Department of Foreign Affairs Immigration and Trade
Poulgrain’s ‘JFK vs Allen Dulles, Battleground Indonesia’ changes our historical perspective
It took Greg Poulgrain decades of research and interviews to unravel CIA Director Allen Dulles' horrendous ‘Indonesia strategy’ of the Cold War. The most monstrous of Dulles' machinations were the murders of UN Sec-General Hammarskjöld and Congo Prime Minister Lumumba (in 1961) and US President Kennedy (in 1963); Indonesia’s usurpation of West Papua (in 1962); the replacement of Indonesian President Sukarno with the CIA-approved General Suharto (1965-66); the subsequent massacre of a million Indonesian ‘communist’ rice-farmers and consequent split of the Communist rivals China and the USSR. Students of West Papua need to ask (i) How the murder of UN Sec-General Dag Hammarskjöld was pivotal to Indonesia’s takeover of West Papua; and (ii) How a secret coup in Jakarta in 1965 and the subsequent massacre of a million Indonesian rice-farmers was pivotal to Freeport getting a licence to mine the gold in West Papua.
City of Moreland joins Yarra and Ballarat Councils on West Papua’s self-determination
On 14 August 2021, the City of Moreland joined the Yarra Council and the Ballarat Council in recognising the principle of self-determination for West Papua. Mayor Mark Riley plants a Hammarskjöld Memorial Tree for West Papua in Balfe Park in Brunswick East (Victoria, Australia). In September 2021 a video-recording of the ceremony will be presented to UN Sec-General Guterres along with the videos of the sixty other Hammarskjöld-WestPapua memorial plantings in 2020-21.
Land of the Morning Star, a documentary by Mark Worth
This entry has a lot of information, with references, about the film, Land of the Morning Star, its director Mark Worth, and the political and cultural aspects of the Morning Star on the West Papuans' independence flag.
George Ivan Smith and what he did for West Papua
In 2020 the West Papua Womens' Office in Docklands coordinated the planting of sixty living memorial (trees) around the world to honour the work of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld on West Papua, and to increase awareness of the facts and the fictions behind Indonesia's claim of sovereignty. Plantings in 2021 include George Ivan Smith (so the 'Hammarskjöld-WestPapua-Ivan Smith Living Memorial'). George Ivan Smith was a remarkable Australian who was a trusted associate and close confident of the Sec-General. In 1982 he revealed to the veteran academic, Greg Poulgrain, the Decolonisation Program which the Sec-General had prepared for West Papua and planned to raise in the 1961 General Assembly. This post includes a 14-page photo-essay about the program and Greg Poulgrain's ground-breaking book ('JFK vs Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia') where this important development, which may have precluded the Indonesian occupation, is documented.
Jessie’s House of Needles, and West Papua’s Green State
FRWP Open Day on 14 March 2021 featured John Algate on writing 'Jessie's House of Needles' and Jacob Rumbiak introducing 'West Papua as an independent Green State'. Technical glitches marred the zoom-recordings of the day, so this post includes a 1000-word review of John Algate's fascinating account of the life and work of Jessie Williamson, the Australian missionary nurse who worked in West Papua from 1966 to 2001; and Jacob Rumbiak's powerpoint essay. It also the address by Fiji-Australian author Bernie Goldstein talking on her book (Children of the 12 Tribes) who has started a campaign for one of the book's authors, West Papuan student Roland Levy, to be released from prison in Jakarta.
Pig, symbol of justice and peace in West Papua
An engaging photograph, a short story, and two fascinating ABC-Radio interviews about the importance of pigs in the religious and social life of the highlanders of West Papua.
Courageous ULMWP upgrades to WP Transitional Government
FRWP Open Day on 6 December 2020 featured interviews with the President and the Prime Minister of the new West Papua Transitional Government, with Australian federal Greens Senator Janet Rice, and with Dr Joe Toscano (West Papua Rent Collective). It included a candle ceremony for Natalie Adadikam (founding member of WP Womens Office in Docklands) and a memorial for recent political martyrs in West Papua; conducted by Rev. Robert Stringer, with presentations by ULMWP Executive Jacob Rumbiak, Catholic Bishop Hilton Deakin, and Mr Clovis Mwamba from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The day concluded with the planting of a Kurrajong Bottle Tree on Melbourne City Council land at 838 Collins Street in remembrance of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld (1953-61) and his 1961 Decolonisation Program for West Papua.
