Do Not Respond to KNBP Protest Invitation

Again, West Papua National Committee (known as KNPB) took an action by influencing Papuan and West Papuan to make a protest on December 19th 2016. In Manokwari, West Papua, there is a provocative message sent by KNPB which aim to invite the people to do protest on December 19th 2016 in order to control public opinion for supporting United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) to become full-member of MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group).

Recording to KNPB's broadside in December 19th 1961 (19 days after independence manifesto of Papua in December 1st 1961), Three People Commands (known as Trikora) had been announced by Mr. Soekarno to colonized the West Papua. Decolonization process in West Papua had been defeated by expansionism and militaristic of Indonesia. Thousands of West Papuan had been slaughtered in military operations.
 
It has been 55 years of Indonesian occupation colonial rule and West Papua is still a protectorate territory which has not been able to determine their own destiny. West Papuan fight has become the world fight right now. In next December 20th 2016, the member status of United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) in Melanesian Spearhead Group will be decided in Melanesian leaders meeting.
Therefore, KNPB invite all West Papuan to take a rally in December 19th 2016 asa protest to Trikora and as the full support for ULMWP to become full-member of MSG. Similarly, this call is made with full responsibility for the national liberation of West Papua. Greeting revolution, we need to end this. Victor F. Yeimo, Leader of KNPB.

Recording to some Papua actors, the 55th anniversary of Trikora in December 19th 1961 until December 19th 2016 has been exploited by Papua separatism movement.
KNBP action plan which used the momentum of Trikora by Mr. Soekarno in December 19th 1961, purposed to actualize some main agendas that have been fought by Papua pro-separatism element as justification of Papua history, completion of cases of human rights violations and support for ULMWP to become a full-member of MSG.
Do Not Respond

Papua is the meeting point between many interests, whether about politics power, economic, individual business, group of people, nation or between many nations. It happened because Papua is a rich land with its natural resources, so that Papua has a great appeal.

Papuan need to realize their history because Papua's activist who joined in KNPB and ULMWP always judge that Indonesia has done the decolonization to Papua, even though all Indonesian government did were not decolonized, but drove away the Netherlands colonialism.

Decolonization is the abolition of colony or returning the government power to colony or liberates the colony. Decolonization process in Indonesia had been done from 1945 until 1949.

In contrast with decolonization by British colony in Asia, decolonization process in Indonesia was more complicated because Netherlands refuse to acknowledge Indonesian sovereignty. In the beginning, Netherlands was refused to be in contact with Soekarno government, which has been considered as Japan collaborator.
However, because it was forced by circumstances and with helped from British government as the mediator, Netherlands was willing to negotiate with Indonesia at Linggarjati in 1946, whereas the negotiation was more complicated for West Irian (known as Papua now).

Began with the Round Table Conference in 1949 in Den Haag, continued by full support from the participant countries of Asia-Africa Conference in 1955, until he end of New York Agreement in 1962 and had been confirm in 24th General Assembly of United Nation in November 19th 1969, which attended by 144 countries and resulted a General Assembly Resolution of United Nation number 2504.

Netherlands still haven't received that decision properly until today. Netherlands used a new strategy to bring up the Papua case to General Assembly Committee on Decolonization of United Nation. It means that Indonesia was equated with the colonial powers or invaders, even though Indonesia had been colonized for 300s years by other countries (Netherlands, British and Portuguese).

Meanwhile, Trikora which has been questioned by KNPB actually has three major contents, which are enforce the MerahPutih flag in Papua, abort puppet state of West Papua formed by Netherlands, and hold a general mobilization.

So, Trikora operation was the continuity of all operations that has been done before, in order to drive away Netherlands colonization from Indonesia. Peaceful ways through negotiations between the Netherlands and Indonesia have been taken a neutral party involved, but to no avail.

History also proved the West Irian’s(known as Papua) fight as the evidence of Indonesian morale, including all the Papua actors who want integration into Indonesia.

Victor Yeimo and friends in KNPB need to realize that history has been proved that all Indonesia did in West Irian or Papua and Maluku at that time is a bloody struggle to repel the Netherlands colonizers, not colonized Papua.

OPM group and its kind, including KNPB always questioned history of Papua's integration into Indonesia, which considered them to be illegal, so that, this problem can be one of the triggers of conflict in Papua, and always be politicized by the numbers of people who claim themselves as Papua fighters, such as Goliath Tabuni, Benny Wenda, Mathias Wenda, Victor Yeimo and so on. Even those Papua actors might not know the history of Papua itself.

From the literature, it can be concluded that Papua has become one of the legal territory in Indonesia before Perpera in 1969based on the principle of utipossidetisjuris which admitted in the international law and has been practiced generally in many countries. This principle stated that borderline of the former colonies were then independent will following the borderline before independence. The logical consequence is that Papua will automatically move its status to become the part of Indonesia since Proclamation Day on August 17th 1945.

From that history line, KNPB political movement which questioned Trikora is the movement who don't learn from the facts of history. The big question is whether Papua's people still want to believe in KNPB?.

*) Writer is the observer of Papua. Live in Batam, Riau Islands.