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The country is the western half of New Guinea, the world's largest tropical island and archipelago; sharing its eastern border with Papua New Guinea. The islands are mountainous, with some active volcanoes; the climate is tropical except at higher altitudes; and vegetation is luxuriant with a predominance of rain forests.

Papuans are Melanesian, a Pacific ethnic people with dark complexion including those of the Solomons, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Like the mountains of Greece, Papua has developed a diversity of separate cultures and languages; it has 312 known cultures / languages and over two hundred additional dialects.

West Papua has been an Indonesia territory since being annexed in 1969; the region has had several names West New Guinea, West Papua (1961), Irian Barat, Irian Jaya (1973), and is currently known as  Propinsi Papua, Indonesia (2002). Note that the name Papua is the original name of New Guinea, and is still used worldwide including Indonesia.

History
New Guinea is also known as Papua and the indigenous people who have lived throughout the island for an estimated forty to fifty thousand years are known as Papuan. They have always considered themselves part of a wider spread society which is today known as Melanesia, a Pacific cultural group which also shares common ancestry.

It is believed the first European sighting was by the Portuguese, Don Jorge de Meneses, who in 1526 named the island Papua after seeing its north west coast; and it was the Dutch vessel Duyfken which first recorded its travel along the southern coast of west Papua and south into the Australian Gulf of Carpentaria around 1605.

In 1828, in Europe the Dutch claimed the south coast west of the 141st meridian and in 1848 of the north coast west of Humboldt Bay, with the first Christian missionaries arriving during the 1860's. In treaties of 1885 and 1895 Britain and Germany recognized the Dutch claims and Holland quickly sent expeditions to establish trading or administrative posts in Fak-Fak and Manokwari in 1898. In 1910 Holland founded a capital city and seaport called Hollandia at Humboldt Bay.

The Papuan people welcome the Dutch as fellow traders conditional to mutually acceptable behaviour. The majority of the estimated 800 villages of West Papua would have been unawares of the Dutch claim to their country. The first known independence movement was not until the 1930's when Papuans from a teacher's college discussed the need for a national government, first amongst themselves and later the wider community and its three hundred languages.

In 1942 the northern coast and nearby islands came under Japanese occupation before being liberated by the Allies in 1944. With Papuan cooperation a huge US military base was constructed at Hollandia (now Jayapura), it was from this new Papuan headquarters that Gen. MacArthur launched his return to the Philippines. Some Papuans were also recuited to aid the Americans with regional knowledge and language skills.

The Dutch retained possession of West Papua from 1945; but nearly 4,000 km to the west the people of Java were encouraged by Japanese Imperial officers to create a new country from Dutch possessions. Though loath to relinquish lands to a social elite which Holland suspected of being collaborators, the Dutch in 1949 gave independence to a new nation called Indonesia. Indonesia immediately demanded possession of Dutch Borneo and Dutch New Guinea.

In 1952, the Netherlands recognized Papuan self-determination as a right in accordance with Article 73 of the Charter of the United Nations, and began preparing the nation for independence. The territory was given a governor and an administration of its own, directly under the Hague. After repeated Indonesian claims for Papua, Holland invited Indonesia to present their claim to an International Court of Law, they declined. Concerned that invasion might be a possibility, Holland accelerated its education and technical programs in preparation for independence.

In 1961, a New Guinea Council, the first parliament, was installed; and the Dutch Foreign Minister, Joseph Luns, launched a plan to involve the UN in the transition of West New Guinea to recognised independence. The Brazzaville Group, a coalition of twelve African countries, also supported this UN aided transition to independence. On 19 October the Papuan National Committee elected a national anthem, the Papuan flag (Morning Star), and ''West Papua" as their nation title. West Papua declared independence December 1, 1961, with West Papuans providing policing and other services.

Independence was short lived. On December 19, 1961, Indonesia commenced a guerrilla war against Dutch forces including a minor naval battle January 19, 1962.

