Why is Irian Jaya - Green Hell on Earth? Irian jaya trip to the western tree.

West Shaft System of German fortification structures along the western borders of Germany from Luxembourg in the north, to Switzerland in the south, the development of which was entrusted to the Chief Inspector of the Communication of the Communication of Dress Fritsa Todta. "West Shaft" was considered as

From the book by the German army on the West Front. Memories of the Chief of the General Staff. 1939-1945 Author Westphal Siegfried

Western shaft on the principles of the French strategy in 1939 was deeply influenced by the experience of the First World War. The French step by step ensured the planned slow offensive, in order to avoid all sorts of risk. While equipped Arm? E de Couverture (Army Cover - Fr.)

Irian-Jaya - the so-called Western part of New Guinea island. This territory, who previously, previously, the Netherlands New Guinea was attached to Indonesia in 1963 after a short, but fierce military campaign undertaken by President Sukarno.

Today, Irian Jay is considered the most torn off the rest of the world. Mangrove swamps make impassable parts of the coast, and thick jungle and high mountains (some snow covered tops reach a height of 5000 m) completely isolated from each other individual parts of this territory. There are almost no roads and an extremely underdeveloped air and maritime communication, with the result that to many remote villages sometimes have weeks to get on narrow and dangerous trails.

Partly, probably, due to its territorial fragmentation, this province is distinguished by an incredible variety of peoples and cultures. Separate and very peculiar local tribes - many of which barely overcame the level of the Stone Age - they say more than 100 languages, incomprehensible even their neighbors.

Irian jaya is characterized by a striking variety of flora and fauna. Ferns, orchid and curly plants form a live carpet here, intertwining with a hanging rope of a rainforest. More than 700 species of birds live among these thick thickets, including the huge flutter casair and famous paradise birds (Paradisea apoda). In the forests and on open rocking grass, there are also saccharged - wood and shrub kangaroo, flying.

After half a century ago, oil was discovered in the West of New Guinea, the port city of Sorong (40 thousand inhabitants) was increased here with hotels and bars, where workers from other parts of Indonesia began to come. From the sower it is easy to reach the boat to the Raja Empat Island Reserve, where you can observe in natural conditions of paradise birds.

Jayapura, the administrative center of the province of Irian Jaya and its largest city (50 thousand inhabitants), was founded at one time by the Dutch, who claimed the middle part of the northern coast of New Guinea. East of Jayapura, on the shore of Yos-Sudar-So, is the natural nature reserve of Yotef with many beautiful beaches, where you can see the core of several vessels, once dried during hostilities at sea. East, along the coast of the bay, there is a settlement of the sepik tribe, famous for the primitive painting of the wood bark and the manufacture of carved genital figures. In Eastern suburbs, Jayapura is located the building of the University of Chand-Ravassih with its magnificent anthropological museum. The museum's exposition is the most interesting collection of objects of the material culture of the ASMAT tribe, acquired thanks to the subsidy of the John D. Rockefeller Foundation III. The figures and weapons of work of the workshops of this tribe, presented here, are distinguished by absolute harmony and aesthetic perfection and are highly measured by connoisseurs of primitivistic art. Although the asmat tribe lives on the southern coast of New Guinea, Jayapur has a specialized store of Asmatian craft products.

From the high mountain regions of the province of Irian Joy is the most extensive and is available, located in its central part of the Grand Balim Valley - a 72-kilometer stone corridor, which flows the Balia River. Here in small, struts scattered throughout this wide valley more than 100 thousand people from the tribe of Dani live. You can get here and get out of here only by air. Trails and increasingly numerous car rings connect the center of the Venama Valley with the rest of the villages. Do not forget to take warm clothes with you, strong shoes and a backpack. Porters and conductors can be hired in the hotel in Vamen.

Crouching across the river, many tourists make a three-hour trip to the village of Akim, where the local headman for a small fee shows wishing the mummified body of their deceased grandfather.

