upepo
Elder Lister
In utter disregard for human life and natural justice, the Indonesian government has shown the determination to subdue, replace or eliminate the West Papua population as it cashes in on oil, mineral, and forest resources from the region.
A family from West Papua (https://thepalmscribe.id/papuans-want-palm-oil-plantations/)
As the world watches on silently, the native population of West Papua, numbering close to half a million, is under a heavy onslaught from the Indonesian government, which continues to forcefully occupy the country against the will of the native population and established international norms. West Papua shares an island land mass with Papua New Guinea to the west, with both countries sharing similar ethnographic characteristics.
A map showing West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
The troubles of West Papua trace back to 1962 when Netherlands, the then colonial power, surrendered the territory to the United Nations after a protracted decade-long ownership struggle with Indonesia. Shortly after on May 1, 1963, the United Nations handed the territory to Indonesia. Despite the new assignment of the territory to Indonesia, the native population remained opposed to this arrangement. This resistance continues to date, and includes a small but committed armed resistance movement made up of the native population.
In recent years, Indonesia has escalated the war against the resistance movement and against anyone deemed to oppose the various economic projects promoted by the government in West Papua. Native communities have, in many occasions, been forcibly moved their land to create room for mining concessions, plantations, and forest harvesting. As if to underline its determination to hold onto the territory, Indonesia has been encouraging its citizens, through subsidies, to immigrate into West Papua, effectively turning the native population to a minority. Perhaps what is most disheartening is the barbaric lust for resources displayed by firms investing in the West Papua. These firms, mostly American, have shown no regard for the suffering of the indigenous population. The land appropriation in favour of corporations and the sponsored migration of Indonesians into the territory spells doom to a native population that has survived for tens of thousands of years. This should be a good reminder that the colonial spirit that led to the extermination of entire populations in the past is still alive and willing to pursue profits at any cost.
A family from West Papua (https://thepalmscribe.id/papuans-want-palm-oil-plantations/)
As the world watches on silently, the native population of West Papua, numbering close to half a million, is under a heavy onslaught from the Indonesian government, which continues to forcefully occupy the country against the will of the native population and established international norms. West Papua shares an island land mass with Papua New Guinea to the west, with both countries sharing similar ethnographic characteristics.
A map showing West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
The troubles of West Papua trace back to 1962 when Netherlands, the then colonial power, surrendered the territory to the United Nations after a protracted decade-long ownership struggle with Indonesia. Shortly after on May 1, 1963, the United Nations handed the territory to Indonesia. Despite the new assignment of the territory to Indonesia, the native population remained opposed to this arrangement. This resistance continues to date, and includes a small but committed armed resistance movement made up of the native population.
In recent years, Indonesia has escalated the war against the resistance movement and against anyone deemed to oppose the various economic projects promoted by the government in West Papua. Native communities have, in many occasions, been forcibly moved their land to create room for mining concessions, plantations, and forest harvesting. As if to underline its determination to hold onto the territory, Indonesia has been encouraging its citizens, through subsidies, to immigrate into West Papua, effectively turning the native population to a minority. Perhaps what is most disheartening is the barbaric lust for resources displayed by firms investing in the West Papua. These firms, mostly American, have shown no regard for the suffering of the indigenous population. The land appropriation in favour of corporations and the sponsored migration of Indonesians into the territory spells doom to a native population that has survived for tens of thousands of years. This should be a good reminder that the colonial spirit that led to the extermination of entire populations in the past is still alive and willing to pursue profits at any cost.