As later revealed in US Dept. of State documents (see Refer to US Dept. State declassified Summary of South East Asian Foreign Policy for 1962, third paragraph), the US become convinced it was in danger of the Domino theory of communist conquest. As a result Indonesia gained United States support for their invasion and claim in exchange for their non-engagement with the Soviet Union. Unknown to the Papuans, the Netherlands was pressured (see US letter to Dutch PM) into negotiations with Indonesia which in August produced the "New York Agreement". The Australian government, which had been a firm supporter of the Dutch independence position until then, also reversed its policy.

The agreement, ratified in the UN September 21, 1962, stipulated the Dutch would transfer authority to a United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) on October 1, 1962, and the UNTEA to hand the territory to Indonesia on May 1, 1963, until a UN-conducted "Act of Free Choice" could determine the will of the people.

Since 1962 consistent reports have surfaced of programs of suppression (see West Papuan Genocide) including mass murder, aerial bombardments; imprisonment; and torture. The Papuan population then commenced their resistance to Indonesian integration and occupation, both from through civil disobedience such as raising their national flag the Morning Star, and the forming of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or Free Papua Movement) in 1964.

In 1969 the UN allowed Indonesia to conduct the poll of Papuan will. Indonesia deemed public voting was unnecessary and the military selected representatives accordingly, then provided some training in the Indonesian language and wishes; and finally these selected people were ready to line up and provide a public vote for the assembled troops and two western observers. The observers left after witnessing the first two hundred votes for integration.

In August 1969, Indonesia deemed Papuans had voted in support of integration into Indonesia and formally annexed the territory.

Aerial bombardment of the Akimuga homelands in 1977 announce construction of the worlds largest copper and gold mine (also the worlds largest open cut mine). Under a Indonesian agreement signed in 1967 two years before the "Act of Free Will", the US company of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. holds a 30 year exclusive mining license for the region from the official opening (1981). Though locals make several violent attempts to dissuade the mine owners including blowing up a pipeline in July; these are easily stopped.

The 1990s saw Indonesia accelerate its Transmigration Program and ship approximately 1.2 million Islamic Javanese into Papua (mostly Catholic and Protestant) during the next ten years or so. As the new settlers are based in town, whereas the Melanesian Papuans are dispersed throughout the country including its mountainous interior, this changes the demographics.

A West Papuan congress in 2000 again calling for independence resulted in a military crackdown on independence supporters. In 2001 a now majority Islamic population was given limited autonomy. An August 2001 US State Department travel warning advised "all travel by U.S. and other foreign government officials to Aceh, Papua and the Moluccas (provinces of North Maluku and Maluku) has been restricted by the Indonesian government".

In 1999 it was proposed to split the province into three government controlled sectors, sparking Papuan protests (see external article). In 2003 Megawati signed her order dividing Papua into three Islamic controlled provinces: Central Papua (Papua Tengah), Papua (or East Papua - Papua Timur), and West Papua (Papua Barat); though this has yet to be implimented.

Indonesian Government
Indonesia has a form of government which is unique in the world; though it has achieved a form of democracy for the population of Java since the end of the Suharto (Soeharto) regime 1998, the government remains subject to a controlling force from its military which retains 38 seats in government in addition to the political and commercial influence of its generals.

Though claimed to be a province, West Papua remains in effect a colony without authority to determine its own governance; limit commercial exploitation or decide which countries receive those profits or how they are spent; or to direct regional police forces (see colonialism). As the TNI receives over half its funding from such commercial ventures, under no circumstances should any tourist attempt social statements.

Excerpt from US Country Studies - Library of Congress about Indonesian government structure
 * "Since independence the nation has been centrally governed from Jakarta in a system in which the lines of authority, budget, and personnel appointment run outward and downward. Regional and local governments enjoy little autonomy. Their role is largely administrative: implementing policies, rules, and regulations. Regional officialdom is an extension of the Jakarta bureaucracy. The political goal is to maintain the command framework of the unitary state, even at the cost of developmental efficiency. Governments below the national level, therefore, serve essentially as subordinate administrative units through which the functional activities of Jakarta-based departments and agencies reach out into the country."

