@ludwig:

LOL, Papuans have many things in common with other Indonesians. Remember, Indonesia has lots of Melanesians living in Maluku and East Nusatenggara provinces. Indeed, Indonesia has the largest Melanesian population in the world. Indeed, most of today's West Irian Jaya province was controlled by the sultan of Ternate since the 1600s. Indonesia has extremely strong historical right on West Papua.

Meanwhile, your own High Court judged white occupation of Australia is completely illegal (Mabo Decision) since the agreement of Aborigines was never sought, "terra nullius" concept. Indonesian control over West Papua is perfectly legal and has strong historical background, while white rule over Australia is pure illegal landgrab.

So, follow what your High Court said, RETURN AUSTRALIA TO ABORIGINES!

@Kekendika&Scout:

Jeez, calm down folks, who left open the door of the looney house?

Kekenidica

I agree that Chainsmoker’s analysis just might be right and I acknowledged as much in my post of 22 April.

When I feel that the cause is lost, I will stop trying to communicate with him/her.

.
PTBI

As I said recently, so what if there are some similarities? That is not the point.

Can you tell me that West Papuans ever wanted mass transmigration of Javanese? Can you tell me that they are not being forced to accommodate Indonesians or being forced into a different way of life, or that they want non-Papuan Indonesians in their land or that they do not want independence?

What is so different to Australia’s history in this regard?

I don’t like the history of Aboriginal displacement one little bit, and I was pleased with the finding of the Mabo case. But when it all took place it was thought of as legal, and no less so than the Indonesian legal justification for overtaking and displacing the Papuans.

What is happening in West Papua is not one little bit less unfortunate than what happened in Australia.

If you, and Indonesians in general, are really so appalled by what happened in Australia, then how on earth can you condone the Papuan ‘invasion’. Why didn’t you learn from the Australian experience and restrain yourselves?

@ludwig:

LOL, there is completely no similarity between Indonesia and Australia. The Papuans welcomed transmigrants as the developer of Papuan economy, which provides employment and made that province into the rice-bowl of Eastern Indonesia. Papuans were never "displaced", as transmigrants were always settled in vacant land (Papua having very low population-density), and if any native land was needed, they were more than fairly compensated as negotiated with their tribal leaders. Meanwhile, by law Papuans are guaranteed place as political leaders elected directly by Papuan people. That is why overwhelming number of Papuans are happy of being part of Indonesia, as indicated by the extremely high participation rate in Indonesian national and local elections. Separatists formed only tiny proportion of population, those barbaric fringe infected by toxic ethnic-hatred as your minister Vanstone described.

The white occupation of Australia, on the other hand, is just illegal landgrab in which the Aborigines were never consulted. Not only that, whites committed physical and cultural genocide on Aborigines with intention of annihilating Aborigines as a people. 200 years is too late to make amends, Australia must be returned to Aborigines. If you intend to stay in Australia, you must ask for permission from Aborigines and pay them compensation for the land you live on!

It’s so comforting to know that West Papuans are 'happy of being part of Indonesia’. However, according to recently declassified US documents, this 'happiness' is highly questionable.

From 1949 until 1961 the Indonesian government sought to "recover" WNG, arguing that the territory rightfully belonged with Indonesia. In other words, the decolonised Indonesians were eager to colonise others.

In 1961, after repeated and unsuccessful attempts to secure its goals through the UN, President Sukarno declared a military mobilisation and threatened to invade WNG and annex it by force. The Kennedy administration (fearing that U.S. opposition might push the country toward Communism) sponsored talks between the Netherlands and Indonesia. Negotiations took place during ongoing Indonesian military incursions into WNG and the threat of an Indonesian invasion. The U.S.-sponsored talks resulted in the New York Agreement, which awarded Indonesia control of WNG after a brief 'transitional' period overseen by the UN. This agreement obligated Jakarta to conduct an election on self-determination with UN assistance no later than 1969. Once in control, however, Indonesia quickly moved to repress political dissent by groups demanding outright independence for the territory.

The Johnson and Nixon administrations were reluctant to challenge Indonesian control over WNG, especially after the regime of General Suharto took over in 1966 after an attempted coup which led to the slaughter of an estimated 500,000 alleged Communists.

From July to August 1969, U.N. officials conducted the so-called "Act of Free Choice." Under Article 18 of the New York Agreement, all adult Papuans had the right to participate in an act of self-determination to be carried out in accordance with international practice. Instead, Indonesian authorities selected 1022 West Papuans to vote publicly and unanimously in favor of integration with Indonesia. Despite significant evidence that Indonesia had failed to meet its international obligations, in 1969 the UN "took note" of the "Act of Free Choice" and its results, thereby lending its support to Indonesia's annexation.

‘Act of Free Choice’ – please!

I agree for once with PTBI – ‘there is completely no similarity between Indonesia and Australia’. And thank God for that!

@dee:

Indeed Indonesia and Australia is different; Indonesia is much more decent and humane in treating its people as you indicated, unlike the racist genocidal Australian whites!

"Indonesia is much more decent and humane in treating its people as you indicated .."

Except for those occasions when the govt. sees fit to murder people for their alleged political beliefs - ie, the estimated 500,000 alleged Communists. Or is it ok to kill alleged Commies?

Sorry, you dont get off the hook that easily. You have stated time and time again that all Australians are personally responsible for the mistreatment of aboriginals - this is called The Theory of Collective Guilt. If you believe in this theory, then you, and every other Indonesian is personally responsible for the death of every 'alleged' Communist. Have the families been finacially compensated? Has the Indonesian govt. said 'sorry'?

Eliezer Bonay, who spent nearly two years in detention after his dismissal as Indonesia's first governor of West Papua, estimated in 1981 that 30,000 West Papuans were killed in the 6 years leading up to the 'Act of Free Choice' in August 1969.

But he must be a liar and a barbarian, huh? Otherwise, the compassionate Indonesian govt. would have surely investigated these claims and paid compensation.