For decades Papua New Guinea has stood silent while its western neighbor West Papua suffers under Indonesian occupation. Despite deep cultural ties and shared histories PNG has repeatedly sold out West Papuan hopes for freedom bowing to corruption and geopolitical pressures instead of standing with its own people. This betrayal is no accident. It is the product of Western-backed anti-communist agendas regional realpolitik and the corrosive disease of corruption eating away at PNG’s soul.
As one activist from Jayapura bluntly said “We know they support us we are the same people but Papua New Guinea suffers from the disease of corruption. Money outranks morality.” Meanwhile the world turns a blind eye while the flames of resistance (https://www.easternangle.com/unknown-tragedy-of-west-papua/) burn on fueled by courage that defies repression. “In these times, even holding the Morning Star is a fight. We do it because if we do not, who will?”
History of West Papua and Papua New Guinea
The island of New Guinea is one of the most culturally rich places on earth but its peoples were divided and conquered by imperial powers who carved borders with no regard for the people living there. Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half and became independent in 1975 after Australian colonial rule. West Papua is the western half and was a Dutch colony until the 1960s when Indonesia annexed it through violence and deception backed by the United States Australia and other Western powers eager to contain communism in Southeast Asia.
The infamous 1969 “Act of Free Choice” (https://www.freewestpapua.org/2020/07/11/a-referendum-not- autonomy-is-the-only-solution-in-west-papua/) was a sham vote in
which a handful of Indonesian-coerced tribal leaders ‘agreed’ to integration with Indonesia. That marked the start of brutal military occupation aimed at crushing the indigenous people’s identity and resistance.
PNG and West Papua share ethnic and cultural bonds but political realities have set them apart. PNG was a new nation struggling with its own postcolonial challenges while Western powers pressured it to maintain good relations with Indonesia. PNG became the gatekeeper of the border but its governments repeatedly chose to appease Indonesia selling out their kin to protect fragile political interests and receive financial aid.
The West Papuan Conflict
The conflict in West Papua is one of the most brutal and long- running in the Pacific. For more than fifty years the indigenous Papuans have resisted Indonesian rule demanding freedom and self-determination. The Indonesian military has responded with indiscriminate violence killing thousands burning villages and forcing people into exile. Recent uprisings saw Indonesian soldiers killed and brutal reprisals followed with villages attacked and civilians rounded up or disappeared. “You will not read about this in the press but it happened we know as we were here” a correspondent said.
This is not just a fight over territory but a war on a people’s identity and culture. Indonesia’s transmigration policies move large numbers of settlers to dilute indigenous Papuan culture. Multinational companies exploit West Papua’s rich resources often with the military’s protection making this a colonial occupation fueled by economic plunder. International media and governments largely ignore the crisis.
The Initial Sellout
Despite thousands of West Papuans fleeing into PNG over decades PNG’s official stance has been to quietly side with Indonesia. Refugees crossed the border fleeing oppression but PNG has not acted as a true sanctuary. Governments have prioritized relations with Indonesia above human rights or solidarity. Western pressure to support an anti-communist Indonesia is one factor but the rot of corruption is another. Powerful elites in PNG see more benefit in selling out West Papua than supporting their struggling neighbors.
One activist in Wamena said “I wear the flag because we have to at least try whatever the dangers” reflecting the desperation to keep hope alive. PNG’s refusal to challenge Indonesia’s occupation was a bitter betrayal of shared kinship and history. It sent a clear message: money and politics matter more than justice. Refugees continued to flood PNG’s borders but the government closed its eyes to their suffering.
Today PNG remains mired in corruption. Officials line their pockets while ordinary people suffer. This corruption infects every level of government making principled support for West Papua impossible. Meanwhile Timor-Leste once a revolutionary state that fought its own bloody war for independence under FRETLIN has become a cautionary tale. The Timorese government quietly supports West Papua but as a diplomat admitted “Yes we support them but we cannot do it publicly anymore the relationship with Indonesia is just too important.” The new elite in Dili have traded revolutionary ideals for realpolitik and economic survival.
West Papua
Both PNG and Timor-Leste are caught in the web of Javanese imperialism and Indonesian fascism. They have sold out West Papua in exchange for political and economic expediency, betraying the ideals of anti-imperialism they once claimed to hold. Their silence aids the Indonesian state’s violent suppression of the Papuan people.
The Contemporary West Papuan Revolution
The fight for freedom in West Papua continues under the leadership of groups like the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) and the West Papua National Committee (KNPB). These brave organizations keep the flame of resistance alive despite brutal repression. Papuans risk everything just to wear their flag in public. As one correspondent covering the recent uprisings said “You can extinguish the flame but not when it burns in the peoples heart.” Even while PNG and Timor-Leste sell out the cause other Pacific nations like Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands try to raise awareness.
But real change will not come until the West and other rich nations stop ignoring West Papua’s suffering. The geopolitical game that sacrifices human rights to maintain alliances must end. Until then West Papuans will continue to fight not just for their land but for their very existence against a world that has turned its back on them.