Eric Oyay.
Travel Guide: Window into the world, Southeast Asia.

Most of the colonial empires finally broke up at least 40-50 years ago. However, the echoes of the colonial era still make themselves felt in a variety of corners of the globe. Most of the wars, including national liberation, referred to as separatist, in Asian countries, Africa, Oceania are associated with the colonial heritage. When European powers shared African, Asian, oceanian territories, they least thought about the compliance of the colonies of the real boundaries of historical and ethnocultural areas. As a result, after the formation of sovereign states, the problem of divided peoples, unnatural boundaries between countries established in the colonial era became universally. Some former colonies, in turn, turned into regional powers who oppose their national regions actually turned into "internal colonies". In this article, it will be discussed about the "internal colonization" by the Indonesians of the western part of the island of New Guinea and the long-term struggle of Papuans for their national liberation.

With the word "Papuas" at the average alignment, there are associations with savages living in the Stone Age and industrial cannibalism. What to hide - similar tribes, characterized by extremely low levels, exist in the wooded and highlands of the island of New Guinea and at present. But still, there is an independent state of Papua - New Guinea, which occupies the eastern part of the island of New Guinea and a number of adjacent islands (Northern Solomon Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, Islands D-Antcaster). Since 1884, the southeastern island has been under the control of the British Empire, was later transferred to Australia. Northeast to the defeat of Germany in the First World War was the German colony, and in 1920 he also hit Australia. In 1975, the eastern part of the island and the adjacent islands became an independent state of Papua - New Guinea. Today, this state is functioning, based on the considerable assistance of Australia - yesterday's metropolis, which continues to "patron" his former colony.

Western Irian

As for the western part of the island, New Guinea, it developed much more dramatic. Up until 1949, the western part of New Guinea was part of the Colony of Dutch East India. After in 1949, the Netherlands officially recognized the political sovereignty of Indonesia, according to bilateral agreements to the Indonesian Republican government, the entire fullness of power was passed on the territory of the former Dutch East India, with the exception of Western Iriana. The latter was decided to leave the Netherlands under the control of the Netherlands to the final settlement of the further fate of this province.

In 1950, at the negotiations between the Netherlands and Indonesia, the Dutch delegation rejected the proposal of the Indonesian government about the transition of Western Irian under the control of Indonesia. In February 1952, the Government of the Netherlands conducted amendment to the Constitution of the country, providing for the giving to Western Iriana status part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The desire of the Dutch authorities to preserve political power over the remote province of the former Dutch Ost-India was explained by economic reasons - Western Irian is a real storehouse of forests and minerals. Despite the decision of the Dutch government, Indonesia did not leave hope for joining its territory and Western Iriana. In January 1955, the radical Indonesian youth on Central Java declared the creation of the liberation army of Western Iriana with headquarters in Semarang. To May 1955, 72.5 thousand volunteers entered the ranks of the army. Young Indonesian declared their readiness at any time to speak in hands against Dutch colonialists, for the return of Indonesia, Western Irian Province.

The country's leadership took a course on the liberation of Western New Guinea from the Dutch colonialists, which was implemented in 1961-1962. As a result of the Indonesian-Dutch armed confrontation. The Indonesian leadership introduced the armed forces to the territory of the province, simultaneously holding up with the help of trade unions of Indonesian workers engaged in Dutch enterprises in Western Iriana, on strike. Also, Indonesian authorities declared the nationalization of Dutch enterprises and deportation of citizens of the Netherlands from the country. On August 15, 1962, the Netherlands were forced to sign an agreement on the transfer of Western Irian under the Office of the United Nations Interim Executive Administration in New York. Meanwhile, on October 19, 1961, the Congress of the peoples of Papua, who collected about forty-tribal leaders, decided to raise from November 1, 1961. The flag of Papua along with the flag of the Netherlands and the execution of the hymn of Papua, after the Netherlands anthem. On September 21, 1962, the UN General Assembly decided to transition from May 1, 1963. Western Irian Province under the Office of Indonesia. The former Dutch colony Western New Guinea received the name "Western Irian" (in 1969-1973), then the province of Irian Jay (1973-2002). In 2002-2005 Indonesian authorities decided to divide the territory into two separate provinces - Papua and West Papua.

