Don’t forget West Papua

I WOULD like to remind us all that gaining independence was easy for us.
It was served on a golden platter by Australia.
We did not fight for it, not a single drop of Papua New Guinean blood was shed, which is why most of us take it for granted.
So let us not forget our brothers and sisters in West Papua.
They have been asking and fighting for independence from Indonesia for a long time, 59 years to be exact.
Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and West Papua were Dutch colonies.
During WWII, Nazi Germany trampled all over the Dutch colonies and after the war, the Dutch empire was in shambles so they agreed to grant Indonesia and West Papua independence respectively.
The Netherlands realised that the Indonesians and West Papuans were different groups of people and deserved to have their own independent countries.
Indonesia gained independence from The Netherlands in 1949.
West Papua gained independence from Netherlands in 1961, but that was short-lived.
Months after declaring independence, Indonesia invaded West Papua and war broke out.
Indonesia was on one side and Netherlands sided with West Papua.
This happened during the Cold War era so when Indonesia saw that they were losing, it sought support from the former Soviet Union.
The Indonesian government at that time was leaning more towards communism.
The United States of America (USA) learnt about this and strongly advised The Netherlands to hand control of West Papua to Indonesia to avoid Indonesia falling into the former Soviet Union’s grip.
The Netherlands couldn’t argue with the country (USA) that helped liberated them from Nazi Germany, so a deal was set and was called the New York agreement.
West Papua was to be handed to Indonesia, and one of the terms of agreement was that in the future, West Papuans could exercise their right to self-determination.
That meant they would have the right to vote if they want to remain with Indonesia or become independent.
The number of West Papuans killed by the Indonesian military since then is countless because of their struggle for independence.
It’s literally genocide.
I’m curious about Papua New Guineans who posted on social media saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ in light of the recent race-related incidents in the USA.
What kind of black lives are we talking about?
What about our West Papuan brothers and sisters?
Aren’t they black?
West Papuans are rightfully our brothers and sisters that just happen to live on the other side of that imaginary line drawn by European colonisers.
We should never forget that.
As an individual, there is not much I can do to ensure that West Papuan voices are heard but what I can do is spread awareness about their plight.
I plan to celebrate Sept 16 with two flags.
I will be holding the PNG flag and the West Papua flag for my brothers and sisters.

West Papua Merdeka
Never Forget