The name of Papua is always hot. There is a separatist movement in Papua for years until now. It becomes a hot topic because it had a crowd in Manokwari and the meeting of the President of Indonesia with Papua figures. Let’s know Papua history now.
The History of Papua Name
The biggest island in the east area of Indonesia was Irian but now it is famous for Papua. Where does Papua come from? The name of Papua claims that the old name of Papua was Papuwah meaning to be curly hair. In the notes of Portuguese and Spanish sailormen in the 16th century, Papua was meant to be the call of people living in the area of Raja Ampat Island and part of Birds Head area. The term is Sup-iPapwah coming from the Biak language. It means that land under the sunset. The people in Biak Island saw a big island located in the west part under the sunset.
The big island lay between Papua to Papua New Guinea. The west part of New Guinea belongs to Indonesia and the east part is to be Papua New Guinea. The name of New Guinea was given by Spanish sailorman, Ynigo Ortiz de Retes in 1545. He gave the name because the people there are similar to the African people in Guinea Beach. In 1884, the British colonial government in Port Moresby proclaimed that the southern area of New Guinea belongs to its power. In the same year, the German flag was flown in the east of Papua New Guinea. Papua is rich in natural wealth and beauties so that many people from other countries bid it.
Having Legal Dispute with Dutch
Papua is an island belonging to Indonesia located in the west part of Papua. This area consists two provinces West Papua and Papua Province. The foundation of west papua historystarted from Meja Bundar Conference on 27 December 1949. The conference affirmed the surrender of sovereignty from the Dutch to Indonesia. However, it still left problems for both Indonesia and Dutch.
Both think that they have the right to West Papua. The Netherlands wanted West Papua to be their own. Indonesia has a different point of view. Indonesia wants all ex-colonial Hindia Netherland to hand. The conferences were held but they didn’t make any agreements. New York Agreement gave credit to Indonesia for handling Papua problems. Papua was fully given to Indonesia on 1st May 1963.
The First Governor of Papua
Indonesian Government gave a mandate to Zainal Abidin Syah to be the first Governor of Papua in the year of 1956 to 1961. Irian Barat or West Irian was changed to be Irian Jaya by Soeharto, the president of Indonesia. It was officially used until 2002. The province name changed to Papua in 2002. Then, the special autonomy of Papua made it divide into two provinces, West Papua and Papua.
The History of OPM (Free Papua Movement)
The original people of Papua feel that they have no connected history to Indonesia and other Asian countries. The territorial unification of Papua to Indonesia since 1969 becomes a result of an agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia. Some Papua people don’t acknowledge the agreement. They think and regard that it is a hand from one hand of the colony to another one. In 1965, some Papua nationalistic people founded OPM or Free Papua Movement. It becomes a facility to create independence from Indonesia to form their nation. It has become a dangerous movement in Indonesia for years and still exists now.
Those are some things about Papua history that you should know. Papua is unique and different from the other regions in Indonesia.