Indonesia in Jan 2003 divided West Papua into three Indonesian provinces, the formality of installing a local government for Jaraka in Papua Barat (west) took place in Feb 2003 and a governor was appointed in November; a government for Papua Tengah (central) was delayed from August 2003 due to violent local protests, it appears the creation of a government for this area has been shelved.

Background
West Papua nationalism struggle started in 1930s at the Dutch Protestant Missionary Teachers College in Mei Wondama, Manokwari, West Papua. Rev. Izaak Samuel Kijne, Principal, had taught the students on the Pan-Papuan nationalism and also composed the Hai Tanahku Papua-"Oh My Land Papua" to inspire the Melanesian folk. The teachers who graduated from the college became the source and pioneers of Pan-Papuan nationalism.

During the Pacific war, the Japanese invasion revealed to West Papuans the need to address the outside world, the Angganita movement opposed Japanese and all non-Papuan incursions. The arrival of the US troops requesting Papuan assistance help pacify the Angganita movement and reinforced the need for a Papuan nation.

In 1961 the Revolutionary Provisional Government of West Papua adopted a flag and arms on 19 October in Dakar, Senegal. The Dutch recognized these symbols on 18 November 1961 (Government Gazettes of Dutch New Guinea Nos. 68 and 69). An elected Niew Guinea Raad (New Guinea Council) became the first Papuan Parliament. When Indonesia took over the territory, the teachers were the first targets and victims of the Indonesian security forces.

Representative organizations
Niew Guinea Raad (New Guinea Council) an Papuan Parliament elected in 1961. The majority of Council members where killed or disappeared without trace between 1961 and 1969 (see West Papuan Genocide).

Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM or Free Papua Movement) is a pro-independence movement dating from 1964 seeking a peaceful solution to the Indonesian occupation and denial of self-determination. Most NGO groups concur that the Papuan support for the OPM is appears to be universal and complete for all intents and proposes.

Papuan Presidium Council : 31-member umbrella group established in 2000 to negotiate a progress and referendum to end the Indonesian 1969 annexing of West Papua. Theys Eluay, 64; was chairman and assassinated 11 Nov 2001, Chief of the Sentani tribe and Chair of the Act of Free Choice Council established by Indonesia in 1969. Theys had fought against the misconduct of Act of Free Choice and its resulting illegal annexation by Indonesia.

OPM/TPN : separate from the OPM movement, the OPM/TPN promote armed resistance to occupation; they are armed largely with traditional and ceremonial weapons and operate from the jungles.

Representatives
An army of doctors, philosophers, and activists.
 * Nicolas Jouwe, b.1921:Deputy Chairman of Niew Guinea Raad; he had been a member of the US Allied Forces sent to Borneo in 1940s, returning to West Papua as an liasons, after the allies left he became important in his tribe (Kayu-Pulau, Kayu-Batu, Tobati, Enggros, Nafri, and other villages in Port Numbay). He protested the Act of Free Choice, and managed to attend the UNGA in New York and submitted his Note of Protest. He then went to Holland and established an NGO called HAPPIN, a NGO supporting Indonesian and Papuan students.
 * John Rumbiak:Head of West Papua Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (ELSHAM), Jayapura
 * Dr John Ondawame:international spokesperson for the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and Asia-Pacific representative of the Papua Presidium Council (PDP), Papuan in exile, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University Australia -2002, West Papuan People's Representative Office Vanuatu 2003-2004.
 * Moses Werror:chairman OPM Revolutionary Council
 * Rex Rumakiek:representative of the Free Papua Movement, Melboune Australia.
 * Theys Eluay, 64:chairman of the Papuan Presidium Council, assassinated 11 Nov 2001. Chief of the Sentani tribe and Chair of the Act of Free Choice Council established by Indonesia in 1969. Theys had fought against the misconduct of Act of Free Choice and its resulting illegal annexation by Indonesia.

