WEST PAPUA | Indonesia's Melanesian Independence Movement

West Papua is one of the longest running independence movements in international politics. It is also one of the least known. For almost sixty years, the native Melanesian community has fought for independence from Indonesia. However, while the West Papua conflict is often thought of as a case of attempted secession, and is classed as such by most governments, it can also be thought of as a case of colonial self-determination.
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Although West New Guinea had been a part of the Dutch East Indies, it did not form a part of Indonesia when it became independent, in 1949. Instead it remained under the Netherlands, which argued that the Melanesian roots of the population meant it should have a separate right to statehood. However, over the following decade, the Indonesian Government exerted ever more pressure to have the territory put under its sovereignty. In the end, the Dutch capitulated. In 1962, the New York Agreement saw the creation of a temporary UN administration (UNTEA) over West New Guinea, or West Irian as it was also known, before it was passed on to Indonesia. As part of this agreement, a referendum was meant to have been held in 1969 to decide on whether West Papua would remain part of Indonesia or become independent. However, the eventual vote - the so-called Act of Free Choice - was deeply flawed. Despite this, the outcome was endorsed by the UN General Assembly. Since then, and against the backdrop of serious human rights abuses, West Papuan independence movement has campaigned and fought for another referendum. Although most of the world still regards the territory as part of Indonesia, it does seem that support is potentially growing.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction and Titles
0:38 Secession, Self-Determination and West Papua
1:50 The Geography and Population of West Papua
2:47 The Historical Roots of the West Papua Dispute
4:25 How West Papua Became Part of Indonesia
6:02 West Papua under Indonesia Rule
7:35 The West Papua Independence Campaign since 2000
9:31 Emerging Tensions in West Papua
10:45 West Papua: Secession or Self-Determination?
RELATED PLAYLISTS
Current Issues and Disputes • CURRENT ISSUES AND DIS...
Secession and Independence in Asia and Oceania • ASIA AND OCEANIA
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FURTHER READING & USEFUL SOURCES
New York Agreement (1962) undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/5170
UN Resolution 2504 (XXIV) 1969 digitallibrary.un.org/record/...
United Liberation Movement for West Papua www.ulmwp.org
Free West Papua Campaign www.freewestpapua.org
Indonesia Ministry of Foreign Affairs kemlu.go.id/portal/en
The Road: Uprising in West Papua amzn.to/3xCoKTn
West Papua and Indonesia Since Suharto amzn.to/3xxajjf
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KEYWORDS
#WestPapua #Indonesia #Independence
#InternationalPolitics #CurrentAffairs #InternationalRelations
#Secession #Statehood #Independence
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[@JamesKerLindsay]

West Papua's quest for independence is extremely unusual - if not unique - in international politics. It can be regarded as either a secessionist dispute, the view taken by most countries, or as a case of thwarted colonial self-determination. So, which is it? And why do you think it hasn't received the sort of attention that other cases, such as East Timor received? Thoughts and comments below.

[@ariefferdaus31]

Hi James! I just finished watching the video and I have to say it's very nicely done! As a Malaysian who is also taking International Relations in university, the Papuan issue is quite an interesting one. Personally, although I believe Papua to be a part of Indonesia, the Act of Free Choice was indeed a horrible decision that gives some degree of legitimacy for the insurgents. I think most people in the international community share the same view and the main reason being Indonesia is too well-established and plays a large role in the current world.

[@spencersss1251]

Wow I didn’t understand how different that was. The hand picking of 1,000 elders and act of free choice was anything but. I understand the situation and why other countries didn’t act.But the fact that Indonesia didn’t hold a proper referendum and the elders were hand picked ruins any claim they had.sadly armed insurgents killing individuals give a blank check to governments to act as they want and justify their cause as well as causing more violence and war for those non aligned in the area. Now the general population has changed even if a vote goes the native people don’t have the numbers so they may not get it.

[@ketuayahukimo7108]

He James thank you for your helping for us west Papuan. Blessing of God with you all the time

[@duniavirtual7112]

because Indonesia is more civilized so they are free to speak as long as they don't violate the rules and don't harm other people. Indonesia is not like European immigrants who exterminated the native Indian Apace in America, the Malenesian aborigines in Australia, until now this trait is still carried away to threaten if they lose in trade and economic competition.

[@nasifah1290]

@@ketuayahukimo7108 penjahat ngumpet ngga beranni tampilin muka

[@kalvinmarian927]

I am proud of you Mr. James to talk about my land in west Papua. May God with you 🙏

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. I appreciate it. It really deserves to have a lot more international attention.

[@eduardog3000]

Are West Papuans at all wanting to join Papua New Guinea, or is that not really something you guys are interested in?

[@asliindonesia4122]

Papua was historically part of Indonesia before the Republic of Indonesia exist. After Indonesian Independence proclaimed in 17 August 1945, based of International law, Papua is legally part of Indonesia. UN Resolutions firmly stated Papua is part of Indonesia. Pepera or the 1969 act of free of choices which was held under UN auspices has reconfirmed Papua is part of Indonesia... All sector developments are rapidlly being conducted for Papuans democratically, economically, socio-culturally for Papuan prosperity. For those who have never moved on and still dream that Papua is not part of Indonesia, and want Papua to be separated from Indonesia, it's better if you just drown yourself in the deepest sea.

[@Jimmy_The_Goat]

@@asliindonesia4122 historically there is no such thing as indonesia, made up country.

[@allanchannel86]

West papua people neet want to free because indonesia govermant and military always make genocida in west papuan and also they make chriminal group in west papua And they kiling west papua many people time by time So west papua people must free from every genocida indonesia

[@menadionnassertamtama379]

Papua is not the only Melanesian teritory in Indonesia. There are others: Maluku, Halmahera, East Nusa Tenggara

[@ngala_mbale]

Yes, we know and that means they are being colonized, and the only people who are aware of this are Papua because the large transmigration carried out by Indonesia to the island of Papua almost rivals the native Papuan population, as an effort to Indonesianize Papua.

[@laillosidgar]

@@ngala_mbale They are indonesian, they don't need to be Indonesianized.

[@bobfaam5215]

@@laillosidgar By ur logic , Indonesia belongs to Dutch . 😂 Melanesians have nothing to do with Indonesia . It is a very different culture .

[@laillosidgar]

@@bobfaam5215 it used to be. Now they are different entity. Eastern Indonesian are melanesian. Makes me wonder do you ever go to Indonesia? If you did, then visit the eastern part.

[@moreno9446]

@@bobfaam5215 so this means that the netherland should annex Indonesia again

[@madoxxxx06]

Thank you for covering this subject.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. It really does deserve far more international attention.

[@akereawa9124]

Ambazonia aka Southern Cameroons is with you West Papua

[@JamesKerLindsay]

I’d be really keen to hear what you think of this situation. There are some fascinating similarities, even though it is on the other side of the world. Just shows that the legacy of colonialism isn’t only felt in Africa.

[@picslamisi631]

Thanks for your support, From Jayapura, West Papua

[@gersonongge6868]

Thank You Prof.J.Ker-Lindsay; to your attention for the struggle of freewest Papua, God bless you for longtime struggle of freewest Papua. One day we shall overcome that is our hope of Melanesian people.Go on we pray to all people that have the same attention for the free west papua.

[@RW22]

Thank you James Ker-Lindsay

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. Please do share the video. Sadly, it hasn't been getting many views. Without views and likes, KZbin doesn't push it out to more potential viewers.

[@ngala_mbale]

The large scale transmigration carried out by Indonesia to the island of Papua almost rivaled that of the native Papuan population, as an effort to Indonesianize Papua. Papua is aware of this and Papua is indeed a different nation from Indonesia.

[@felixkmur2614]

God belss you free west papua im from papua thank you🙏🙏🙏🙏😭😭😭😭🤲✊🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇵🇨🇵🇨🇵🇨🇵

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. Wishing you all my very best.

