Jayapura – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) has declared that the annexation of Papua 62 years ago on May 1, 1963, is the day Indonesia colonised the Papuan people. The day when Papua was forced to become part of Indonesia which has been a disaster to this day.
This statement was made by the KNPB in commemorating May 1, 2025 as annexation day after holding an educational retreat and historical reflection of the annexation of Papua at the Waena III State Housing Company (Perumnas) in Jayapura city, Papua.
The call was by the chairperson of the National KNPB I, Warpo Wetipo, who said that this is the time to win independence and reject the annexation that occurred so long ago. "Seize independence and reject the integration that was carried out into Indonesia", said Wetipo.
The following are the KNPB's demands in commemorating the annexation of Papua into Indonesia.
- Resist the annexation and invasion of the Indonesian military in Papua
- Resist all companies that rob and destroy the Papuan ecosystem
- Resist the hegemony of the expansion of Papua, Special Autonomy (Otsus), Transmigration and the curbing of democratic space
"Because for us, May 1 is the beginning of the violent crimes against the Papuan people, as well as an attempt to thwart the political rights mandated by international law on the right to decolonisation and the right to self-determination based on United Nations Charter 73 and the mandate of resolution 1514 of 1960", said action field coordinator Elia Edowai.
Edowai said that the conspiracy to hand Papua over to Indonesia was carried out by the United States, the Netherlands and Indonesia through the New York Agreement on August 15, 1962, without involving Papuans as legal subjects under international law. So it was a betrayal of the Papuan nation.
"In addition, we also emphasise that the annexation on May 1, 1963 was illegal. Sixty-one years of Indonesia colonising the Papuan nation has given birth to systematic, massive and structured oppression, violence, torture, arrests, looting, racism, mutilation and marginalisation."
Notes
May 1, 1963 is commemorated as the date Papua was handed over to Indonesia and referred to by the Indonesian government as "Integration Day". West Papuans call the date "Annexation Day". As part of the New York Agreement signed on August 15, 1962, the Dutch agreed to hand over West New Guinea to a provisional United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) on October 1, 1962, which then ceded the territory to Indonesia on May 1, 1963. As part of the agreement, it was stipulated that a popular plebiscite would be held in 1969 to determine whether the Papuans would choose to remain in Indonesia or seek self-determination.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "KNPB Serukan Lawan Aneksasi dan Invasi Militer Indonesia di Tanah Papua".]
