The massacre, between 1965 and 1966, of a half million communists, and the massive jailing and raping of women by Suharto’s Indonesian army, and the illegal occupation of East Timor by the Jakarta regime that resulted in the mass killing of 180,000 people in which almost one out of three people were killed — all of these atrocities are quite well known around the liberal imperialist world. All these murders took place with the support of the U.S. and their CIA’s butchers, Australia and Britain imperialist thugs as well.
These mass murders against Indonesian communists, alongside the British counterinsurgency warfare in Malaysia in the 1950s, had a lasting impact on the inability of revolutionary struggle to overthrow imperialism in the region.
But what is less known in the international public opinion is the brutal and relentless murderous occupation since 1963 of West Papua, the rich land of which its African inhabitants are also the original owners, by the successive Indonesia‘s rulers. The African population in West Papua suffers serious isolation from the whole African nation who more often than not is unaware of the existence and connection of African people apart from Africa and the Americas.
The resistance of Indigenous Africans on this island, which is split between Australia and the Indonesian dominated areas, added to the struggle of black peoples in New Zealand, Australia and other lands in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the worldwide African Revolution which must be unified if we are to successfully regain control of our destiny and resources for our own use.
Our call to the people of Indonesia, who suffered themselves three centuries of European colonial rule and a Japanese military occupation during the so called second world war, is to stand in solidarity with black people in West Papua against Indonesia petty bourgeoisie colonial rule, by opposing any Indonesia settler colonialism from stealing the land of black people, demanding the unconditional release of political prisoners and the withdrawal of Indonesian soldiers from West Papua.
Genocide in Paradise: West Papua and the Fight for Independence part 1
By
Ashira Adwoa
Deep in valleys and highlands of some of the most fertile, beautiful lands in the world, a secret war, genocide, and theft is occurring in what many consider paradise. The African people of West Papua have been fighting for independence from the illegitimate and sordid rule of the neo colonialist Indonesian government for 51 years. Having pride in their indigenous culture and organic connection to the lush land, the West Papuans have demonstrated an indefatigable spirit in terms of protecting their lives and land.
This article will serve as an introduction to a series of articles focusing on the genocide taking place in what many refer to as paradise and the struggle of the people of West Papua to attain independence from the rule of the heartless and atrocious Indonesian government. Do continue to read the spear to hear the war cry of the West Papuan African people who want self- determination and are fighting for independence from the illicit rule of the Indonesian government.
The story of West Papua and the fight for Independence has been forced into the dark shadows of history despite undeniable human rights violations being carried out there. The immense social engineering project, systematic torture, theft, and displacement forced onto West Papuan people, remains a dirty little secret of the colonists.
Indonesian rule, to West Papuans, translates clearly to the disregard of West Papuan rights and the continuation of vulgarly[o1] encroaching upon the land of West Papuans.
West Papuan People
When you ask a West Papuan how do they classify themselves, the answer is “We are Black people, Africans, Indigenous people of West Papua”. The people of West Papua are Rastafarian like Africans who have held on to their traditional culture and dress for thousands of years. The name Papua simply explains the condition and texture of their hair which is frizzy hair. Some West Papuans can be seen with locs or what some call dred locs . The majority of the indigenous population continues to live traditionally having what is considered as subsistence lifestyles.
Geography: The bird of paradise and the land of milk, honey, & minerals
West Papua is the western half of the island of New Guinea, borders the independent nation of Papua New Guinea and lies just 200km north of Australia. The land is comprised of a large mountainous interior, forest lowlands, and large areas of coastal mangrove swamps and is surrounded by numerous small islands, and beautiful coral reefs can be found. One million people speak 250 diverse languages.
The land of paradise is home to a variety of exclusive species, such as rare orchids and tree kangaroos. The bird of paradise is native to West Papua and so is one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines known as Freeport. This mine is estimated to provide Indonesia with more than a third of its wealth.
Freeport mine at Tembagapura, is jointly operated by Indonesia and the U.S. Thirty thousand tons of ore, copper, gold, ore, and silver are produced daily. Imperialist are relentless when it comes to ubiquitously creating a path of death, destruction, and the extraction of resources for capitalistic profits.
Indonesians literally and figuratively have been raping and killing the people of the forgotten blissful land of West Papua- Genocide in paradise. Although Indonesia speaks of how the integration of West Papua with Indonesia has undeniable benefits for West Papuans such as development, in actuality, West Papuans understand clearly Indonesia has absorbed West Papua only to masterfully conspire with other colonist governments to extract the wealth of the bountiful lands of West Papua.
Unnervingly, similar to how Africans in America are treated as colonial subjects and killed by police who are offensively rewarded, West Papuans are suffering from the genocidal attacks committed by the Indonesian military. Nevertheless, the West Papuans have a recusant position when it comes to holding on to their indigenous ways and the land of their ancestors.
Two hundred and fifty tribes of West Papua have chosen Benny Wenda to be the face of West Papua Independence Movement. He is a freedom fighter who has seen many of his people fall victim to the sword of death wielded by the Indonesian military. He now lives in exile in the United Kingdom and was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. More of Benny Wenda’s story will be told in the next article.
Find out more about Benny Wenda and West Papua by reading the next issue of the Burning Spear and you can visit http://freewestpapua.org/info/about-west-papua/
“Afrika Amerika mendukung kemerdekaan Papua Barat” /Africans In America support independence for West Papua
Wa! Wa! Wa! Wa!
[o1]OK
