Hostage drama brings dormant conflict in West Papua to light

Unease is apparent in 37-year-old New Zealand pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens in the images that the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) distributed last week. He stands in a denim jacket with a fisherman’s hat between menacing looking men with bows and arrows, headdresses and big guns in hand. Mehrtens wears a T-shirt with the West Papuan flag, the Morning Star, and looks uneasily into the camera. “Indonesia must recognize Papua’s independence,” he is forced to say in one of the videos.

The New Zealander was taken hostage two weeks ago in the Nduga district, in the highlands of Papua – Indonesia’s easternmost province. Separatists have been fighting for independence in this region for decades.

Mehrtens had landed there with five passengers to pick up fifteen construction workers, who were threatened by the separatists who suspected them of being Indonesian spies. Immediately after landing, the aircraft was stormed by the rebels. The five passengers were allowed to go a short time later.

A team of the Indonesian police is now on its way to the inhospitable area to negotiate with the rebels, although the government does not rule out “other options”.

“It’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” West Papua researcher Cammi Webb-Gannon said of Mehrtens’ hostage-taking. She runs it West Papua project from the University of Wollongong in Australia and is committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict. “This was an opportunistic move. It indicates that the West Papuans are losing hope.”

Straight border

The conflict has a long history. This becomes clear at a first glance at the map of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world after Greenland. A straight line runs straight through the center of the island, as if drawn with a ruler. To the right of that border is Papua New Guinea, a former colony of the United Kingdom and later Australia. This part of the island became independent in 1965.

On the other side of the border are Papua and West Papua, together often referred to as West Papua, provinces of Indonesia. The independence struggle in West Papua has raged for decades, but only rarely makes international headlines.

The armed group TPN-PB, considered a terrorist movement by Indonesia, emerged in the 1960s. West Papua was part of the former Dutch colony of Dutch New Guinea, and remained part of the Netherlands after Indonesia’s independence in 1949. Under international pressure, the Netherlands promised independence in 1961. West Papua got its own flag, the Morning Star, and a national anthem. “People were preparing for independence,” says Webb-Gannon.

The Free Papua Movement, or the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM), was founded at that time. The umbrella organization for the free West Papua consisted of a diplomatic and a military wing. He was forming an army for the independent nation of West Papua. “They never saw themselves as a rebel army or separatists, but as an army like any other nation has,” says Webb-Gannon.

Referendum

But independence never came. In 1962, the Netherlands and Indonesia concluded the so-called New York Agreement at the headquarters of the United Nations. A year later, Papua was annexed by Indonesia, with the approval of the international community. The promise was that the Papuans could decide their fate by referendum a few years later, but those elections were a farce. Instead of organizing a referendum for all inhabitants, Indonesia selected a council of more than a thousand tribal leaders in 1969, who chose to join Indonesia under great pressure.

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The military branch of the independence movement remained and was ready to fight for freedom. “The size of the group is difficult to estimate,” says Cannon-Webb. “It is a fluid movement, where people sometimes join for a while and then leave.”

The group does not pose a real threat to the Indonesian army, says Cannon-Webb. They are poorly armed and poorly organized. They depend on traditional weapons such as bows and arrows, or weapons they have stolen from Indonesian troops. The only thing they can use is guerrilla tactics.” On the other hand, the strong Indonesian army, with soldiers trained by Australia and New Zealand. “Their only advantage is that they know the area well and have a reasonably good relationship with the population, although they generally do not support the violence.”

In the years since 1969, Indonesia has tightened its grip on the region. Papuans who fight for independence are dealt with harshly and persecuted. Journalists, human rights activists and international observers are not welcome, leaving the conflict largely shrouded in mystery. Rough estimates indicate that the conflict has cost the lives of between 150,000 and 500,000 Papuans.

Gold and copper mines

Papua and West Papua are extremely rich in raw materials such as gold, copper and wood. One of the largest gold and copper mines in the world is located in Papua. Yet the local population lives in poverty and is regularly hunted by the Indonesian authorities. Human rights experts from the United Nations warned a year ago about the situation in the underprivileged Indonesian provinces. There are allegations of large-scale executions, disappearances and torture by Indonesian security forces.

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In recent years, the situation has been extremely tense, especially in Nduga district, where the hostage drama is taking place. In 2019, the TPN-PB killed 24 Indonesians working on a highway here. The rebels believed they were spies for the Indonesian military. This led to repercussions from Indonesia. According to observers, at least sixty thousand people in Nduga have been displaced by the actions of the Indonesian army. “There is still a huge military presence in this area, they are constantly monitoring the population,” says Cannon-Webb.

She states that the goal, an independent West Papua, has great support among the local indigenous population. But violence is frowned upon by the majority. Cannon-Webb says the hostage-taking is an act of desperation by the rebel group. “We must not forget that this is an action by a small minority. They do not reflect the beliefs of the vast majority of indigenous West Papuans who are peacefully fighting for independence.”