[@filippoardizzone8216]

I appreciate how you show your own point of view while showing other points of view. I wonder whether West Papua would merge with Papua New Guinea if it achieved independence (given their Melanesian roots) or would it rather stay as its own country. Grat job!! I really enjoyed this video

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much Filippo. The relationship with PNG is rather interesting. I didn’t have time to go into it, but it seems that they would remain separate. In fact, PNG has tended to stay away from the issue. It hasn’t wanted to antagonise Indonesia. It is also wary about being seen to support a separatist movement, even one for fellow Melanesians, given its own secessionist issues with Bougainville.

[@filippoardizzone8216]

@@JamesKerLindsay I see, that's quite interesting to know, you would think it would be worth losing a relatively small territory such as Bougainville in order to unite with such a big territory... But who knows

[@illuminaticomfirmed6948]

West Papua is quite an interesting subject. Often times people talk about Imperialism and colonialism as if it was a purely European endeavour. Yet many often forget that States by their nature of existing in an anarchic setting(the UN isn’t known for intervening against larger powers Post-Korean War), must and often times do ruthlessly pursue their own interests. One avenue being influencing foreign affairs in one’s own favour. If said state becomes large and powerful enough, inevitably the pursuit of their interests in said manner will eventually become imperialism/colonialism. West Papua is in many ways very similar to what is happening in Israel and China. China is 91% Han and thus is generally the ethnic empire of the Han. Xinjiang is a majority Turkic territory and as such would naturally want independence from China. As a result China has cracked down and according to censuses and birthrate data, it seems like Xinjiang is turning majority Han. As for Israel, their settlements in the West Bank and their eviction of Arabs from Palestinian Jerusalem indicate a similar demographic effort, though the far higher Arab birthrates compared to Jewish birthrates have yet to be addressed. IMO West Papua is much in the same vein as Xinjiang and Palestine, foreign territories whose occupiers wish to make their own through demographic change. While the legal situations are different, the aim and methods being employed by the larger powers are relatively similar.

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

so, just like america, canada, australia, new zealand?

[@nurlindafsihotang49]

Palestine was betrayed by US and UK, for they are promised sovereignity by them. Indonesia independence supposed to be with all territory of ex netherland oost indies. Including all papua, and New Zealand. Did you see us forcing PNG and NZ? Even freedomfighters also consist "putera papua"/papua's sons. How dare you insinuating we are the same as chinesse treating xin jiang? Or palestine!?.

[@mayena]

@@nurlindafsihotang49 By your reasoning Bangladesh should resorb into Pakistan and Pakistan rejoin India?.

[@GeorgeSBlonsky]

Hey James.. yet another fantastic analysis of a situation the vast majority of us are completely unaware of.. including myself who actually visited PNG back in 2002 for a story I was working on..! It's a sad reflection of our global society that no-one will do anything unless and until the Indonesians overstep the mark (yet again) by more brutality against the indigenous West Papuans.. that people in all probability will have to die before the UN acts is shameful. All the best my friend and thanks again for sharing your knowledge..! g

[@kallolbose237]

Thanks James really wonderful we are unaware of this

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. Sadly, it gets almost no international coverage.

[@daveevans8454]

Great video, quite unknown to many people outside the region

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. You are right. Hardly anyone here in Europe seems to know about this. Interestingly, though, it seems that even in neighbouring Australia the issue isn't terribly well known or understood. It is sad, especially when one looks into the background. But it does seem that maybe it is getting some traction; even if only on the human rights side of things at this stage.

[@NikolaHD]

Really nice channel, found you today and subbed of course! Don't stop making videos please :) Even though we disagree on some topics i still respect your opinion

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks you so much Nikola. So glad to hear you discovered the channel. And I really appreciate the sub. Needless to say, I’d be keen to hear your thoughts on any and all videos. As you’ll see, I do like to hear alternative views - as long as they aren’t abusive (and aren’t mere slogans)! :-) It’s also really important for others to hear well-articulated counter-arguments, especially from those close to a situation. By the way, I’m guessing you are from the Balkans. Keep an eye out for tonight’s video. Discussing 🇧🇬🇲🇰 and their dispute over national identity.

[@NikolaHD]

@@JamesKerLindsay Yes I am from balkans but living in Austria :) I will be waiting on that video for sure!

[@muhammadapri3201]

In autralia aborin make up 3.3 % of all population , in america indian make up 1.2% of all population , in new Zealand maori make up 16.5 % of all population . And you compare indonesian people. In another indonseia teritory. Oh irony.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. This is not about saying that other countries didn't do bad things in the past. We know that they have. I have discussed this in other videos. It is saying that Indonesia is doing bad things in West Papua now. This is the important point.

[@muhammadapri3201]

@@JamesKerLindsay is moving to another teritory in your own country is bad thing.

[@tibhanraj2478]

@@muhammadapri3201 actually it is if your country invaded and colonize the land

[@imranamajeeda688]

@@muhammadapri3201 There is Indonesian transmigration program in Indonesia for majority Javanese to go other islands like Sumatra and Borneo to make natives of islands minority and to suppress separatism It’s happening in west papua which should also be known as ethnic cleansing of west Papuans so they can take away all natural resources of west papua

[@BHRU]

The International community or United nations is afraid that It will inspire other nations to rise but the cost is high to maintain the OPPRESSION. Indonesia must surrender West Papua.

[@bestenemies4520]

Idk why western ppl it's so bussy for caring bout another country's issue instead of Looking for. Wht they've done.. Like Timor-timor was seperate from Indonesia, taking advantages of it just for Natural resources and if done... They just leave it in Poverty ..it's such a jerk politics wht they've played.. u're to bussy to Sepperate a Country even without ever think it's not tht easy to build a Country, to be Independent now Watch the result Timor-timor yeah they're independent now.. But more Poor than before, And regret it for seperated from Indonesia

[@sekartaji333]

You don't have to slander the West Indonesians to colonize Papuans. because we were all taught about multi-racial diversity throughout Indonesia to respect each other's differences from other ethnic groups. Our motto is different from race and ethnicity but still one Indonesia.

[@imranamajeeda688]

@@sekartaji333 Brother there is so much discrimination against west Papuans no matter how much u deny it U guys only want natural resources of west papua , u don’t care about it’s people

[@imranamajeeda688]

@@sekartaji333 Indonesia can still prosper without west papua If u are confident that west Papuans do not want to leave Indonesia then do a referenderum Free west papua

[@imranamajeeda688]

@@sekartaji333 West Papuans are proud west papuans Melanesian is not at all related to Malays who are Indonesians I’m saying this on behalf of all my west papuan brothers and sisters who are being tortured by Indonesian security forces When west Papuans students were protesting why did Indonesian police used racist terms against them West Papuans have right to self determination and right to decide whether to remain part of Indonesia or become an independent country I’m sure they will choose to become an independent country as a member of Melanesian spearhead group

[@MrLurchsThings]

Here in Australia we’re mildly aware of what’s going on in West Papua, however the history is not well known. It’s sad that West Papua basically got screwed over by the international community simply to not anger Indonesia. Surely this history should play a part in their arguments to the UN, but it seems not.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks a lot. Really interesting to hear a view from Australia on this. It is fascinating to hear that it’s not particularly well understood over there as it really is on your doorstep. And I completely agree. The geopolitical element was crucial. No one wanted to lose Indonesia in the Cold War. But while they were willing to pressure Jakarta over East Timor, they have completely abandoned West Papua.

[@MrLurchsThings]

@@JamesKerLindsay Australia went through a reasonably long period of not wanting to anger the Indonesians too. There was scare tactics in the media even hinting at invasion (even though it’s been known for a long time that invading Australia would be nearly impossible). But that was mainly around the Federal govt needing an excuse to increase defence funding. Indonesia has for a long time been the quiet issue here in Oceania. Sadly we’ve also let Papua New Guinea slump into significant internal issues since their independence too.