Initially, Western Irian remained the most backward in the socio-economic and cultural attitude of the Indonesia region. Despite the fact that Indonesia - the country is quite densely populated, with a population of 253.5 million people, Western Irian remains unclosed territory. Most inhabitants live in rural areas in the villages. The huge spaces of the earth in the inside of the island are not populated and are actually not used due to the lack of normal roads and inaccessibility. In the largest city of Jayapur is the local university. Most of the population of Western Iriana, in contrast to the rest of Indonesia, belongs to Papuass and Melanesian peoples. Melanezian peoples inhabit coastal areas, Papuan - mainly mountainous and wooded inside of the island. The population of the provinces of Western Irian speaks at three hundred local languages, at the same time, the state language of Indonesia is used as a language of interethnic communication - Bahasa Indonesia.

The backwardness of Western Iriana is economically due to the undeveloped agriculture. Most Papuass and Melanesian villages exist due to primitive agriculture, hunting, fruit collection and berries. At the same time, Indonesia actively exploits the natural resources of Western New Guinea. Actually, it is natural resources that are one of the key items of interest of Indonesian power to this economic and cultural periphery of the country.

Copper, oil, natural gas, gold, uranium are mined in Western Iriana. The forest arrays of the western part of the island are also greater value. The forest is cut down and exported for sale. However, despite the fact that the natural resources of Papua Russian provinces are actively used by Indonesia to increase the country's budget, the overall standard of living of the Papuan and Melanesian population remains extremely low, which allows many political figures and experts to talk about Western Iriana as an "inner colony" of Indonesia. In addition to poverty, unemployment, constant problems associated with displacement from the original habitat due to the deforestation of forests and the development of minerals, the Papuans and the Melanesian population also faces with the manifestations of discrimination by Indonesians who are confessing Islam and related to the Mongoloid race.

Displeasement of the indigenous population of the Island of Indonesian politics entails the growth of separatist sentiment. Papuans and Melanesians accuse the central Indonesian authorities in the predatory exploitation of natural resources, with the fully disregard of the economic, social and cultural needs of the local population, in discrimination against indigenous people, the impact of the right of autonomy and self-government in Papua Russian provinces. Since the Indonesian authorities are clearly not configured to compromise with the local population, the latter does not remain the latter, except to choose the path of the national liberation struggle, illuminating into armed resistance to Indonesian authorities.

Motion "Free Papua"

Back in December 1963, almost immediately after the Western New Guinea passed under the Office of Indonesia, the free Papua movement (Indone. Organisasi Papua Merdeka, abbreviated by OPM). This organization, existing for half a century, has been conducting an armed struggle against Indonesian rule on the island, combining it with political campaigns around the world. The purpose of the movement is the separation of Western New Guinea from Indonesia, revising the strategy of the economic development of the island in the direction of the abandonment of the predatory and uncontrolled use of its natural resources and countering the spread of a modern westernized lifestyle on the territory of Western New Guinea. In other words, the movement "Free Papua" stands for economic self-sufficiency, social well-being and national identity of the region.

In recent decades, the twentieth century The movement "Free Papua" was used by the unlawful financial and methodological assistance from Libyan Jamahiriya. As you know, the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi positioned himself with another of many national liberation movements of the world, and in the case of Papua, he considered supporting partisans and as a pressure method on Indonesia - one of the main allies of the United States in the Islamic world. In addition to Gaddafi, the Papuan national liberation movement collaborated with the New People's Army of the Philippines - Filipino Maoists, from the late 1940s leading partisan war in the Philippines. The fighters of the "Free Papua" movement passed combat training in the camps of the new People's Army, where many of them, in addition to military specialties, perceived the Maoist ideology.

