Papuans have chosen many avenues of resistance to the take-over of their lands and the continued threat to their survival as peoples. After it was clear that the world had abandoned them in the early 1960s, armed resistance developed, as was formalised in the Free Papua Movement ( Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM ) in 1965. The OPM struggled to take on the Indonesian army, despite being poorly equipped militarily in the face of the Indonesian military's modern warfare technology, including helicopter gunships and bomber planes. The OPM have a handful of mainly old guns, and tend to fight with their traditional spears, bows-and-arrows, and axes.

Eliezer Bonay, who spent nearly two years in detention after his dismissal as Indonesia's first governor of West Papua, estimated in 1981 that 30, 000 West Papuans were killed in the six years up to the Act of 'Free' Choice in August 1969.

In 1977, installations of the gold and copper mining giant, Freeport ( now Freeport/RTZ ), were attacked by the OPM. The Indonesian army responded by bombing villages, killing thousands of civilians.

In late 1981, soon after a Dutch television crew had filmed hundreds of people brandishing cassowary* spears and shouting anti-Indonesian slogans, the Paniai basin in the Central Highlands was bombed by the Indonesian military. The Paniai basin is one of the most densely populated areas of West Papua. An estimated 2, 500 people were killed.

The OPM continues to exist, but in recent times has largely adopted a diplomatic route.

In 2000, an estimated 20,000 West Papuans gathered in the capital Jayapura, and the Papua Presidium Council (Presidium Dewan Papua, PDP) was formed, a non-violent body charged to achieve dialogue with the Indonesian authorities and to promote the West Papuan case abroad. In November 2001, its chairperson, Theys Eluay, was strangled to death by the Indonesian military.

* The cassowary is a native Papuan bird hunted for food.

Peaceful flag-raising

Raising the West Papuan Morning Star flag has been a potent symbol of non-violent resistance since the Indonesian occupation began. The military have responded brutally.

In 1988, Dr. Tom Wanggai organised a peaceful flag-raising demonstration in West Papua. The Indonesian military arrested him. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His wife, Teruka Wanggai, who sewed the flag, was imprisoned for 8 years. Amnesty International later adopted Dr. Wanggai as a prisoner of conscience. He died in Cipinang prison in 1996.

In 1998, the military opened fire on flag-raising civilians in the island of Biak, killing dozens of people.

Flag-raisings still occur throughout West Papua. The military respond with killing, imprisonment, and torture.

Human Rights Violations

Systematic human rights violations by the Indonesian military have been carried out since 1963. Documentation detailing these human rights abuses has increased in recent years.

The Catholic Church of Jayapura released a collection of testimonies in August 1995. Eyewitness accounts of survivors say in this report that on 31st of May, 1995, 11 people were killed at Hoea, near Timika, West Papua. The civilians of Hoea had been living in the forest because there had been fighting between the OPM and the Indonesian military between June and December 1994. They were praying together with a Protestant minister at the time, and were also preparing food on heated stones when the army opened fire. 4 children, aged 2-15 were among the dead. The minister was shot with his arms raised in a surrender gesture. Trikora battalion 752 of the Indonesian military was responsible for the murders of Theo Amokwme ( aged 35 ), Martins Dekme (40), Paulus Dekme (40), Ismael Dekme (6), Maria Aomang (22), Markus Alomang (26), Jiap Alomang (15), Lina Alomang (5), Anis Sugumol (14), Albert Sugumol (23), Rev. Martinus Kibak (40).

Since this report, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the local human rights organization, Els-ham have been attempting to alert the world community to ongoing and systematic abuses in West Papua, including arbitrary detention, rape, torture, beatings in custody and extra-judicial killing.

Swiss journalist Oswald Iten, who was imprisoned in 2000 for "illegal journalistic activity", was an eye-witness as 17-year old Ori Ndoronggi was beaten to death in custody in Abepura on 7 December; another prisoner Joni Karunggu was also beaten to death on the same occasion, and dozens of others received severe beatings.

Amnesty reported the following threat to a West Papuan political activist as he was beaten with the barrel of a gun by members the Indonesian Brimob police while detained in Wamena prison in February 2001:

"We have experience in operations in East Timor, be careful or we will shoot you all."

An estimated 100,000 people have been killed since 1963, although some observers say the figure may be much higher. The killings and physical and sexual abuse continue.

Arms Trade

Countries which have supplied arms to the Indonesian military as they tortured and killed West Papuans include: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, and China.

BP and Freeport/Rio Tinto

Freeport/Rio Tinto operates the largest copper and gold mining enterprise in the world in the subdistrict of Timika. The company signed its contract to operate with the Indonesian government in 1967, two years before the discredited "Act of 'Free' Choice". Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has sat on its board of directors for decades until recently, his firm Kissinger Associates has long advised the company, and Kissinger remains a Director Emeritus and consultant to the company. Freeport/Rio Tinto have been regularly accused of complicity in human rights abuses and environmental destruction in the area in which they operate.

British Petroleum (BP) has begun to operate in the Bintuni Bay area of West Papua where it plans to extract and export gas. Human rights abuses in Wasior subdistrict have led to fears that the Indonesian military will continue to abuse West Papuans and increase its presence in the area.