It must be said that the extent of the Indonesian response has done more to raise this issue in the public mind than anything else.

The granting of visas to the 42 boat people is clearly in contrast to the earlier tough line on boat people and the Indonesians are fully justified in seeking an explanation for the change. But if ever there was an issue that, from their perspective, should have been dealt with quietly, it is this one. If they had publicly said, "what problem"? while privately tightening screws they would have denied the Papuans a great deal of free publicity.

But having said that, this cat is now clearly 'out of the bag' and the more agitated the Indonesian response, the less control they will have over events.

The issue will not go away because both Indonesia and Australia are signatories to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which enshrines the right of all people to self determination. This right to self determination is not a 'once-only' right that the Papuans were given a token form of in 1969, but rather, an on-going right. It was also a core principle of the non-aligned movement of which Indonesia played such an important role at Bandung.
see http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1976/5.html

"We will decide who comes here, and the circumstances under which they come" Yes we decided to turn the Tampa away, and to accept the West Papuans, after all there are only 300 million Indonesians, whereas we are 20 million. We could add West Papua, to New Guinea, as a block between "us and them" couldn't we?

I once had a mate who was a Flt Lt in the RAAF, he told me they have a squadron of fighters for every one of our F18's it's a comforting thought, don't you think. Was it Keating who said "They won't deal with him" in reference to JWH and his dealing's with South East Asia.

You'all feel any safer now that the great man has stumbled yet again, along with the AWB selling uranium to China, and of course China's enemy Taiwan, ah yes a government to be proud of, on ya JWH.

Papua is an integral part of Indonesia, hence any problems relating to it is Indonesian internal issue, to which foreigners have no say.

There will always be tensions between Indonesia and Australia as long as there are Australians who openly support the separatists who openly campaign for the destruction of Indonesia.

The separatist terrorists are making a lot of fuss these days because they know demographics are running against them, by now majority of population in Papua province is more than 50% transmigrants. While in West Irian Jaya province, transmigrants already made up more than 60% of the population. The fuss separatists are making these days are their last dying gasp as they realise there'll be no future for their Nazi-like ethnic-separatism once transmigrants made up majority of West Papuan population, which will happen soon. The future for Papua is one of multi-culturalism and plural ethnicities under Indonesia, the most ethnically- and religiously-diverse country in the world, whereby transmigrants will transfer their agricultural and economic skills to locals and continue developing Papua as rice-bowl of Indonesia. No force in the world can alter this natural progression of history.

To the author:

Thank you for your thought provoking article.

Proud to be Indonesian:

I have lived on this planet for 58 years. I am Aussie born. I have never ever heard any Australian conversation about Australians wanting to destroy Indonesia. Where do get such an erroneous idea? I am sincerely interested in your clarification.

Cheers
Kay

I think Australia should do more for Papua and stand by them, if Indonesia is committing atrociaties Australia should protect them. Australia has been very generous to Indonesia, without any say from the hard working tax payers, we have donated millions, if any of Papua New Guinean's suffer from Indonesia, we should help them. My father was in New Guinea during the 2nd world war, he was a medic, he spoke about the fuzzy wuzzy endearingly, and how many helped our soldiers. It seems that no matter what we do, we always have to put our hands in our pockets for Indonesia, what can we do? when they (the government and so many of the people don't like us) they seem to be rascist to the white Australians, yet they rely on our money and tourism, getting tired of the whole scene.

@kalweb:
Read the posts of fellow poster "Keith" that promotes the destruction of Indonesia.

@bluerock:
No Australian soldiers operated in West Papua during WWII, only American soldiers under General MacArthur fought the Japanese in this area (Battles of Hollandia, Biak, Noemfoor, Maffin River, Manokwari, etc). Australian soldiers only operated in their colony of PNG in role of American stooges who won the most important battles (Battles of Buna, Bougainville, Sanananda) before leaving Australians to mop-up Japanese remnants.