[@muhammadapri3201]

@@MrLurchsThings just go back to u.k. and give back Australia land to aborigin people.

[@KyeThePie]

@@muhammadapri3201 LMAO even the aborigines would hate that 🤣🤣🤣

[@muhammadapri3201]

@@KyeThePie why aborigines people hate , When killer back to his country ?

[@epochannel6234]

Thank you very much for raising the issue of Papua, always keep your spirits up bro

[@nabilalhami1681]

West Papua is a lesser known case of thwarted self determination, compared to Kurdistan.

[@abdifatah8520]

Interesting video thanks you James 👍🏿

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you!

[@KarthikAyyalasomayajula]

Great video! My only real exposure to this conflict prior to this was Wikipedia rabbit holes, which didn't give a huge depth of information (or if it did, I guess I didn't do a great job reading it) Actually your channels been doing that a lot, there's plenty of KZbin videos about Israel/Palestine but a lot of these smaller conflicts and movements deserve attention too

[@draw4kicks]

Really loving your channel James! Glad to see your subscriber numbers jumping up every time you upload a video, very much deserved and thank you for the fantastically well informed content!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much! Yes, I have had a bit of growth recently, which has been great. :-) Last week's video on Biafra really took off and attracted a lot of new viewers. Hopefully some of them will also watch some of the lesser known cases, like this one. It is really interesting to see the very different reactions to various topics I cover.

[@draw4kicks]

@@JamesKerLindsay Very welcome mate! I was also curious if within the West Papuan independence movement there is any calls to unite with Papua New Guinea? Just from an outsiders perspective it seems like a completely arbitrary line has been drawn down the middle of the island, but you're obviously the expert!

[@ketuayahukimo7108]

I agree that. Thanks

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you.

[@tamu7243]

Indonesia has always been on the top of my list of countries I think are most likely to fall apart during the 21st century.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

I agree. It is certainly very fragile. One can see why Jakarta reacts so strongly to any hint of secessionism anywhere in the country.

[@acarmineandreeas2544]

I was thinking the same thing, if West Papua is free, then the rest of Indonesia will also break away

[@arifudin9151]

You right, here in Indonesia we not fear of Australia, Malaysia, Singapore or Philipines. But we fear about falling Indonesia like Yugoslavia and Soviet

[@acarmineandreeas2544]

@@arifudin9151 I hope Indonesia does not fall apart, its a big country with lots of people that don't unite because the rich look down on the poor just like the Philippines..

[@saintkun2708]

We'll prove u its not

[@finbarrnolan7676]

It's a really tragic situation to see. I do think there's a good argument to be made that West Papua is an Indonesian colony alas less in the vein of the classic model of a colony and more in stuff such as Portugal's overseas "provinces" of the Estado Novo era.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. Yes, it bears all the hallmarks of a colonial relationship. And the 1969 vote was quite clearly a sham. I can see where Indonesia makes the argument about territorial integrity. However, that territorial construct was completely arbitrary anyway. It is a fascinating case, but sadly one I suspect will eventually fade away with demographic changes.

[@miltonmiles6324]

@@JamesKerLindsay Hi James. What I have personally observed in regards to West Papua is that Indonesian transmigration has been concentrated in the coastal areas of the territory, rather than the inland highlands, where indigenous Melanesian West Papuans still make up the majority. In the future, I predict the conflict would be heavily skewed between a pro-indonesia multiethnic coast and an anti-indonesia pro-independence melanesian interior.

[@southsouth2403]

A London-ish that never talked about British invansion to Australia and North America. And perfectly done a Holocaust, Genocide, and stealing land. Good job 👏👏👏

[@JamesKerLindsay]

I’m not sure what your point is? Perhaps explain more.

[@tanzung6560]

@@JamesKerLindsay you talked about freedom while your anchestor doing a very genocide to aborigin and everywhere they go.. so you are never relevant on these case

[@rogerdarthwell5393]

I did not even hear this on the news, it is not even reported, thank you for letting the world know about this, also something completely unrelated but Kenneth Kaunda has died, what do you think? also next Friday it's going to be the 30th anniversary of the Declarations of Independence of Slovenia and Croatia, which is the event that started the Yugoslav Wars, maybe this is an idea for next week's video?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you Roger. Yes, it is an issue that very few people have heard about and yet it did have a UN mission in the 1960s. I hadn't seen the news about Kenneth Kaunda. Wow. That is a blast from the past. I thought he had died many years ago. Thanks for the great suggestion on Slovenia and Croatia. In fact, I have been looking to do scripts on both of them, but on slightly different topics. Slovenia marked its independence by arbitrarily 'erasing' whole sections of its society. And I have actually been keen to explore Croatia and Operation Storm.

[@rogerdarthwell5393]

@@JamesKerLindsay I never knew that Slovenia erased sections of it's society! That is going to be interesting, and yeah Kenneth Kaunda died a few days ago at the age of 97

[@arrore]

Always wandered about the half part of 'Papua' when doing map guessing quizzes. Without knowing the issue there at all, I had a feeling that bigger Indonesia had done some bullying to have half of that island for themselves. It looks like that is the case. Thank you James for the information.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Yes, it is a strange one, isn't it? PNG on one side and yet no one ever speaks about the Western half of the island. It is interesting that the independence movement has never managed to get the same traction as others. I guess that in the case of East Timor it was always seen as an illegal move. But, in this case, the territorial integration was endorsed by the international community and they don't want to revisit it.

[@sekartaji333]

@@JamesKerLindsay You see Timor Leste after separating from Indonesia. Australia dredging up Timor Leste's oil and produce. their people are poor and want to return to being Indonesian citizens after seeing the neighboring area of ​​NTT a lot of development and seeing Papua progressing. why did you colonize the palestinian aborigines from their own land?? #free aboriginal #free indian #free palestinian.

[@GoogleUser-wp6sg]

@@sekartaji333 you right. Free palestine, free West papua!

[@sekartaji333]

@@GoogleUser-wp6sg Will never . just free palestine . west papua is a fixed price within the territory of Indonesia

[@sekartaji333]

@@GoogleUser-wp6sg kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZi2eJuAi72AhJo

[@danielwakei6528]

I am Papuan, Thank you Sir to explain our matter to the world.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you for the comment. It is a tragic situation. Wishing you all the best.

[@danielwakei6528]

@@JamesKerLindsay Amen. 🙏 God bless you Sir. 😇

[@tommydesnam3891]

Sedih noh... Semoga dunia internasional tegahkan keadilan untuk tong pu tanah tercinta ni. We love West Papua!

[@jackjimny7417]

@@JamesKerLindsay God bless you,

[@georgiebindosano6172]

Greetings From West Papua Mr. James🙌🏿❤️, thank you very much for this information,so many people can know the situation in West Papua. Thank you very much Mr. James God bless you🙏🏾😇

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. It really does deserve to get more international attention. If you so know anyone else who might be interested, please do let them know. Very best wishes from London.

[@westpapualiberation]

You're correct

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. If you thought it is a fair appraisal, please do circulate it more widely.

[@busulik4525]

freedom aboriginal ✊

[@abdulbassitmohammed1915]

Hi James! Here is an other interesting topic.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much.

[@HiburanMasa-ts9ri]

Thanks a lot Papa🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@tommydesnam3891]

Hello sir, this topic really interesting and burning me out. I'm from West Papua and as you say this injustice is still happens until now. I'm so sad cause nothing's we cannot do if there is no support from international community. We need justice, we need to take back our rights, we need FREEDOM 😭

[@newbabies923]

What kind of injustice?

[@noefvon]

Injustice? Really? What about the army that being killed by opm?

