was an United States General officer, United Nations general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army....
 World War II quarters are still intact.

Geography

Land Area
Area
Climate
Rainfall 100 to 10,000 mm (4–400 in
Inch

An inch is the name of a Units of measurement of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units....
)
Temperature 0 to 32 °C
Celsius

Celsius is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death....
 (32–90 °F
Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit , who proposed it in 1724. Today, the scale has largely been replaced by the Celsius scale; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other countries such as Belize....
)
Humidity 80%
A central east-west mountain range
Mountain range

A mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by mountain pass or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes, uplifted mountains or Fold mountains...
 dominates the geography of New Guinea, over in total length. The western section is around long and across. Steep mountains 3,000 to 4,000 m (9,850–13,100 ft) and up to high along the range ensures a steady supply of rain from the tropical atmosphere. The tree line is around elevation
Elevation

The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, often the above mean sea level. Elevation, or geometric height, is mainly used when referring to points on the Earth's surface, while altitude or geopotential height is used for points above the surface, such as an aircraft in flight or a s...
 and the tallest peaks are snowbound year round.

Both north and west of the central ranges the land remains mountainous — mostly 1,000 to 2,000 m (3,300–6,660 ft) high — and covered by thick rain forest with a warm humid climate year round.

The third major habitat feature is the south east lowlands with extensive wetland
Wetland

File:Mangrove trees in Everglades.JPGA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water....
s stretching for hundreds of kilometers.

The province has 40 major river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
s, 12 lake
Lake

A lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all....
s, and 40 islands. The Mamberamo river, sometimes referred to as the "Amazon
Amazon River

The Amazon River of South America is the list of rivers by length in the world by volume, with a total river flow greater than the next top eight largest rivers combined....
 of Papua" is the province's largest river which winds through the northern part of the province. The result is a large area of lakes and rivers known as the Lakes Plains region. The vast southern lowlands, which consist of a mosaic of habitats including mangrove, tidal and freshwater swamp forest, and lowland rainforest, are home to a dense population of fishermen and gatherers such as the Asmat people
Asmat people

The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province of Indonesia. Possessing one of the most well-known and vibrant wood carving traditions in the Pacific, their art is sought by collectors worldwide....
. The famous Baliem Valley
Baliem Valley

The Baliem Valley, also spelled Balim Valley and sometimes known as the Grand Valley, of the highlands of Western New Guinea, is occupied by the Dani people....
, home of the Dani people
Dani People

The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of Western New Guinea ....
 is a tableland above sea level in the midst of the central mountain range; Puncak Jaya
Puncak Jaya

Puncak Jaya , sometimes called Mount Carstensz or the Carstensz Pyramid, is a mountain in the Sudirman Range, the western central highlands of Papua , Indonesia....
 (formerly Carstensz Pyramid) is a mist covered limestone mountain peak above sea level, the highest point in Indonesia.

The border with Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands ....
 mostly follows the 141st meridian, with one section defined by the Fly River
Fly River

The Fly at , is the second longest river, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. It rises in the Star Mountains, and crosses the south-western lowlands before flowing into the Gulf of Papua in a large River delta....
. This border is largely unguarded, and has seen a dramatic amount of refugees and illegal aliens cross over to PNG to flee the Indonesians. There are no reliable estimates on how many have crossed.

Demographics

The combined population of the Indonesian provinces of West Irian Jaya and Papua, constituting all of Western New Guinea, was estimated to be 2,646,489 in 2005. The two largest cities in the territory are Sorong in the northwest of the Bird's Head Peninsula
Bird's Head Peninsula

The Bird's Head Peninsula or Doberai Peninsula is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the West Papua , Indonesia, at ....
 and Jayapura in the northeast. Both cities have a population of approximately 200,000.

As in Papua New Guinea and some surrounding east Indonesian provinces, a large majority of the population is Christian. In the 2000 census 54% of West Papuans identified themselves as Protestant, 24% as Catholic, 21% as Muslim, and less than 1% as either Hindu or Buddhist. There is also substantial practice of animism
Animism

Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans and animals but also in plants, rock s, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also known as hylozoism in philosophy....
 among the major religions, but this is not recorded by the Indonesian census.

