Rain of Human Rights Violations in Papua

By Fransiska Manam

(Human Rights Watcher and Young Papuan Filmmaker)

Photo: World Human Rights Day Action December 10 2018 Waena, Jayapura.

Papua was annexed since 1 May 1963 by Indonesia with militaristic forces and imperialist interests in West Papua. Since then the Papuan struggle began with the fight against the Indonesian state and also the beginning of acts of violation of Human Rights (HAM) in Papua. However, before Papua was annexed in 1963, the Dutch Government formed Nieuw Guinea Raad (Council of New Guinea). After making various preparations accompanied by rapid political changes due to tensions between Indonesia and the Netherlands, this committee was finally equipped with 70 educated Papuans and succeeded in giving birth to political manifestos containing; determine the name of the country namely West Papua, determine the national anthem "Hai Tanahku Papua", determine the state flag namely the Morning Star, and the Symbol of the State of West Papua namely Mambruk Bird with the slogan "One People One Soul".

Dated July 26, 1965, the first milestone was the establishment of the establishment of OPM in Manokwari. The movement spread almost to all areas of the Bird's Head and lasted for two years. The figure of the movement's charismatic leader is Johan Ariks, who was 75 years old at the time.

After that, 28 July 1965 was the beginning of the West Papuan independence movements which were labeled with one label, OPM. The birth of the OPM in the City of Manokwari was marked by the attack of the Arfak (Manokwari) people against the Battalion 751 (Brawijaya) army barracks. Where three members of the unit were killed.


Whereas on July 1, 1971, four years after the OPM rebellion in the Bird's Head area of ​​the City of Manokwari could be extinguished by elite forces of the Resismen Army Command Force (RPKAD) under Command Sarwo Edhie Wibowo. The second "OPM Proclamation" was triggered. The incident occurred on July 1, 1971, in the Village of Waris, Jayapura Regency (which is currently Keerom district), near the Papua New Guinea border - dubbed Victoria Headquarters.

Human Rights Violation Case

Since the 1960s until 2017, the killing of characters and even the lives of the Papuan people has continued to occur. We can listen to various cases of gross human rights violations that occurred in Papua, none of which were resolved by the state. In 1962, the Indonesian Government carried out a military operation to Papua to take Papua from the hands of the Dutch, until in 1963 Papua was made a Military Operation Area (DOM). The Indonesian government placed the TNI in large numbers throughout Papua and carried out massive operations. As a result, thousands of Papuans were killed.

The military operations in question were Sadar Operation (1965-1967), Operation Bhratayuda (1967-1969), Operation Wibawa (19767-1969), Operasi Pamungkas (1969-1971), Military Operations in Jayawijaya District (1977), Clean Sweep Operation I and II (1981), Operation Galang I and II (1982), Operation Tumpas (1983-1984) Clean Sweep Operations (1985), and Military Operations in Mapenduma (1996). Then it continues until there are three cases declared by the state as cases of gross human rights violations in Papua. Like the bloody Wasior case on June 13, 2001; Papua Police Mobile Brigade officers raided residents in Wonoboi Village, Wasior, Manokwari. Four people were killed, one person suffered sexual violence, five people disappeared, and 39 people were tortured. The next case was the 2003 Bloody Wamena case. The National Human Rights Commission reported this case which left nine people dead, and 38 seriously injured. Then the bloody Paniai case on December 8, 2014 in which state officials shot dead five high school students.

Every year there must be cases of human rights violations in Papua. We can just see the Bloody Biak Tragedy that killed the Papuan people in 1989 right 6 July. There was no news from the state in resolving this case, not to mention the death of Arnol C. Ap on April 26, 1984, one of the Papuan artists who was also a former curator of the Uncen Museum was killed and his case has never been revealed. In 2017 there was a shooting case in Deiyai ​​on August 1 which killed Yulianus Pigai and injured 16 other people. In this case the state itself has violated the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 39 of 1998 concerning Human Rights.

The state has always stigmatized Papuans as separatists, dreadlocks, armed criminal movements and so on. But the question is, is it wrong if the Papuan people determine their own destiny as stated in the 1945 Constitution, "Colonialism over the world must be abolished".

Without realizing it, the country is sowing the seeds of evil and slaughter. All these actions have been remembered for a long time by the Papuan people up to the present. Papua's struggle continues, because it is the country that teaches us how to democracy well and how to maintain our sense of nationalism towards the struggle for Papuan movements.

This article first appeared in the EXPRESSION magazine March XXX 2018 Edition "Schizophrenia: The Struggle Against Stigma"

Reported: Ekspresionline.com