Initially, the movement "Free Papua" proclaimed one of the most important goals of the refusal to any modern life, providing for evading cooperation with religious, governmental, charitable organizations. In turn, Indonesian leadership began repressive measures against the Papuan National Liberation Movement. In the territory of Western Iriana, a thirty thousand contingent of Indonesian troops, civil servants were posted. At the same time, the Ambassador of the United States Galbreyt argued about the need to reduce the number of Indonesian contingent on the island. From July 14 to August 2, 1969, a law on free elections was developed. 1025 Papuan Elders were selected, who took part in the voting by agreement with Indonesia. Naturally, they voted "for integration" with the Indonesian state. At the same time, most of the Papaus and Melanesian population of Western Iriana, the voting results were not recognized. The mass armed resistance to the Indonesian government began.

Supporters of the self-determination of Western Irian put forward a project to create an independent state Republic of West Papua. On Indonesia, this movement is prohibited, for the demonstration of the symbols of Papuan National Resistance, there is a risk of getting up to twenty years of imprisonment on charges of state treason. However, from the late 1960s. Papuats are fighting in the jungle of the island in order to achieve independence from Indonesia. In 1971, the creation of the Republic of West Papua was announced. ORM MET Commands Jafet Roimcore and Japate Prai developed a draft Constitution of the Republic of West Papua, however, because of the disagreements between the field commander, ORM soon split, which became a serious obstacle to the centralization of the Papuan National Liberation Movement. ORM (the "Free Papua" movement) was more an amorphous association that integrates a variety of groups led by their field commanders into a single resistant network.

In the second half of the 1970s. ARM began shares against foreign and Indonesian companies leading to the development of minerals in the territory of Western New Guinea. First of all, Papua Russian partisans have begun to send protest letters to the head offices of companies, and after the lack of reaction from the management of the companies switched to direct actions. From July 23 to September 7, 1977, a series of terrorist attacks against the FREEPORT mining company was organized: telephone cables were cut, a storage room was burned, several industrial facilities blown up.

In 1982, the Revolutionary Council of the Free Papua movement was established, the purpose of which was the organization of the International Campaign of Solidarity with the Papuass People, capable of achieving recognition of the independence of Papua countries of the West. In 1984, the guerrillas of ORM was attacked by the city of Jayapura - the capital of the province of Irian Jaya, but the Indonesian troops managed to relatively quickly disconnect the attacks of the rebels using the obvious power and technical superiority. This attack was used by the Indonesian military command to enhance antipovernment activities on the island. The fight against the partisans took the nature of the extermination of the indigenous population, as a result of which the mass flight of the residents of "cleaned" the villages across the border began - in Papua - New Guinea.

On February 14, 1986, FreePort was again notified of the upcoming protests of ORM. Following the letters, several sludge and fuel pipelines of the company were damaged. The result was substantial losses incurred as a result of the loss of suspension and diesel fuel. At the same time, the partisans set fire to the fuel line and fired police officers who arrived at the scene. On April 14, 1986, the ARM action was repeated - this time the pipelines and electrical cables were also damaged, the equipment was burned. The partisans fired the repair brigades attempted to approach the objects of the company. In January and August 1996, ORM fighters captured in the captivity of Indonesian and European specialists who worked as a rotational method at the mining company facilities. Two hostages were killed, the rest were released.

In July 1998, the Flag of Western Papua on the Water Tower of Cat Biak (Biak Island) was raised by the partisans. Next to the flag of several days was a group of rebels, which ultimately was arrested by Indonesian military authorities. Among the detainees during this action was the legendary leader of the national liberation movement Fillet Karma.