[@VIC-hx2ny]

Very interesting video. Could it merge with Papua New Guinea in case of independence?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Hi there VIC, Great to hear from you. I hope all is well. Excellent question. I really want to look into the relationship with PNG. I started to explore it, but it would have complicated this video too much to try to include it. But I do hope to come back to it. Interestingly, PNG has been very quiet on WP. It seems that it hasn't wanted to antagonise Indonesia. Also, it has been wary of supporting independence movements - even by other Melanesians - as it has been trying to fend off Bougainville independence (a campaign by other Melanesians)!

[@muhammadapri3201]

Even bougainville want independent from png.

[@141Travish]

Nah, PNG are failed state

[@iaw7406]

This is like India having the andamanese islands or Sudan having South Sudan until recently. Decolonisation only occured to an extent.

[@A.A.]

With this logic Tamils, Nagas, Panjab, Kashmiris and Assamese will demand self determination.. But it wont only weaken just them but also India.

[@keeganmoonshine7183]

@@A.A. respect minority rights and languages and do not treat them as a colonized people and then they won't want to leave. Indonesia needs to use the carrot not the stick.

[@ipadair7345]

@@keeganmoonshine7183 you responded to the wrong person.

[@iaw7406]

@@A.A. no because they share culture or ethnic links or BOTH with eachother. The seninelese natives arent related to anyone in the mainland.

[@imranamajeeda688]

@@A.A. All of them are proud Indians India’s strength lies in unity in diversity Do not be jealous that this system is not applied in Indonesia Let west papua be free

[@A.A.]

I love democratic process, but if referendums are the answer the number countries would be triple or may be quadruple.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Indeed. As one UN Secretary-General apparently said, if there was a universal right of self-determination he would be the head of an organisation of 6,000 countries not the current 193. It would be unmanageable. But at the same time the current system forces many peoples to live in countries where they face repression and the denial of their basic right to a degree of autonomy.

[@nreralpapua]

Thanks. My God bless you

[@traw1369]

West papua has the 2nd biggest gold mine in the world. That is all

[@BeraubtWerden]

Still find it weird that some parts of the world doesnt even understand a multicultural and multiethnic state, If you really still think that every ethnic should have its own state, the world map would look so much chaotic. Indonesian people united because of their shared anti dutch colonial occupation, that include the west papua

[@urbnctrl]

Thank you for this much needed coverage. However I must correct you on an important detail! The Indonesian republic was not declared in 1949, but in 1950. This was the same year that the Western Melanesian neighbors of Maluku declared their independent republic as a direct result of the federation United States of Indonesia not upholding its promises to souvereignity for the incorporated declared surrounding territories (Papua, Maluku, Timor, Aceh) and crumbling down. This is another very important detail that showcases the very dark intentions the Indonesian Republic holds towards the West Melanesian indigenous populations of Maluku and West Papua. Due to the occupation of both Papua and Maluku and the inhumane practices of Indonesian transmigration somehow, in the end of last year - the declaration date of the Indonesian Republic was officially moved from 1950 to 1949 which thwarts the cause for its illegal occupation of foreign territory (Maluku) which in its core is history fraud.

[@tomjohnston3393]

Do a video on the independence movements in Indian states including the North East states, West Bengal, Kerela, Kashmir and Tamil Nadu. I think India gets a pass in international politics because it's a democracy.

[@imranamajeeda688]

Stop trying to play divide and rule politics of our country india And do not be jealous of how diverse and peaceful our country is Conflicts in northeast are now almost finished because of lack of public support from people in northeast who are proud Indians and the armed groups are weak now they are backed by China so that it can benefit

[@absyahwa7698]

@@imranamajeeda688 stop being delusional, i know you are indian nationalist but corruptions, intimidations, and racial discriminations towards northeast people especially the nagaland allowed them to separate from india

[@rajkishorebehera7489]

@@absyahwa7698lmao Nagaland is still part of india until now

[@JeetuKumarYadav-ow8jq]

Britishers divided India in 1947. Now they want to divide India more and more. It is unacceptable. You guys are jealous of eastern countries.

[@kuyaocstriviaeverything9860]

Nice topic.

[@rfaiyang4720]

Good video

[@anirudhparthasarathy3387]

Thank you James, for yet another informative video, really appreciate the time and effort you put into each of them; this video is on yet another topic that I barely get to see on the media (similar to the Biafra video you had posted last week). Sorry for the long remark that is to follow - there is something I have wondered about this topic for a long time - West Papua seems to be similar to a lot of former colonies; who were never given a choice to determine their own future and were largely made to continue with the boundaries that were drawn by the colonial power that 'granted' them independence (like most of the countries in the Sahel or south of the region, the Middle East, North eastern part of India, etc. - with active insurgency movements and having never been given opportunity to determine their future). Should the international community not have a broader definition of deconolonisation / non-self governing territories to accommodate the rights of the people in these regions?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. Great question. I think that we do need to think about the right of independence more generally. The problem with decolonisation is that it is essentially finished now. There are just a small handful of territories still left. And many of them aren't really viable as states, or are politicised disputes between two countries over a territory. West Papua is a very strange example, as I hope to show. But, more generally, I certainly do think we need to have a discussion on the right to independence more generally.

[@lanilla860]

Thank you so much sir. Untill Today we west papuan can't doing somehting in our land,because of massively indo's military operafion in west papua.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. Yes, I understand that there has been a major increase in activity. Please stay safe. Best wishes from London.

[@lanilla860]

@@JamesKerLindsay Thank you God bless you 🙏

[@yohanakambuy2726]

Thank You so much for Prof James...we all Papuans people born in our home land for suffer...thanks for Your attension for our land PAPUA...🙏🙏🙏

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. It is a situation that deserves far more attention!

[@yong95p]

should be grateful for the suffering and victims of indigenous Papuans unlike other regions of the archipelago..south africa.aborigin.apache and others

[@UFOhunter4711]

Honestly indeed as Timor Leste leaving closed this door a little bit as now you get the slippery slope argument for the unravelling of Indonesia and Australia lawyer K scandal really hurt any movement on this. If im being complete honest, I think Papuans had/have a much stronger independence case than just half of small Timor but what is, is now. Great video as always

[@TheWorldsMyth]

FYI its around 70% native papuans today, not 47%. Theyre mistaking the western tip of papua (Provinsi Papua Barat) which were already sparse with native papuans to the inner, bigger papua province (Provinsi Papua)

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much. There seems to be quite a lot of debate about this. I also saw figures that suggested an even lower Papuan population. But that was why I was clear to stress that Papuan activists cite this figure.

[@moshehaifa]

A fascinating and sad situation. It is hard to see West Papuan independence happening given the disparity of strength between West Papua and the rest of Indonesia. I was wondering if you would consider a video about the partition of Ireland or about power sharing in Northern Ireland since this June marks the centenary of the establishment the original NI parliament in 1921?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks Brendan. Sadly, I think you’re absolutely right. East Timor (which I covered in another video) was never regarded as part of Indonesia and so it was easier for it to accept its independence. Also, it didn’t have the mineral wealth. In the case of West Papua, Indonesia clearly feels it has every reason to hold on to it. And the way it is going with the demographic changes one gets the sense it’s playing a long game to end this ‘problem’. So incredibly sad. On Ireland, this is something I have wanted to do for ages. But, obviously, I am aware of the sensitivities about speaking on this as someone British. (Although I do have Irish ancestry. And as the DNA test results I received this week showed, it’s substantially more than I knew about! I knew I had a Protestant great great grandmother from Dublin. But this was was full of links to very non-Protestant Cork, Kerry, Galway, etc. 🧐😀) There are so many interesting and important aspects to the partition. I certainly plan to do it. I just need to feel I can get it right.