Tribes

Church in Kualakencana2
Western New Guinea is home to around 312 different tribes, including some uncontacted peoples
Uncontacted peoples

Uncontacted peoples are peoples who, either by choice or chance, live, or have lived, without significant contact with the 'modern' civilizations of the world....
. The following are some of the most well-known:
  • Amungme
    Amungme

    The Amungme are a group of about 13,000 people living in the highlands of the Papua province of Indonesia.They practice shifting agriculture, supplementing their livelihood by hunting and gathering....
  • Asmat
  • Bauzi
    Bauzi

    The Bauzi tribe consists of a group of 1500 people living in the north-central part of the Indonesia province of Papua . The Bauzi area consists of much of the lower Mamberamo area in northern Papua....
  • Biak (Byak)
  • Damal
  • Dani
  • Kamoro
    Kamoro

    Kamoro is a town and Communes of C?te d'Ivoire in C?te d'Ivoire....
  • Kombai
    Kombai people

    The Kombai are a Melanesian tribal people from the Indonesian province of Papua in Western New Guinea. The Kombai have become prominent to the outside world primarily because of their traditional tree house dwellings, which often reach heights of over 20 meters....
  • Korowai
    Korowai

    The Korowai, also called the Kolufo, are a people of southeastern Papua . Their numbers are very roughly estimated at about 3,000. Until the 1970s, they were unaware of the existence of any people besides themselves and some immediately neighboring villages....
  • Lani
    Lani (ethnic group)

    The Lani tribe is an indigenous group in Western New Guinea, also commonly referred to as the Western Dani, or grouped with the Dani People. The Lani and Western Dani designations separate the Lani as those living outside of the Baliem Valley, and the Dani as those populating the valley....
  • Mee
    Mee (tribe)

    The Mee are a people who inhabit West Papua on the Island of New Guinea.External links...
  • Mek
    Mek (tribe)

    The Mek are a Melanesian tribe of Papua, Western New Guinea. Until recently, the tribe had never seen Westerners and kept their ways of living for possibly 9,000 years....
  • Nduga
  • Sawi
    Sawi

    The Sawi are a tribal people of Western New Guinea, Indonesia. They were known to be cannibalistic Headhunting as recently as the 1950's.Since then, many of the tribe have converted to Christianity and the world's largest circular building made strictly from un-milled poles was constructed in 1972 as a Christian meeting place by the Sawi....
  • Sentani
  • Yali


Ecology

A vital tropical rainforest with the tallest tropical trees and vast biodiversity, Papua's known forest fauna includes marsupials (including possum
Possum

A possum is any of about 64 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi . The name derives from their resemblance to the opossums of the Americas....
s, wallabies
Wallaby

A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name....
, tree-kangaroo
Tree-kangaroo

Tree-kangaroos are macropods adapted for life in trees. They are found in the rainforests of New Guinea, far northeastern Queensland, and nearby islands, usually in mountainous areas....
s, cuscus
Cuscus

Cuscus is the common name generally given to the species within four genus of Australasian possum. The genera whose species are generally referred to as cuscuses are:...
), other mammals (including the endangered long-beaked echidna
Echidna

Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, are four Extant taxon mammal species belonging to the Tachyglossidae Family of the monotremes....
), many bird species (including birds of paradise, cassowaries
Cassowary

The cassowary is a very large flightless bird native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and nearby islands, and northeastern Australia. The Southern Cassowary is the third tallest and second heaviest bird on the planet, smaller only than the Ostrich and Emu....
, parrot
Parrot

File:Ara ararauna -eating -Wilhelma Zoo-8-2rc.jpgParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genus that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most warm and tropical regions....
s, cockatoo
Cockatoo

A cockatoo is any of the 21 bird species belonging to the family Cacatuidae. Along with the Psittacidae family and the Nestoridae family, they make up the order Psittaciformes....
s), the world's longest lizards (Papua monitor
Monitor lizard

Monitor lizards or biawak are members of the family Varanidae, a group of carnivorous lizard which includes the heaviest living lizard, the Komodo dragon, with the crocodile monitor being the longest in the world....
) and some of the world's largest butterflies.
Animal Group Est. Number
Mammals 180
Marsupial Mammals 70
Birds 700
Endemic Birds 450
Bats 70
The island has an estimated 16,000 species of plant, 124 genera of which are endemic.

The extensive waterways and wetlands of Papua are also home to salt and freshwater crocodile
Crocodile

A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all members of the order Crocodilia: i.e....
, tree monitor, flying foxes
Megabat

Megabats is the term used informally to refer to bats of the family Pteropodidae. They are also referred to as fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes....
, osprey
Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk, is a Diurnality, fish bird of prey. It is a large Bird of prey, reaching 60 centimeters in length with a 1.8 metre wingspan....
, bats and other animals; while the equatorial glacier fields remain largely unexplored.

In February 2005, a team of scientists exploring the Foja Mountains
Foja Mountains

The Foja Mountains or Foja Range is located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua , Indonesia. The mountains rise to 2,193 meters , and contain more than 3,000 square kilometres of old growth tropical rainforest in the interior part of the range....
 discovered numerous new species of birds, butterflies, amphibians, and plants, including a species of rhododendron
Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It is a large genus with over 1000 species and most have showy flower displays....
 which may have the largest bloom of the genus.