A few Papua New Guineans were used as slaves/auxillary by Australian soldiers, but most Papuans who lived under the Japanese happily cooperated with them (e.g. first PNG PM Michael Somare who remembered the Japanese fondly). In West Papua, there were zero anti-Japanese activities and most natives happily cooperated with Japanese soldiers in hunting down Dutch "guerillas"

So Proud TBI now only has one eye. He seems to have forgotten that the two most important victories over the Japanese Army were inflicted by Australians. These were at Kokoda and Milne Bay and were the first defeats that showed that the Japanese could be beaten.

And Macathur's policy of sidelining Australian troops to ensure that only American troops made the headlines was based on a first hand comparison of respective capacity based on his own experience on the Western Front in WWI where the decisive engagement that forced the Germans to armistice was planned and executed by Australians. He was also fully aware of the more recent critical contribution made by Australians at El Alamein and this provided that conspicuous glory seeker with more than sufficient grounds to ensure that only Americans were in the news.

But back to the point, if Indonesian policy in West Papua is so benign, then your country has had more than 40 years to demonstrate this to the West Papuan population. And in that case, your country can easily, and permanently, settle the issue by simply holding a proper act of free choice. If the West Papuans, without the votes of Indonesian public servants on non-permanent postings, freely and fairly choose to remain in Indonesia then I would most certainly respect that choice.

But the fact remains that no such proper, fair and free from duress, act of free choice has taken place yet. And until one does take place then Indonesian control of the province has no legitimacy. And Australia will still be bound by international law to provide "first sanctuary" to any refugees that come to us.

The Indonesian demand that we not only refuse West Papuans this right of first sanctuary but also return them to the province is in blatant contempt for international law. Even if we do not allow them to stay in Australia, they still have the right to seek shelter in other Melanesian countries.

@Perseus:

Your questions are bloody repetitively redundant, d'oh! As I've said before, Papua already have a UN-supervised referendum in 1969. No referendum is necessary as neither the local or national parliaments has asked for it.

ProudTBI, I am fully aware of what was passed off as an act of free choice in 1969. So which part of my statement, "proper, fair and free from duress, act of free choice", does not translate into Indonesian?

I also note your suggestion that the takeover of West Papua by non-papuans is the "natural course" of events. But also note that there appears to be a highly selective application of such principles in the Indo/Malay world.

On one hand we have the Malaysian Government taking extraordinary measures to protect the Bumiputra "sons of the soil" from being subordinated to the economic vigour and technological edge of the Malaysian Chinese. Yet, in West Papua there are no measures to enhance or maintain the position of what can only be described as the West Papuan Bumiputra in the face of Javanese vigour and technological edge.

Do you contest the fact that the West Papuans are the "sons of the soil" in that province?
Do you think the Malaysian Government is wrong to discriminate in favour of the Bumiputra?
How do you distinguish between a Javanese economic superiority that is natural in West Papua and a Malay/Chinese economic superiority that must be prevented in Malaysia?

Could it be that the only element of distinction is Javanese/Bumiputra self interest?

@Perseus:

LOL, the UN-supervised referendum of 1969 is "proper, fair and free from duress". Deal with it!

In Papua, by law all governors and district chiefs must be native Papuans. Indeed, Indonesian govt from the beginning has always provided measures to enhance and maintain the position of native Papuans by trillions of rupiah subsidies each year to improve the education and health of native Papuans.

Unfortunately, tiny fraction of Papuans (the barbaric Papuan separatists terrorists) are people who can never be satisfied by any subsidies or help they receive. Instead, they are fanatical Nazis engulfed in racial-hatred mentality, who are intent on embarking on ethnic-cleansing of all non-Papuans.

Luckily, these lunatics are too tiny, insignificant, and dumb so they never pose any problem for Indonesian govt and its program of economic and agricultural progress through transmigration.

I spent two weeks in West Papua in August 2000 (Biak, Jayapura, Wamena) and almost everyone I spoke to there from tour guides to members of the Jayawijaya local council (DPRD II) to trade unionists supported independence. Morning Star independence flags in official ceremonies were being hoisted all over the Baliem Valley. Indonesian officials had been chased out of some kecamatan. Only one Papuan I spoke to was against independence arging that economic advancement was the priority. Don't get me wrong, I'm not necessarily supporting independence for West Papua and I acknowledge Jakarta has done some good for the people, but there is clearly widespread support for self-determination among the people there.