[@moshehaifa]

@@JamesKerLindsay I'm also wondering how has Papua New Guinea approached the issue of West Papua over the period of Indonesian rule. Have they ever spoken up for the West Papuans? I'm sure you'd do the (Northern) Irish question justice. I think unfortunately it's a topic where some people would be unhappy with aspects of any video though. I'm not sure what aspect of it would best suit a video either; the original home rule struggle from 1880 to 1914, the actual partition in 1920, the working of the NI parliament, the Troubles or the Good Friday Agreement.

[@iaw7406]

@@JamesKerLindsay what are your full DNA results ? Any other suprises ?

[@muhammadapri3201]

@@moshehaifa Papua new Guinea have their own problem in Bougenville.

[@lastrationalist7890]

@@moshehaifa Some local political leaders in PNG sometimes bring up the issue of West Papua. Especially during times when conflicts are on the uptick such as recently where at least 200 West Papuans went into PNG for refugee. However, the President and other big political representatives largely ignore the issue and, when it is brought up, usually side with the Indonesian government. This is due to PNG's close alignment with both Indonesia and Australia. Being critical of Indonesia's occupation of West Papua would cause problems for the nation and they can't afford to step out of line, I'm afraid.

[@jackjimny7417]

thank....prof. from wets papua.

[@peacefulworld1717]

Thank you James for yet another important revelation. My issue is the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights is explicit in it's intent and purpose. Why should we have member nations of UN ignoring the law they themselves have subscribed to and keep violating the rights of people. Why should some individuals determine the life of others in another place? This is not right, the colonial system has done us too much wrong and if UN truly mean business of safeguarding Human Rights then issues of Independence should not be treated as a rebellion. West Papua issue must be given serious attention as well as the Western Togoland issue. It is not right for France and Britain to divide a territory which is not even in Europe and manipulate their destiny. That's serious crime and UN must not just look on.

[@spencersss1251]

The issue is how do you govern. You need the U.N to act but the U.N is made of the countries it is supposed to control. It’s like the police. How do you hold police accountable if they and the lawyers and prosecutors that work with them are supposed to hold themselves accoun

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much. It was interesting to see just how much Cold War politics played a part in this and that all sense of principles went out of the window. The Act of Free Choice was quite clearly a sham vote, and yet it was endorsed by so many countries. And even a lot of countries that should have known better only chose to abstain. (I couldn't help naming and shaming them, despite the fact that that small graphic took me absolutely ages to put together!)

[@peacefulworld1717]

@@JamesKerLindsay is sad. Now that all agrieved nations that were forced another territory through things like plebiscites, and States criminalizing their actions. If the individual also retaliate or keep retaliating would there be any peace? All nations that were granted independence by another nation especially france and Britain and the individual are agitating, UN must revisit and revised the decision that sort to bring them together. Only this can bring a perpetual peace. But if the UN leave all in the hands of the member nations to deal with there will always be problems. A classical case is the Ambazonian and the Western Togoland case. In 1956, a plebiscites was organized for the people of Western Togoland, even though Governmental structures of Gold Coast influenced the voting process the difference in the outcome was 16%. Okay, the popular majority was choosen, now after the voting a UNION was supposed to have been instituted with both leadership ( Gold Coast and Western Togoland) till date there is nothing pointing to that union and the leadership of Ghana criminalized the history of the Western Togoland in the Constitution. (Article 60 of the Supreme Military code) so how can this be a fair situation? Is normal to talk about Gold Coast history But a treasonous crime when someone mentioned the Western Togoland case!

[@spensky1]

If we check the UN activities, resolutions, condemnations and investigations, they all center around one single issue the Third World enjoys to attack. The rest of the world’s issues are not of concern to them.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks Eliot. There is certainly a lot of inconsistency. And you are right. Very often members will line up to condemn imperialism by the West, but then happily turn a blind eye to obvious colonialism from within their own ranks.

[@Seri-tt3tf]

As an indonesia un in my opinion is as useless as geneva convention. You don't care about it and it wouldn't matter untill either us, eu or russia start to care like come on the un already know about our invasion of east timor in 70s yet it take them 25 bloody years for east timor to gain its independent and that mostly thanks to our 3rd president who legitimately care about the people and crave for democracy

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

@@Seri-tt3tf and yet timor timor is now very poor. the secession only serve the politicians.

[@ephraimbrener9143]

Thank you for yet another outstanding video. So sad for West Papuans. However and regardless of the unique circumstances of WP, I think that the borders of former colonies are not carved in stone.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much. I would completely agree. While I can understand why the international community wanted to go down this route in the 1950s and 60s, and prevent the fragmentation of colonial territories, it was so obviously abused. This is especially so in the case of West Papua. It should never have been a part of Indonesia. Ultimately, it was all down to very specific Cold War politics.

[@zklakay8509]

@@JamesKerLindsay if you say it was abuse then just kick all Australia and america who doesn't belong to the indigenous people, and if you say that it was abuse of power by Indonesia government have you forget about US covert operations of separatist movement all over Indonesia, and this kind of separatist group is not like in any other regions in Indonesia because they have a great fund by other countries because of the significant resources papua have, and the people in papua mostly are tribal people who is being represent by it's elder

[@ZeonixMY]

@@zklakay8509 Are you justifying genocide? 😂 2 wrongs doesn't make it right. If the majority people in a certain state doesn't want to be a part of a country then they've the right to go, just create a voting system and let the Papuans decide it for themselves

[@Apidservis]

@@JamesKerLindsay hai james, i appreciate your opinion. but what is happening in West Papua today is not what you might imagine. their separatist groups have split into 2 groups.they are at war with each other. one of their groups has shot more than 10 construction workers, k1lled their own citizen 8 year old child, also new zealand pilot taken hostage. they got united states guns illegally. not all people west papua want to independence. do you support criminals like this? do you agree with that thing? separatism, k1lling other people? who is playing behind them? why do they have guns? they k1ll 8 yo papuan kid for food. how come they have guns? think about this.

[@Apidservis]

@@ZeonixMY apakah anda membenarkan kelompok separatis mereka menembaki anak berusia 8 tahun? anda setuju dengan itu semua?

[@visenyatargaryen9130]

Most of Javanese (the majority ethnicity) do not know the real situations in Papua. Most of us never meet any native Papuan, let alone know their opinions. Some internet contents about this issue were blocked by the Indonesian government. All of them are from "media". Have not found any videos from the native population there speaking their opinions. I personally can not give any comments regarding to this conflict because of lack of balanced informations. It is a bit ironic that I do have my opinion about Palestine-Israel conflict because I have watched some interviews if Palestinians and Israelis to know the real situation there.

[@rubylisbon3705]

Well... Your take on Papua is interesting. However, you didnt touch the ICJ case on the detachment of Chagos from Mauritius, which was similar to the Papua case. Would you care to elaborate the reason why? Do you intentionally avoid this point?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks. But I am not sure why you would insinuate that I somehow avoided this? (And actually did so in a rather unpleasant accusatory way, if I might say so.) I have done a video on the Chagos Islands. I am more than aware of it. I also clearly reference the point in Resolution 1514 about not dividing colonial territory. However, from a strictly legal view, the partition of the Dutch East Indies preceded that resolution. Seeing as the Chagos islands case was based directly on a violation of that resolution, but West Papua happened before the resolution, the Chagos Islands case therefore can have no direct bearing on this case. (You can’t break a law that hasn’t been passed yet! Nor can you cite a precedent based on a law that hasn’t been passed yet.) Simply put, while I agree that Indonesia argues from a point of political principle, it can’t in fact argue from a point of international law.