ULMWP to AUS Foreign Affairs Minister Payne, 28/10/2020
Letter from Jacob Rumbiak (Spokesperson, United Liberation Movement for West Papua) to Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, which outlines the current situation in West Papua, includes some [devastating] Special Autonomy data, and outlines the rationale for Australia to encourage Indonesia to commence talks with the ULMWP under the auspice of a third party.
West Papua: brief overview, 2020
This fully referenced photo-essay, of thirty-six (A4) pages in PDF downloadable form, provides an overview of the West Papuan people and their unique environment, their Dutch colonial history-including the devastating impact of World War II and their industrious twelve-year period as a Non-Self-Governing Territory as they worked with Dutch personnel preparing for independence that had been legislated in Holland for 1971. The second half of the presentation documents the deleterious effect of the Indonesian occupation. The final pages outline what West Papuans are doing to liberate themselves from Indonesia, and how the non-Papuans of the world can help.
Natalie Adadikam, well lived, we will miss you (26 Dec 1963-28 Sep 2020)
On 5 October 2020, the West Papua Womens Office shared stories and memories of founding-member Natalie Adadikam who died, in her home, on 28 September 2020. Natalie was the heart and soul of the office; a warm and generous muma who made people feel comfortable and cared deeply for those who sought her assistance. Her faith and trust in Jesus, and her commitment to the freedom of West Papua moved and influenced everyone who came in contact with her.
ULMWP begs UN to warn Indonesia against war in Papua; Jokowi warns UNGA about ‘territorial integrity’
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua begs UN to discipline Indonesia against waging more war against Papuans, as Jokowi lectures General Assembly about ‘territorial integrity’
West Papua’s return to the UN: fulfilling Hammarskjöld’s legacy
This memorial for Dag Hammarskjöld and his 1961 Decolonisation Program for West Papua explores a complex global story of two UN peace-keeping undertakings in 1961 organised by the UN Secretary-General. The first inserted a UN peace-keeping military force into the Democratic Republic of Congo to de-escalate conflict over the new state’s mineral resources. The second was designed to deliver the West Papuans their right of self-determination and to prevent Indonesia from invading and taking over the Non-Self-Governing Territory. What was the outcome? First, the Secretary-General lost his life. Second, the new state of Congo nose-dived from a new democracy to a long-standing authoritarian state. Third, the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Dutch New Guinea (West Papua) was passed to Indonesia, an Asian state on the verge of political and economic collapse.
West Papua honours UN leader at international summit
An international online summit on Sunday 13 September 2020 commemorates the work of Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General, 1953-1961—a global champion for the fair treatment of colonised and emerging states. Academics and political leaders based in Europe, the United States, West Papua, the Pacific and Africa will honour Mr Hammarskjöld’s inspiring leadership and work on decolonisation, in particular his work for the emerging state of West Papua, and his principle of ‘a peoples right of sovereignty over their land’.
- Live Blog: 2023 December 1 West Papua Independence Day protests and commemorations
- Indonesian Police arrest 4, beat & shoot rubber bullets to disperse Mako Tabuni’s assassination commemoration in Jayapura
- HRD Analysis on Oksibil-West Papua Armed Conflict
- HRD Report: Information on Internally Displaced People in West Papua – Oksibil
- Extension of Special Autonomy Law Number 21 of 2001 for West Papua by Indonesian Parliament: A One-sided Policy implementation
- Permintaan mendesak kepada saksi garis depan dan sumber dari WestPapuaMedia untuk memaksimalkan liputan internasional tentang Darurat Kemanusiaan di Ilaga, Intan Jaya dan Nduga
- Families of TNI victims in Ilaga, Puncak call on Indonesia to stop killing them in open video plea