@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.