[@rubylisbon3705]

@@JamesKerLindsay I am not sure whether your argument is accurate. The ICJ Chagos proceedings have dealt with the diverging views of states, questioning whether the rule of self-determination (including the prohibition of detachment) has been available at the time in question. The Court emphasized the declaratory character of Res. 1514/1960. It means that 1960 was not the time when the rules was born. The Court said that the rule as stipulated in the Chapter XI of the UN Charter was based on the progressive development (Para 147). It is to say that the rules have been binding on states since the UN Charter. Your argument that "You can’t break a law that hasn’t been passed yet!' has wrongly assumed that Res 1514 endorsed instead of declared the rules. So it is inaccurate to argue from the perspective of international law that the rules were not applicable when the Dutch detached Papua from Indonesia in 1949.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

One for the ICJ to work out I think. But, even so, the right of the West Papuans to self-determination was explicitly recognised. And I think it is fairly clear to state that the Act of Free Choice was not in accordance with either the letter or the spirit of the New York Agreement or general principles of decolonisation.

[@rubylisbon3705]

@@JamesKerLindsay Thank you, the ICJ has actually worked it out. The Chagos case principle is actually relevant to the issue of Papua. It is worth noting that Para 6 of Res. 1514 (the prohibition of detachment) was intended to address Papua’s detachment from Indonesia in 1949 (see the UN Documents that recorded the debate leading to this Res). Yes.. Papuans had the right to self-determination, and they did so along with other Indonesians across the archipelago on 17 August 1945. What is the basis of your attempt to differentiate Papuans from other people, while the whole archipelago, including Papua were formerly administered by the Dutch East Indies (similar to Mauritius vs Chagos)? Now you raised a different issue on the Act of Free Choice and argue that it is not in accordance with the New York Agreement. Please take note of Article XVIII (a) of the Agreement: “procedures and appropriate methods will be consulted with the representative councils”. So contrary to your idea, “one man one vote” was not mandatory. Even until now, general elections in some parts of Papua still use the “noken” system. Please note as well that it was only two people (Soekarno and Hatta) that expressed the wish of Indonesians to be independent on 17 August 1945.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

@@rubylisbon3705 No. By signing the New York Agreement, Indonesia explicitly recognised a separate right of self-determination for the people of West New Guinea. It may have previously argued that they should have been included in 1945, and in its view they were, but this indicates a clear acceptance of a new state of affairs. And you can dress up the vote as you like, but it really did not meet the standards of democracy one would expect. A 100% support from handpicked delegates under widespread intimidation. If I were you, I’d be rather embarrassed by such an outcome. That’s hard to defend with a straight face however you look at it.

[@eduardog3000]

What's the relationship between West Papua and Papua New Guinea, especially between the people of those countries/territories. Are West Papuans at all wanting to join Papua New Guinea, or is that not really something they're interested in?

[@arifudin9151]

No, they dont want join PNG. Economicly PNG is much poorer than West Papua(Indonesia). And they speak different language. WP speak Indonesian, PNG speak English. The similarity only race, just like Italian and English. They have same race, but language, culture and norm are different

[@radithramadhan8488]

Who the hell wants to join PNG even Bouganville leave PNG. Since it's formation PNG is failed state that only reason they are exist is for Australia exploiting their resources without responisibility to develop the island

[@ero6056]

@Melanesian Odyssey they already did have inpendence in form of provincial autonomy and a set of constitution that stated only native papuan that can filled the governing position in papua while also have the same right to filled the ministery and parlementary position like the rest of indonesian. If your point is human right abuse then all of indonesia also get abused by the army back in 70s to 90s so what about that?

[@xatryalaxamana]

Papua will not separate because only little percentage of people supporting the separation movement. And also the separatist are militant, torturing and killing their own people

[@Naxafa]

I was watching the borders of Indonesia and I felt strange about West Papua and Papua New Guinea's borders (just a vertical line). So I've started to study a little bit.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Yes. It is interesting. It was simply agreed by the various European colonials that this should be the border, apart from one small bit, which I believe follows the course of a river. So arbitrary, and yet with effects still being felt well into the twenty-first century. Sadly, this was far from the only case.

[@Naxafa]

@@JamesKerLindsay I do think that these kind of borders should be reviewed in this century already. They make nonsense for local people there. Thank you for your video. Always good to keep learning and to spread the voice.

[@Luvinist]

One thing though, people of Papua and West Papua elected their own governors, mayors, and legislatures freely. They also have elected representatives in national legislative bodies. For that reason Papua should not be considered a colony. They are an integral part of the Indonesian state.

[@shaniagunasekara8345]

West Papua will be an independent state

[@Satsuma-tm8ep]

This is why Indonesian government system must be federal states than unitary states

[@yondryimanuelsapulette7582]

You need to take a look on Republic of South Mollucas!!! It's the neighbour of West Papua. They also do campagne to gain international recognition.

[@joshraymond979]

What is png attitude to the west papau stuff? Do they feel a “brotherly” connection to them? Or they not even the same people. Are their groups or people in png that shelter or fund the west papau liberation movement?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Great question. I really wanted to look into this question but as ever it was a case of trying to keep things manageable. But it seems opinion has been divided amongst the Melanesian states. Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands have been very supportive. However, PNG has been opposed, largely because it has had its own separatist issue with Bougainville. But I would be really interested to look into this further. Also, I am fascinated as to whether there was any political moves or thoughts to unite the two parts of New Guinea.

[@joshraymond979]

@@JamesKerLindsay surely tho the prospect of having a potentially United papau would be a lot better than the separatist movement in some islands tho and even then said islands are of a different ethnic group all together I believe.

[@arifudin9151]

PNG becomes Indonesian ally in Pacific long times ago since 1970s. Even every years Indonesian government give aid to PNG.

[@141Travish]

@@joshraymond979 that's what white peoples tell you? Multi ethnics countries are common in Asia and Africa, something that white peoples doesn't understand, that's why Europe are divided into micro states because their racist mindset

[@rajabola1875]

Timor -timor=hold my oil aborigin =hold my land

[@softskills1076]

We Africans are with you West Papua. FREE WEST PAPUA.

[@sekartaji333]

Papua is already independent from the Dutch colonialists. We from West Indonesia fought against the Dutch to free them. Now the Melanesian race in Papua is Indonesian too. they are free to do anything, be anything. You see ministers and officials in Indonesia there are Papuans, there are Papuan doctors, and many Indonesian soldiers from the Papuan nation

[@sekartaji333]

You don't have to slander the West Indonesians to colonize Papuans. because we are all taught about multi-racial diversity throughout Indonesia to respect all differences from other tribes. There are 714 ethnic groups and 652 regional languages ​​in Indonesia. Our motto is different races and ethnicities but still one Indonesia.

[@imranamajeeda688]

@@sekartaji333 No it’s not Indonesia annexed it I don’t get it why u Indonesians say west papua is part of Indonesia when its people are different from other Indonesians who are of Malay culture and they are of melanesians Indonesian government only cares about natural resources of the country not its people The government is also destroying the forests of west papua Let the west Papuans decide through a referenderum

[@sekartaji333]

@@imranamajeeda688 Stop supporting terrorists. Right now the main thing is that the government is building infrastructure in Papua because it is very important for investment to enter Papua. and the people of Papua can have jobs. But the Papuan rebels are hindering Papua's development. They burn power plants and destroy public facilities, kill teachers, kill plaintiffs, rob food in shops to survive in the forest. Disturb the Papuan people who are farming because of stealing. his agricultural products

[@sekartaji333]

@@imranamajeeda688 What you accuse is not true. The government really cares about Papua until it is given a special autonomy fund for the people of Papua every month. We in West Indonesia don't have that program. as well as infrastructure development, the government spends huge funds on roads, railways, bridges, airports, ports. so that the people of Papua can use them to carry out their activities comfortably. There are also some requests from the people of Papua, for example the government building for the governor of West Papua has been built

[@domingguswafumilena9840]

Terima kasih kisah yg benar agar kebenaran ditegakkan karena orang jujur akan membuka sejarah kelam jadi terang benderang dan bangsa yg tertindas akan terbit seperti Bintang Fajar mengantar terbitnya Cahaya Matahari di timur Indonesia.