Ecological dangers include deforestation at an alarming rate; the spread of the exotic Crab-eating Macaque
Crab-eating Macaque

The Crab-eating Macaque is a primarily arboreal macaque native to Southeast Asia. It is also called the Cynomolgus Monkey, Philippine Monkey and the Long-tailed Macaque....
 (monkey) which now threatens the existence of many native species; pollution such as Grasberg mine
Grasberg mine

The Grasberg mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua, at , and employs 19 500....
 dumping 230 000 tonnes of copper and gold tailings into the rivers system each day.

Culture

West Papuans share many affinities with the culture of Papua New Guinea
Culture of Papua New Guinea

The culture of Papua New Guinea is many-sided and complex and a unique place jrhhjhgrhghhhbbsjbjj . It is estimated that more than 1000 different cultural groups exist in PNG, and most groups have their own language....
 (PNG) to the east. As with PNG, the peoples of the highlands have distinct traditions and languages from peoples of the coasts.

Many aspects of West Papuan culture have been forcibly repressed since the area's 1963 incorporation into the Indonesian state. In 2001 the province was granted special autonomy by the Indonesian government, opening the possibility of increased indigenous cultural production
Creative industries

The phrase creative industries refers to a set of interlocking industry Tertiary sector of industry, and are often cited as being a growing part of the Globalisation....
 and arts venues.

Some Papuans fear that the history of Indonesian repression, education, propaganda, and transmigration have negatively impacted Papuan cultures. In March 2003 John Rumbiak
John Rumbiak

John Rumbiak , is a West Papuan human rights and Environmental activist activist. Born in Biak he began English language studies at Cenderawasih University in 1982 and worked as a coordinator and field researcher at the Rural Community Development Foundation in Abepura....
 stated that Papuan culture "will be extinct" within 10 to 20 years, if the present rate of assimilation in the region continues. In response to such criticism the Indonesian government states that the special autonomy arrangement specifically addresses the ongoing preservation of Papua culture, and that the transmigration program was "designed specifically to help the locals through knowledge transfer." Papua advocates view such responses as a continuation of the Indonesian state's tendency to view Papuans as "primitives" in need of "development."

In some parts of the highlands, the koteka
Koteka

The koteka, horim, or penis sheath is a phallocrypt or phallocarp traditionally worn by native male inhabitants of some ethnic groups in western New Guinea to cover their genitals....
 is traditionally worn by males in ceremonial contexts. Despite government efforts to suppress it, the use of the koteka as everyday dress by Dani
Dani People

The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of Western New Guinea ....
 males in Western New Guinea is still very common.

See also

  • New Guinea
    New Guinea

    New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
  • Papua (Indonesian province)
    Papua (Indonesian province)

    Papua is the largest Provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia, comprising a majority part of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands ....
  • West Papua (province)
  • Netherlands New Guinea
    Netherlands New Guinea

    Netherlands New Guinea was the official name of Western New Guinea while it was a colonial possession of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea....
  • Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
    Kaiser-Wilhelmsland

    Kaiser-Wilhelmsland was the name given to the north-eastern part of the New Guinea mainland, while under Germany's control between 1884 until 1914, when it was conquered by Australian troops....
  • British New Guinea
  • German New Guinea
    German New Guinea

    German New Guinea was a former Germany protectorate from 1884 to 1914, consisting of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby island groups....
  • Dutch New Guinea
  • Human rights in western New Guinea
    Human rights in western New Guinea

    This is a partial listing of alleged human rights violations in western New Guinea under Indonesian rule . A number of these are included in the report to the Indonesian Human Rights Network by the Allard K Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School....
  • Asmat people
    Asmat people

    The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province of Indonesia. Possessing one of the most well-known and vibrant wood carving traditions in the Pacific, their art is sought by collectors worldwide....
  • Dani people
    Dani People

    The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of Western New Guinea ....
  • Postage Stamps of West Irian
  • Genocides in history
    Genocides in history

    Genocide is the mass killing of a group of people. It is defined in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnicity, Race or religion group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodil...


Further reading

  • Penders, C.L.M., The West New Guinea debacle. Dutch decolonisation and Indonesia 1945-1962, Leiden 2002, KITLV
    KITLV

    The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies at Leiden was founded in 1851. Its objective is the advancement of the study of the anthropology, linguistics, social sciences, and history of South East Asia, the Pacific Area, and the Caribbean....


External links