Geography:
West Papua is the western part of the island of New Guinea and borders on the Moluccas in the West, Papua New Guinea in the East and Australia in the South. Area: 418,000 km².

People:
Population
West Papua has a population of 1,800,000, of which approximately 900,000 are indigenous West Papua and 900,000 are Indonesian.

The West Papuan people is a Melanesian people composed of at least 240 different peoples.
The remainder of the population is composed of different Indonesian groups that settled in West Papua in the past 30 years. The rate of population growth of the Indonesian groups is increasing rapidly.

Culture and Language
Melanesian people are composed of at least 240 different peoples with each their own language and culture. Christianity was introduced in the 19th century. Animism is still practiced today, while with the immigration of Indonesians, Islam is gaining more and more prevalent.

Economy
West Papua is rich in natural resources : gold, silver, natural gas, copper, timber, etc. These resources are being exploited. Ever since it took over West Papua, the Indonesian government has been taking full advantage of those resources, while few profits are returned to West Papua.

History
The Papuan people and culture existed on the island for thousands of years, until 1546 when the Spanish “discovered” the island and named it Nueva Guinea (New Guinea) because of the resemblance between the indigenous people and the people in Guinea (Africa).

In 1828, with the establishment of Fort du Bus, the western half of the island became a Dutch colony. In 1963, the Indonesians took control of the territory with the understanding that after six years a referendum (known as the Act of free Choice) would be held, in which the West Papuans would decide their own status. The Act of Free Choice took place in July-August 1969 as scheduled, but the election was “stage managed” by the Indonesians, who used a combination of bribery and brute force to persuade the 1,025 local delegates to approve the continuation of the Indonesian occupation of West Papua.

Ignoring the failings of the electoral process, the UN passed a resolution on November 19, 1969 endorsing the Indonesian occupation of West Papua. In 1973, West Papua was renamed Irian Jaya by the Indonesians, and up to this day the indigenous peoples are not allowed to call themselves West Papuans.

History of the Conflict
Since the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, the Free Papua Movement) proclaimed the independence of West Papua on 1 July 1971, there has been a continuous struggle against the Indonesian oppression. Men and women organized in a guerrilla are presently resisting the Indonesian army; 10,000 had to flee to the other side in 1984 and many are still living in refugee camps along the border with Papua New Guinea. Even in those camps, the refugees cannot be sure of their safety: the Indonesian army was reported to have crossed the border many times, while tracking down OPM- fighters.

A severe and direct threat to the survival of the indigenous peoples of West Papua is presented by the Indonesian population transfer programs (transmigrasie). Indigenous communities were forced to be relocated and immigrants were transferred from densely populated islands to the so-called outer islands. The influx of sponsored and of so-called spontaneous migrants threatens to create a situation in which the Indonesian settlers outnumber the indigenous populations and take their places in the economic and social sectors.

During the last 30 years, vast areas of West Papua have been granted as concessions to multinational, transnational and Indonesian mining, oil and logging companies without consultation with, or approval of, the indigenous peoples who have inherited these lands from their ancestors who held them for 40,000 years. Many indigenous communities- who have little contact with industrialization or large-scale commercial activity- have been forcibly removed from their ancestral lands or made to leave through intimidation and bribery to make way for the exploitation of natural resources.

Moreover, the operations of the mining companies, particularly PT FI in West Papua, have caused enormous tension, which has often led to wars between the tribes in the area.
The lands of the Amungme, for instance, have been mined for gold and copper since 1967 by a subsidiary of the US based Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold. Throughout the years the Amungme people have conducted a non-violent fight against the company. In April 1995, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid produced a report denouncing the killing of 37 West Papuans by the Indonesian army while they were demonstrating peacefully.

In late January 1997, two Amungme PT FI employees abducted and raped three Dani women in a container. This sparked violent conflict between members of the two groups in which six people died and 52 were wounded. The Indonesian troops stationed there did nothing to intervene; instead they attended the “spectacle”, taking pictures. Less than two months later, more violence broke out involving hundreds of local people, when Nduga men tried to rob two members of the Amungme tribal council, LEMASA, in Kwakmi Lama. The Indonesian troops again did nothing to prevent the killing that followed in a two days fighting. Six or more people were killed. Many people regard these incidents as a symptom of the social ills created by the mining companies’ presence in the area.

Organizations:
Organizations OPM, the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (the Free Papua Movement) It was resulted from West Papuan people’s resistance against the Indonesian occupation in the early 1960s. It was founded in 1965 and it proclaimed the Independence of West Papua in Markas Victoria on 1 July 1971. Ever since the OPM has continued struggling for recognition to self-determination of the Papuan people through advocacy, diplomacy, non-violent action as well as armed resistance. West Papua Peoples’ Front (WPPF) It is based in the Netherlands, represents West Papuan peoples in many forums and international conferences. With UNPO support the WPPF seeks publicity for human rights violations and continued lobbying for self-determination in West Papua.

Statistics:
Area: 480.000 km2
Population: 1.800.000 of which about half are indigenous to West Papua
Language: More than 240 different languages belonging to the Papuan and Melanesian language groups.
Religion: Christian majority