[@wisemonkey9858]

Can you make a video for Southern Thailand & Mindanao?

[@Armadeus]

huh i always thought west papua was the entire "other half" of the PNG island. guess not haha anyways yeah it's strange that it's not being brought up more in the int'l community

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Hi there. West Papua is the entire other half of the island. But Indonesia has confused things - deliberately, I suspect - by dividing it into two provinces, one called Papua and one called West Papua. It gets confusing. But the ‘West Papua issue’ refers to the entire territory of the provinces of Papua and West Papua.

[@Armadeus]

@@JamesKerLindsay ah i see. thanks for the clarification

[@141Travish]

@@JamesKerLindsay hi, you are confusing yourself, even java island (and any big islands) are divided into several provinces, it's just administration management, in the future it might be become more than 2 provinces.

[@akmclemore]

You are incredible! great video!

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much. Really appreciated!

[@tennis501tennis501]

Thank you for these insights into this tragic independance campaign; Timor Leste had the power of Catholic church and was seperate from Jakarta until 1975. The Catholic church offered an alternate organization to the Timor Leste people; having visited Dili in Feb 2020, I was struck how Catholic this society wis (similar to Manila yet so far away from any other Indonesian city) - worth a visit after the current pandemic fades

[@wenderis]

Not that far away from other large settlements in Flores, ie, Kupang, Maumere, Ende, Ruteng, etc. I'd say the brand of Catholicism is much similar to those in Flores rather than the one in Manila, PH. But spot on the role of the Church in the heroic independence of Timor Leste. And yes, I love Timor Leste and its people. Such beautiful country in so many ways, with the most functioning democracy in South East Asia altho the youngest.

[@nurlindafsihotang49]

Forgetting the referendum to opted to joined indonesia, in 1970s, or ferendum to exited from indonesia in 1998. did you blinded about that?. Bad treatment for west papuan!? Under suharto regime, ALL OF INDONESIA GOT BAD TREATEMENT! all of us, except his cronies.

[@mayena]

@@nurlindafsihotang49 Many observers viewed it was an highly dubious and flawed referendum.

[@kilianstakemeier4288]

Very interesting video! First time I really hear about this issue

[@JamesKerLindsay]

You’re certainly not alone. It’s amazing how little known it is. And yet it is one of the longest running independence disputes in the world. I’ve been meaning to cover West Papua for ages.

[@fearlessgeneral120]

It is because they are mostly dark skin people hence the west and others ignored them... Very sad! They are not supposed to be a part of Indonesia. We sincerely support their struggle for freedom. UN is currently the world's biggest problem.

[@briancops3798]

This was one of the first issues that triggered my interest in politics in that region. I think that it is very interesting that Indonesia just claimed West-Papua as Indonesia itself never existed before European colocalization. Indonesia just to be several kingdoms, duchies, and sultanates all of whom were more or less independent. How and why did all these groups of peoples like the Aceh, Sumatrans, Javanese,... decide to stick together and not become independent themselves? Can anyone explain this to me? Is it because of the independence war or?

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks Brian. Exactly right. Indonesia makes the argument that colonial territories shouldn't be divided, but those colonial territories were usually arbitrarily amalgamated in the the first place. However, seeing as the UN membership by 1960 had really shifted towards decolonisation it is hardly surprising that this came to be the default position. They wanted to protect their borders and also prevent further partitions. I do wonder what would have happened if the UNGA had refused to endorse the results of the 1969 'Act of Free Choice'? Although I don't think for one moment that Indonesia would have left, it would have left the door open for a possible referendum at some point. Although, as we see in Western Sahara that doesn't mean much. Countries get very good at using the time for ethnic gerrymandering. All terribly sad really.

[@ichiroyamada1901]

Indonesia claim the territory of the whole Dutch East Indies. For the West Papua case, it once part of the sultanate of Tidore. A kingdom sprawling Sulawesi, Molucca, and the coastal Papua. At the youth conference in 1928, the Sultan of Tidore together with other king and sultan swear their allegiance to the would be Indonesia. There are three point that they agreed upon, that is One Nation: Indonesian, One Language: Malay or Indonesian, One State: Indonesia. Papua island for a long time is not only inhabited by the papuan, there are a lot of other ethnic groups too such as Chinese trader, Celebes, Molucca etc. Indonesia claim that since the Sultan of Tidore (the ruler of Papua at that time) agreed on those 3 points, the fate of Papua is sealed to be with Indonesia. Sometimes around 1945-1949, the communist group slayed all those Kings and Ruler of Indonesia, the royals of Sumatra is completely gone now. The sultan of Tidore, however, still has its successor, but i doubt you will find any info on English. Plus, back then in 10th century, those area was under the same crown, the Majapahit Empire.

[@briancops3798]

​@@ichiroyamada1901 Sure I am aware of that agreement but it is still fascinating as the sultan of Tidore did not control the whole of West-Papua. The Majapahit empire for its part never controlled the territory in the modern sense of the word, it had a tributary state centered around the town of Fakfak. Saying that the Majapahit empire itself was a predecessor of Indonesia is farfetched in itself comparable to calling the Old Egyptians the same people as modern Egyptians. Nonetheless thank you for the explanation.

[@ichiroyamada1901]

@@briancops3798 To be fair no entity has ever exerted a complete control to the island of Papua. It is the same case as for other big Island such as Borneo and Sumatra. The Ming and Qing dynasty, and the Japan Empire can't even exerted their complete control west side of Formosa island (which is inhabited by austronesian). Personally i think taking Papua is a grave mistake, but it is simply too late now. What we fear is not the loss of Papua, but what may comes after that.

[@briancops3798]

@@ichiroyamada1901 I completely agree with what you are saying.

[@abdulazizothman8547]

The late Soekarno must be cry to watch this video

[@DavidGS66]

Looks like you should study case of Mayotte, France. It would be part of Comoros Islands today, except France bribed Mayotte with French living standards to join France. UN & Comoros want Mayotte returned.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thanks so much. Great suggestion!

[@arwammaxs6354]

🙏🙏🙏👍👍👍👍

[@Berita_Papua]

give us independence from colonial Indonesia, Because Papua is really black MALAYSIA, while Indonesia is white Asian people. give us WEST PAPUA INDEPENDENT🇨🇺🇨🇺🇨🇺🙏

[@moreno9446]

*black Melanesian*

[@evangpramono5943]

Indonesian military and it's people are more than ready if any foreign power want to intervene or provoke separatist. papua will always be part of great Indonesia 🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩

[@robertkeikei6087]

Nonsense stuff,,,respect west papua,,,,MERDEKA

[@moreno9446]

@evanpramono5943 is the Indonesian Terrorist Party

[@stadra2160]

INDONESIA RAYA MERDEKA BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKA NKRI HARGA MATI🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@RickySingi-xc7sc]

You can not kill the will of human beings, even though you are a beast, alien or superpower.

[@aliefalyansyah5996]

Freeport is majority own by the united states by the way Untill 2018

[@forwardobserver2.083]

I Support the Independence of Papua west?

[@akhalif579]

Excellent presentation and analyses of the west Papua case. However, I think the problem is one of legacy of colonial scare left by. Again honestly as an African it seems The west looking to weaken Indonesia integrity to curve a land for themselves to recolonize or sphere influence. Indonesia cannot afford that must remain united. Thanks.

[@lionofjudah1528]

FREE WEST PAPUA NOW!!!

[@AbdulHannanAbdulMatheen]

👏😐

[@apostatethegreat.9398]

I am not for Indonesia, neither am I from that part of the world, But I knew about this issue at least since 2012.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

That’s great. But it puts you in a very small minority. Even many people working on international relations don’t know much, if anything, about this issue.