Regions
Indonesia structures regions by Regencies and districts within those. Though names and areas of control of these regional structures can vary over time in accord with changing political and other requirements, in 2001 the Irian Jaya (Papua) Province consisted of 12 regencies (kabupaten), 1 city (kotamadya), 117 subdistricts (kecamatan), 66 kelurahan, and 830 villages (desa).



The Regencies in 2001 were: Biak Numfor; Fak-fak; Jayapura; Jayawijaya; Manokwari; Merauke; Mimika; Paniai; Sorong; Timka; Wamena; and Yapen Waropen. See main article Indonesian Regencies of Papua for further details.

Hollandia, founded in 1910 had by 1962 developed into a city with modern civil, educational, and medical services. Since Indonesian administration these services have been replaced by Indonesian equivalents such as the TNI (military) replacing the Papuan police force. The name of the city has been changed from Hollandia, to Kotabaru then Sukarnopura and finally Jayapura.

Jayapura is the largest city, boasting a small but active tourism industry, it is a neat and pleasant city built on a slope overlooking the bay. Cendrawasih University campus houses the Jayapura Museum. Tanjung Ria beach well known to the Allies during the WW II, is a popular holiday resort now with facilities for water sports, and General Douglas Mc Arthur's World War II quarters are still intact.

As many primary businesses in the province are owned or conducted in cooperation with the TNI (such as Freeport employing TNI troops to maintain an large exclusion area around its Grasberg mine), it is advisable to stay a distance away from such mining or forestry operations.

Geography
A central East-West mountain range dominates the geography of West Papua and New Guinea, over 1600 Km in total length, the West Papuan section is around 600 Km long and 100 Km across. Steep mountains 3 to 4 Km and up to 5Km high along the range ensures a steady supply of rain from the tropical atmosphere. The treeline is around 4Km high and the tallest peaks are snowbound year round.

Both North and West of the central ranges the land remains mountainous mostly 1 to 2 Km high covered by thick rain forests and a warm humid year round climate.

The third mainland terrain is the south east lowlands with extensive wetlands steching for hundreds of kilometers.

The country has 40 major rivers, 12 lakes, and 40 islands. The famous Baliem Valley home of the Dani people is a tableland 1600m above sea level in the midst of the central mountain range; Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya) is a mist covered limestone mountain peak 5030m above sea level.

Ecology
A vital tropical rainforest with vast biodiversity and the world's tallest tropical trees, the known forest fauna includes marsupials (including opossum, wallabies, tree kangaroos, cuscus), other mammals (including the endangered long-beaked echidna), many bird species (including birds of paradise, casuarius, parrots, cockatoos), the world's longest lizards (Papua monitor) and the world's largest butterflies. The island has an estimated 16,000 species of plant, 124 genera of which are endemic to Papua.

The extensive waterways and wetlands of West Papua are also home to salt and freshwater crocodile, tree monitors, flying foxes, osprey, bats and other animals; while the equatorial glacier fields remain largely unexplored.

Ecological dangers include deforestation at an alarming rate; the spread of an exotic monkey (Macaca fascicularis) which now threaten the existence of many species; pollution such as Grasberg mine dumping 190 000 tons of copper and gold tailings into the rivers system each day;

Postage stamps
During the 1960s, the region had its own postage stamps. The first were overprints reading "UNTEA" (United Nations Temporary Executive Authority) applied to the stamps of Dutch New Guinea, issued in 1962. There are four slightly different types of overprint, three types applied locally, and a fourth made in the Netherlands and sold by the UN in New York City.

These were superseded on 1 May 1963 by stamps of Indonesia overprinted "IRIAN BARAT" and a series of six commemoratives whose designs included a map of Indonesia stretching "from Sabang to Merauke" and a parachutist landing in New Guinea. These, as were later issues in 1968 and 1970, were inscribed both "IRIAN BARAT" and "REPUBLIK INDONESIA". The last issue specifically for the territory consisted of two depicting birds (Black-Capped Lory and Bird of Paradise), issued 26 October 1970.