West Papua Timeline

West Papua - timeline

West Papua is the western half of New Guinea, like Tasmania it was separated from the Australian mainland around 5,000BC. But over 40,000 years ago Australia was settled by people of dark skin and fuzzy hair; the indigenous people of Papua are Melanesian (black islanders of Pacific), farmers and traders who long ago developed hundreds of languages and joyfull cultures which had been stable and satisfied the people's needs for thousands of years.

West Papua's human history Colonization history

40,000BC The ancestors of indigenous Australians and other Melanesian people settle in Australia and New Guinea

1848 Netherlands claims Western half of Papua. No exploration is done but in 1860s peaceful Dutch Missionaries arrive and teach western sciences to Papuans who tell others across West New Guinea.

1895 Europeans agree on dividing the unexplored island, Netherlands claimed West New Guinea, Germany claimed North Eastern New Guinea, and Britain claimed South Eastern Papua.
Germany sends a ship to establish a trading post, then the Netherlands announces it will build a Capital city called Hollandia next to the German border.

1930s Papuan graduates from Teachers College start talking to the 800 tribal nations speaking 300 languages to promote the idea that they should create a single unified West Papuan identity and government to protect their cultural assets.

1935 Standard Oil company buys 60% of Dutch company through which it sends geologist in search of mineral wealth.

1936 Dozy discovers world's richest gold and copper deposits in sacred homeland mountains of the Amungme people; Standard Oil keeps this secret from government.
1949 In New York & Washington two members of Javanese elite offer colonial ease of access to "wealth of Asia" to Ford Foundation and Standard Oil executives if a Javanese central government is in control of the 'East Indies'.
1949 December - United Nations and world recognise United States of Indonesia federation of 16 equal States.
1950 - Sukarno and his Republic of Indonesia military in Java force the 15 other Island nations into his Republic and in July he declares himself President of Indonesia; the United Nations remains silent about this Republic take-over of the federation.

1950s Netherlands works with West Papuans to establish modern social services towards independence under United Nations guidelines, Papuans begin to replace Dutch technicans and officials.
1957 Australia & Netherlands make this Joint Statement to promote "the interests and inalienable rights of the inhabitants" under the United Nations Charter.
West New Guinea continues with election of local representatives and developing technical skills.

March 1959 New York Times newspaper publish this article that the Dutch are searching for the source of the alluvial gold.
John Rockefeller has his Freeport Sulphur company arrange to lodge a claim telling the Dutch that there is only copper in the Amungme people's mountain.
Freeport employs Bechtel Inc. to design world's biggest gold and copper mine.

1960 UN Sec. General Dag Hammarskjold tells New York Economic Club that he is in favor of West New Guinea's independence, and that in his view neither the Netherlands nor Indonesia had any rights to this Pacific island.
1961 West New Guinea elects national Parliament which takes office in April 1961 and selects new title of "West Papua" for nation, new "Morning Star" flag, and anthem (see Netherlands 1961 report to UN).

Sept 1961 Dag Hammarskjold killed in plane crash

1961 December 1st, West Papua raises Morning Star flag next to the Dutch as reported in this newspaper report.

1961 December 18th, Indonesian General Suharto attempts air invasion but paratroopers are overwhelmed and arrested by highland villagers who send runners to bring Papuan troops to take the Indonesians.
1962 January, after failed naval attack West Papua requests UN to return 52 Indonesian sailors to Java.
1962 Presumably, Directors of Bechtel instruct CIA Director to tell Kennedy to believe Indonesian threat that Indonesia would become a communist state unless the Netherlands surrenders West Papua to it.
1962 - United States government decides to force Netherlands to surrender West Papua to Indonesia without Papuan consent (see 3rd paragraph of US Dept. of State summary).
1962 Robert Kennedy secretly negotiates transfer of West Papua to Indonesia without Papuan permission at United Nations in New York, the three way contract is now commonly known as the New York Argeement. Although Indonesia by signing this contract agreed to allow all men and women to vote in an act of self-determination, it has never done so.

1965 West Papuan people horrified by brutal abuse by Indonesian military and the disappearance of many leaders, create OPM (Organisation Papua Freedom) movement to corrdinate their political efforts to regain independence and freedom from Indonesia.

Indonesia declares OPM organisation guilty of treason and all supporters as rebels.
1967 Indonesia sell 30 year mining license of West Papua to Freeport
1969 Indonesian General Sarwo implements 'Act of Free Choice' by selecting 1025 men who are told they and their villages will be killed unless they vote against independence.
1969 UN representative Bolivia Ambassador Ortiz-Sanz says "the world has a moral responsibility to the Irianese [West Papuan] people"
and
"It is the duty of the United Nations, the industrialized countries and everybody else to consider with seriousness, generosity and urgency that something MUST be done to give the wonderful Irianese [West Papuan] people at least the essential benefits of our so-called civilized world. It is a shame for all of us that these people have been forgotten."