[@apostatethegreat.9398]

@@JamesKerLindsay There is a similar situation going on in Achhe province of Indonesia. I know this, because Corona gave me a lot of time to watch Journeyman Pictures documentaries.

[@SuperTonyony]

Whenever you see a perfectly straight international border on a map, you know that someone got robbed.

[@timor64]

06:45 it is distressing to hear you spell out what is so clearly a process of colonisation

[@manusia4375]

you are rude sir. Papua is indonesia, indonesia from sabang to merauke. Iam cristian indonesian. Jesus bless you sir. Indonesia land of freedom like USA.

[@treefold6513]

clown this is about humanity to prevent another misfortune

[@moreno9446]

Every church leaders in Asia pacific supports west papua freedom. You are not a christian, you are a heretic

[@katahi0749]

Thank you for making our struggle known sir Jealous Indonesia is stealing our land and they don't know how to take care of our forest

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you. It really is a situation that should have far more international attention. Wishing you all the very best.

[@tiredox3788]

I'm surprise they didn't ask for help from China.

[@MartintheMetalhead]

Timor got help from china

[@fajaradi1223]

Do you think China will help? Considering how tight China and Indonesia in recent years

[@user-jh1nu1qv2v]

Molluca -North Molluca -East Nusa Tenggara n Timor Leste are not Melanesians , but they are Austronesians...physically n culturally very diferrent with those original Melanesians...😊

[@mcchonky5709]

we aint lettin West Papuan go

[@Satsuma-tm8ep]

As long as the Indonesian government system is still centralized with the impact of injustice in various fields outside Java, the dominance of the ethnic majority, unity is too forced.

[@Satsuma-tm8ep]

Even Indonesia may not last long

[@mcchonky5709]

@@Satsuma-tm8ep we aint lettin it go

[@moreno9446]

TPN-OPM is asking, who is we? 😊

[@mcchonky5709]

@@moreno9446 meh

[@mikilutz72]

Independence for unified Papua!

[@sekartaji333]

Papua is already independent from the Dutch colonialists. We from West Indonesia fought against the Dutch to free them. Now the Melanesian race in Papua is Indonesian too. they are free to do anything, be anything. You see ministers and officials in Indonesia there are Papuans, there are Papuan doctors, and many Indonesian soldiers from the Papuan nation

[@sekartaji333]

You don't have to slander the West Indonesians to colonize Papuans. because we are all taught about multi-racial diversity throughout Indonesia to respect all differences from other tribes. There are 714 ethnic groups and 652 regional languages ​​in Indonesia. Our motto is different races and ethnicities but still one Indonesia.

[@goldmade4403]

free west Papua... stop imposing your culture on them and stop exploit and discriminate them

[@kentallard8852]

those construction workers mentioned at 9:45 were filming Papuans raise the Morning Star flag and sing songs in their native tongue - both illegal under Indonesian law. The Papuans were concerned the footage could be handed over to the police/military. Furthermore the Indonesian security services have a nasty habit of conducting operations out of uniform masacarading as civilians, just look at the "nationalist militias" in East Timor that were comprised entirely of Indonesian police officers and soldiers, and the Papuans would have a reasonable basis to be concerned such a thing was occuring there. Should they have killed them? No, but this is a direct product of Indonesias occupation.

[@zhorenkk1279]

Kami rakyat Indonesia mencintai Papua,dan penduduk Papua, Hanya memang ada kelompok saparatis yg menginginkan pisah dgn Negara'Indonesia, mereka saparatis Papua Merdeka sangat kejam membunuh siapapun yg berbeda dengan mereka.

[@carolynt5445]

Thanks for covering another lesser-known case! Yeah, no, anyone who knows anything about geopolitics agrees that Indonesia is now not a very stable country. Just like the African sovereign states that get a lot of attention, Indonesia is one of the most, if not the most, diverse country in the world. And, the government doesn't seem to be making strides to equity and equality for all of their ethnic groups. You can see this with essentially all countries, but the stress is on more diverse countries. As a POC in the United States, I've definitely only experienced a fraction of what certain ethnic groups face internationally. I've tried to do a bit more research to see which side I support, I can safely say that the Indonesian government is just shutting down the independence movement with cultural and physical genocide so they can keep their natural resource abode (in a way, understandable, but *NOT* justifiable). Here's to hoping a resolution comes quickly.

[@JamesKerLindsay]

Thank you so much Carolyn. You are absolutely right. Indonesia is extremely diverse and hugely complex. And given West Papua’s resources one can see why it is fighting to hold on to it. But it is so interesting from an academic legal/political perspective. As well as from a humanitarian perspective. I can see the argument that the Dutch should never have carved off WP. But it seems ridiculous that an entire people are destined to be destroyed simply because some Europeans decided to conquer their land and then dump them into a wider imperial holding for administrative purposes. It really shows how utterly arbitrary colonial borders were.

[@soundmind9772]

@@JamesKerLindsay is it worse for Indonesia to exploit West Papua for it's resources or for the United States to weaponize Hawaii for the purpose of holding the entire world hostage? If Hawaii was legitimately annexed by conquest then it would have never been subject to decolonization under UN protocols in the first place, ultimately resulting in a sham vote by U.S. citizens for U.S. statehood.

[@imranamajeeda688]

@@soundmind9772 West papua and Hawaii fall into same category for self determination

[@soundmind9772]

@@imranamajeeda688Thank you. I agree that Hawaii is entitled to self-determination for the same reason as West Papua insofar as Hawaii's legal personality was extinguished. However, given that there exists a presumption of continuity of the Hawaiian State, the truth is that Hawaii, like Hong Kong, having been occupied territory of an internationally-recognized sovereign state, should never have been added to the UN list of non-self-governing territories. The justification that the United States used to add Hawaii to the list (the annexation of Hawaii was NOT a valid conquest) is precisely the reason why the presumption of state continuity has not been overturned and precisely why the settlement of the question of Hawaii is entirely within Hawaii's sovereign right and the United Nations has no right to discuss this question. This begs the following questions for China or Russia to ask the ICJ: Was the annexation of the independent Republic of Hawaii by joint resolution valid under international law? When Hawaii was added to the UN list of non-self-governing territories, did the legal personality of the Hawaiian Islands still exist as a state under international law? Was the vote for Hawaii's statehood sufficient to give the people of Hawaii the freedom of choosing on the basis of the right to self-determination of a peoples between several possibilities, including independence?

[@rizkyadiyanto7922]

"the government doesn't seem to be making strides to equity and equality for all their ethnic groups" lol thats ridiculous. out of tens or hundreds of ethnics in indonesia, papua is the outlier where they want independence. the rest just blends in as indonesian first, then their ethnicities second as their identity. i live in jakarta and have many friends born from aceh to ambon, they are as indonesia as i am from east java. "unity in diversity" is literaly our moto since its founding.

[@bestenemies4520]

It's same lake Australian was Success to saperated Timor-timor from Indonesia, for Being Independent country.. 😁But why don't u Look at Timor-timor Country right now...And take ur Responsibility of tht case

[@imranamajeeda688]

Timor leste country is one of the best functioning democracy in asia If west papua becomes free it will be a lot more sustainably developed country

[@bestenemies4520]

@@imranamajeeda688 u can say tht, bcs u've never seen it in the real life.. That's why u can say it easily ..independent? Even for goods, and infrastructure TL still need Indonesia for it,wtf.. Independent. 😂

[@farhanatashiga3721]

@@imranamajeeda688 yeah right, a country that had a government collapse less than a year into office is highly "functioning" No, I don't think so.

[@thegreatlord7930]

50% of the West Papua Population today is already Austronesian lol, the largest of Austronesian ethnic group in Papua being the Javanese People.