Most West Papuans are angry about their situation. They were invaded by a foreign power in 1961 and since then over 100,000 people have died because of the takeover. In 1969, in accordance with a UN plan to have the West Papuan people decide their future, Indonesia conducted a vote on the integration of West Papua with Indonesia. The voting system was not one person one vote. 1025 hand picked people were chosen by the Indonesians, not the indigenous people, and 1022 actually voted. All 1022 voted unanimously for integration. Nowhere else in the world has there ever been a 100% vote in favour. The West Papuans call this THE ACT OF NO CHOICE as compared to the Indonesian version of Free choice. There are many tales of intimidation, torture and threats to the safety of the families of the chosen electors.

In East Papua, usually referred to as Papua New Guinea, which was under the protection of Australia,the UN forced Australia to grant it self governance in 1975.

It is interesting to parallel the 2 parts of the one country containing the same Melanesian people. PNG has grown from a population of around 1 million at its birth to a population of 5 million. West Papua's population has stayed around the same, approx 1 million. (In 2009 West Papua has been given extra resources to register the birth of indigenous people in villages). The West Papuans talk about a slow genocide of their people. Transmigrants from all over Indonesia have come to Papua and it is predicted that in a few years they will outnumber the Papuans.

Papua is a rich country. It has one of the biggest copper/gold mines in the world, the Freeport mine. It also has large supplies of natural gas and vast forests of hardwoods. Recently Indonesia has commenced rice farming, sugar cane and palm oil production. Indonesia does not recognise native ownership of land. It is all owned by the State and can be sold to private interests. The law does not allow for indigenous land rights. The wealth from the natural resources goes to Jakarta and to the military. At the time of writing there were believed to be around 25-30,000 troops in West Papua. It is for the most part a closed country and even though access is permitted, travel to large parts is not allowed. The military is still permitted to run its own businesses. Only 30% of its income comes from government funding, the rest from prostitution, illegal logging, protection and sale of fauna. As a result Papuans remain one of the poorest people in Indonesia.

Because of the wealth generated from Papua, the Indonesians have not given West Papua back to its own people. Calls for independence are brutally suppressed. To satisfy Human rights complaints, the Indonesian Government introduced Special Autonomy in 2001. This was supposed to empower and provide an economic lift for the people. It hasn't happened. 90% of the special funding was siphoned off at top. Papuans sick of waiting have demonstrated in their thousands demanding change. They have been shot, tortured and killed in efforts to suppress peaceful protest.

A recent visit by UN human rights inspectors has shown that there is torture, murder, false imprisonment and political rape. Human rights violations are endemic in West Papua.

"In some cases, while we were inspecting the facilities, torture was ongoing, people who were being interrogated had been severely beaten" UN envoy Manfred Nowak 2007

US Congressman Eni Faleomavanega, chair of the US congressional Pacific Affairs Committee, visited West Papua in November 2007 and wrote to President SBY that on this his second trip he was once again prevented from meeting Papuans.

In the last few years we have had a higher number of reports of violent incidents. Human rights investigators themselves have been arrested and tried for sedition; church officials have been beaten and intimidated; unusual numbers of deaths from food poisoning have happened. Also there has been the murder of innocent Papuans by the military and the disappearance and starvation of large numbers of Papuans living in remote central highlands. These areas have been designated as "no go zones".

For more information visit Human Rights Watch at www.hrw.org

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