1969, The United Nations in Resolution 2504 evades giving its opinion about whether Indonesia complied with Resolution 1541 or the New York Agreement by instead stating that Indonesia and the Netherlands 'recognized' the results.
However, it ignored the West Papuan cries for justice, self-determination rights, and an end to Indonesian abuses while the US company destroyed their homelands and robbed them of their national resources.

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West Papua's human history		Colonization history
40,000BC The ancestors of indigenous Australians and other Melanesian people settle in Australia and New Guinea
1848 Netherlands claims Western half of Papua. No exploration is done but in 1860s peaceful Dutch Missionaries arrive and teach western sciences to Papuans who tell others across West New Guinea.
1895 Europeans agree on dividing the unexplored island, Netherlands claimed West New Guinea, Germany claimed North Eastern New Guinea, and Britain claimed South Eastern Papua. Germany sends a ship to establish a trading post, then the Netherlands announces it will build a Capital city called Hollandia next to the German border.
1930s Papuan graduates from Teachers College start talking to the 800 tribal nations speaking 300 languages to promote the idea that they should create a single unified West Papuan identity and government to protect their cultural assets.
	1935 Standard Oil company buys 60% of Dutch company through which it sends geologist in search of mineral wealth.
	1936 Dozy discovers world's richest gold and copper deposits in sacred homeland mountains of the Amungme people; Standard Oil keeps this secret from government. 1949 In New York & Washington two members of Javanese elite offer colonial ease of access to "wealth of Asia" to Ford Foundation and Standard Oil executives if a Javanese central government is in control of the 'East Indies'. 1949 December - United Nations and world recognise United States of Indonesia federation of 16 equal States. 1950 - Sukarno and his Republic of Indonesia military in Java force the 15 other Island nations into his Republic and in July he declares himself President of Indonesia; the United Nations remains silent about this Republic take-over of the federation.
1950s Netherlands works with West Papuans to establish modern social services towards independence under United Nations guidelines, Papuans begin to replace Dutch technicans and officials. 1957 Australia & Netherlands make this Joint Statement to promote "the interests and inalienable rights of the inhabitants" under the United Nations Charter. West New Guinea continues with election of local representatives and developing technical skills.
	March 1959 New York Times newspaper publish this article that the Dutch are searching for the source of the alluvial gold. John Rockefeller has his Freeport Sulphur company arrange to lodge a claim telling the Dutch that there is only copper in the Amungme people's mountain. Freeport employs Bechtel Inc. to design world's biggest gold and copper mine.
1960 UN Sec. General Dag Hammarskjold tells New York Economic Club that he is in favor of West New Guinea's independence, and that in his view neither the Netherlands nor Indonesia had any rights to this Pacific island. 1961 West New Guinea elects national Parliament which takes office in April 1961 and selects new title of "West Papua" for nation, new "Morning Star" flag, and anthem (see Netherlands 1961 report to UN).
	Sept 1961 Dag Hammarskjold killed in plane crash
1961 December 1st, West Papua raises Morning Star flag next to the Dutch as reported in this newspaper report.
	1961 December 18th, Indonesian General Suharto attempts air invasion but paratroopers are overwhelmed and arrested by highland villagers who send runners to bring Papuan troops to take the Indonesians. 1962 January, after failed naval attack West Papua requests UN to return 52 Indonesian sailors to Java. 1962 Presumably, Directors of Bechtel instruct CIA Director to tell Kennedy to believe Indonesian threat that Indonesia would become a communist state unless the Netherlands surrenders West Papua to it. 1962 - United States government decides to force Netherlands to surrender West Papua to Indonesia without Papuan consent (see 3rd paragraph of US Dept. of State summary). 1962 Robert Kennedy secretly negotiates transfer of West Papua to Indonesia without Papuan permission at United Nations in New York, the three way contract is now commonly known as the New York Argeement. Although Indonesia by signing this contract agreed to allow all men and women to vote in an act of self-determination, it has never done so.
1965 West Papuan people horrified by brutal abuse by Indonesian military and the disappearance of many leaders, create OPM (Organisation Papua Freedom) movement to corrdinate their political efforts to regain independence and freedom from Indonesia.
	Indonesia declares OPM organisation guilty of treason and all supporters as rebels. 1967 Indonesia sell 30 year mining license of West Papua to Freeport 1969 Indonesian General Sarwo implements 'Act of Free Choice' by selecting 1025 men who are told they and their villages will be killed unless they vote against independence. 1969 UN representative Bolivia Ambassador Ortiz-Sanz says "the world has a moral responsibility to the Irianese [West Papuan] people" and "It is the duty of the United Nations, the industrialized countries and everybody else to consider with seriousness, generosity and urgency that something MUST be done to give the wonderful Irianese [West Papuan] people at least the essential benefits of our so-called civilized world. It is a shame for all of us that these people have been forgotten." 1969, The United Nations in Resolution 2504 evades giving its opinion about whether Indonesia complied with Resolution 1541 or the New York Agreement by instead stating that Indonesia and the Netherlands 'recognized' the results. However, it ignored the West Papuan cries for justice, self-determination rights, and an end to Indonesian abuses while the US company destroyed their homelands and robbed them of their national resources.