I see Proud to be a Neocolonialist is still at it with claims of a "free and fair plebescite" in Papua. No matter how many times you make the claim, it was not free nor was it fair so Indonesian occupation is just that, a military occupation. One were the military is on the take.

Interesting that all the talk about what appears to be Indonesia's manifest destiny in taking over the former Netherlands East Indies territories (forgetting of course that Timor was a ring-in Portuguese) Pride before a Fall neglects to mentions Indonesia's designs on North Borneo and Brunei, not part of NEI and ending up in an Indon bloody nose. Remember Konfrontasi?

@rogindon:

In 2000, Indonesia was very weak and wracked by conflicts thanks to the fall of Suharto and advent of democracy. Not to mention, Indonesian govt has practically zero PR skills at that time, and they foolishly allowed all kinds of separatist propaganda lies, mostly from Australia, to brainwash Papuans, exploiting their susceptibility to racial-hate ideas. In the name of "democrazy", we even allowed the mini-Hitler Theys Eluay to spread his violent racial hatred that would be automatically banned anywhere else in the world. The Papuan situation in 2000 is akin to Germany in 1933, when Germans fell for Adolf Hitler's Nazi ideology of hatred and followed him to the path of destruction. However, unlike Germany, Indonesia soon recovered and quickly turned the Papuan situation around.

By now, separatism is all about dead in Papua. Indonesian government effectively governs 100% of Papua and West Irian Jaya, and most Papuans have forgotten separatism as an old misguided error after seeing the chaos and destruction separatism brought in 1999-2001. Papuans are now happy with their political status, as seen in the extremely high rate of participation in national and regional elections in 2004 and 2006. Nowadays, most Papuans, native and transmigrants, only desire a peaceful and thus prosperous life.

@Viking:

LOL, a white Australian trying to accuse Indonesia of "neo-colonialism" is like a paedophile trying teach child-rearing skills. I suggest you tell your momma and papa to return your land to Aborigines and return to England/Ireland/wherever you came from. Remember, you whites are just unwanted thieves squatting in stolen Aboriginal land!

If things are so rosy in Papua, why are so most diplomats and journalists banned from entering the province? Surely, there are sound objective Western journalists who would accurately report that things are good and the Papuans supportive of Jakarta's rule if that were the case. You have a great opportunity for teaching the world how greatly improved the situation is and how little support separatism has. Why not take it? Why are you stopping our diplomats and journalists and those who write State Department human rights reports from knowing the truth?

@rogindon:

LOL, what nonsensical lies. Foreign journalists and diplomats are free to enter Papua and West Irian Jaya provinces. Not only that, after the brutal murder of American teachers by barbaric Papuan separatists, we invited the FBI to participate in investigating and finally arresting the evil Papuan separatist murderers who committed this inhuman act!

The issue is one of colonization, but West Papua is not only another Indonesian colony, it is a colony in our Australian Pacific.

'Proud to be Indonesian' agains resorts to lies to gather support for his views, the fact is that the Papuan people unlike all the Asian countries, never supported the Japanese occupation. Without local food within just 18 months over 65% of the Japanese died, and the vast majority of the remaining Japanese forces immobile. Like a sitting duck they were relatively easy for MacArthur to defeat thanks to the Papuans.

Of course Indonesia got its hands on West Papua by blackmail against John F Kennedy, the US government records released in 1995 revealing that Kennedy felt he had no option but to force the Netherlands to sign the New York Agreement to prevent Sukarno's threat of adopting communism.

As for the infamous 1969 false 'Act of Free Choice', not only did the Indonesian military not comply with the terms of the New York Agreement but the United Nations has *never* said it was any form of self-determination. As the UN is the only authority on the subject of decolonization and the legal process of self-determination, it does not matter what Indonesia or US corporations claim the 'Act' was.

Indonesia admitted that West Papua was a colony, West Papua clearly fits the UN GA Resolution 1541 definition as a colony, and under 1514 the UN and Indonesia are required to facilitate self-determination without any delay.