Learning the history of West Papua can increase your cultural awareness and moral understanding of the people. It is certainly a complicated subject, but there is more to it than memorizing dates. One of the noteworthy historical events of the province involved the name changes of West Irian Jaya.
It is common to find cities changing their names worldwide, and several factors contribute to those changes.
It may be a natural process in which the linguistic conditions of a society change and place names automatically follow, just like any other. Another factor is the arrival of a new population, bringing a new influence to the area.
But what happened with West Papua? For this reason, we should look back on time.
How West Irian Jaya Came
The determination of West Papua’s sovereignty has long been a headache for Indonesia and the Netherlands. It all started on December 24, 1949, when the Dutch-Indonesian Round Table Conference occurred. The issue remained until the province was later declared a legal part of Indonesia.
Unfortunately, the conference did not solve the problem at the root. As a result, it became a ticking time bomb that all parties earnestly kept hushing about. Through some tough negotiations, the Netherlands and Indonesia finally came face to face again and signed the New York Agreement.
This agreement stipulated the handover of Dutch control over Papua to the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA). Furthermore, through the determination of the people’s opinion, the Papuan people had the opportunity to decide their fate.
More than a thousand participants agreed to be part of Indonesia. Once the United Nations granted the result, the Indonesian government began its de jure rule over Papua.
Before this, the Dutch East Indies colonial government recognized this area as Dutch New Guinea. It is an adaptation of Isaac Tiron’s map in the 18th century, which alternately referred to Papua as Gova Guinea or Nova Guinea. Previously known as West Irian, President Soeharto changed it to Irian Jaya in 1973.
Automatically, when talks about separating Irian Jaya into two different governments surfaced, the new area was presumed to be named West Irian Jaya.
West Irian Jaya to West Papua
It was not long before the Papuans demanded that their province use the name Papua again. President Abdurrahman Wahid heard and granted the request at the turn of the century. Officially, Irian Jaya is not longer used since January 1, 2000, and that is how we know the name Papua as it is today.
President B. J. Habibie planned to split Papua into three provinces in 1999, with West Papua being one of them. Note that it was still West Irian Jaya at this point until the plan was passed three years later. It was only in 2002 that West Irian Jaya was established as a definitive province.
But the establishment of the province was not without its challenges. Initially, it received pressure from its neighboring province, culminating in a Constitutional Court trial. It had its first governor and deputy in 2006.
The final name change to West Papua took place on 18 April 2007, following a presidential regulation in the same year.
People Movements and Name Changing
Countries and cities around the world have changed their names throughout history for a variety of reasons. It may be a natural process, but for some, it is an attempt to assert the sovereignty of one.
Whatever the cause of the rebranding, studying the reasons behind it can make us more aware of the meaning of the movement for the people of an area. Consequently, the name changes of West Irian Jaya serve as an eye-opener to how intertwined and complicated history can become.
