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| Separatist Movements: West Papua/Irian Jaya |
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An ongoing separatist movement has been operating in West Papua since the early 1960s. Unlike much of Indonesia, West Papua/Irian Jaya was not officially incorporated into the nation until 1963. The international agreement which brought West Papua/Irian Jaya under Indonesian authority, however, stipulated that within six years Papuans would have an opportunity to determine whether they would ultimately accept incorporation. The “Act of Free Choice”, which occurred in 1969, was seen by many as an unfair and corrupted voting procedure. All 1062 participants voted unanimously in favor of incorporation into the Indonesian nation.
Since the United Nations handed control of West Papua/Irian Jaya over to Indonesia in 1963, a grass-roots guerilla operation called the Free Papua Movement (OPM) has been fighting for Papuan independence. Until 1998, the province was formally designated as a combat zone and ruled under martial law.
In recent years, violence has escalated as the military has augmented its military presence in the province with thousands of new troops. In its clampdown on secessionist forces the central government has catalogued a number of human rights related problems including more than 80 cases of summary executions and 500 cases of arbitrary detention and torture.
Please see our detailed overview of the situation in West Papua, including background and analysis of the conflict, the role of various actors and the impact on human security.
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