Currently, Firoep Jacob Samuel Karma (born on August 15, 1959) is considered one of the most famous Papuan figures of the national liberation movement. He was born in the family of the colonial civil servant Andreas Karma, who served in the Dutch administration. The origin helped the Fillet Carme to receive an education - he studied at Java, then in the Asian Institute of Management in Manila (Philippines). Farp Karma - two children. On July 2, 1998, he led the demonstration of the raising flag in Biake, was injured in both legs with rubber bullets. The court sentenced Karma to six and a half years of imprisonment for state treason, but after a ten-month stay in prison, the verdict was canceled.

On December 1, 2004, he raised the flag of the morning star (the National Papuan Flag) at the Jayapur ceremony, after which he was arrested and sentenced on charges of national treason to fifteen years of imprisonment. The International Amnesty Organization has brought a flepe of karma into a list of political prisoners - prisoners of conscience. The flag of the morning star is considered a national symbol of Western Papua. It is used since the days of the Netherlands management of Western New Guinea in 1949-1962. For the first time, it was raised on December 1, 1961, climbed along with the flag of the Netherlands and was canceled after the inclusion of Western Iriana in Indonesia in 1962. Since then, the flag is actively used by the movement of free Papua and other Papuass national liberation organizations. It is a red vertical strip with a white five-pointed star in the center and white cloth with blue transverse stripes. Only for one public demonstration of this flag in modern Indonesia, it is possible to "shock" several years of imprisonment on charges of state treason.

Despite the past decades and changing the political regime in Indonesia itself, the government does not manage to agree with the fighters for the independence of West Papua. On the territory of the two provinces, which since 2003, West Irian is divided, the sluggish civil war continues. For almost half a century, the resistance of the Indonesian occupation of the island, according to the movement of free Papua, about 500 thousand Papuans were killed by government troops. International estimates are more modest - about 100 thousand killed Papuans and Melanesians. Most of them are civilians who ended with victims of aviation strikes around the villages who supported the partisans, as well as the "stripping" villages in Indonesian security forces. That is, in the territory of Western Iriana there is a real genocide of the indigenous population, which is not paying attention to Western governments and most international organizations. On the other hand, Indonesian leadership seeks to keep the secrecy of the Papua and West Papua in the provinces of Papua and Western Papua, since the international publicity of the war crimes of the Indonesian administration is afraid. Foreign journalists and, in general, foreign citizens are extremely reluctant to the region.

In response, the Papua Russian partisans themselves also do not stop the active armed resistance to the Indonesian government. On October 24, 2011, the police chief of Mouli was shot at the airport by militants of the movement "Free Papua". On January 8, 2012, the partisans attacked the bus, transporting Indonesian civil and military persons, as a result of which 1 Indonesian police and three civilians were killed. On January 21, 2012, ORM members killed a migrant from Western Sumatra, thereby confirming their course to oppose the settlement of Western New Guinea by Indonesians. On April 8, 2012, the militants of ORM was attacked by a plane at Mulia airport. Five militants opened fire along the landed plane, as a result of which one civilian man was killed, both pilots were injured, a passenger and her child. July 9, 2012. The police and two Indonesians were killed. Such reports come from the provinces of Papua and West Papua almost every month.

Currently, ORM remains rather an amorphous than a centralized organization. Its internal structure is poorly studied even by Indonesian counterperturbes themselves and policemen. It is known that in 1996, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of ORM was Matias Venda, under the leadership of which about nine semi-autonomous armed divisions operated. Throughout the history of the existence of ORM, contradictions are observed between individual field commander, competing for the management of the movement as a whole. So, the set by the commanders of the ORM and the president of the temporary government of Western Papua, Yakov Prai - the head of the West Papua Senate. After the set by the retainer went to the Netherlands, the leadership of ORM assumed Yakov Prai. He created the Council of Commander from nine people, whose squads were based mainly on the border of Western Papua.

Benny Venda and his struggle

Among the most famous figures of the Papuan National Liberation Movement, personifying the struggle for free Papua in the West, bend, first of all, Benny Venda. He is a relatively young man. Born in 1975 in the Balia Valley in the Central Mountain District of Western Papua. When Venda was two years old, in 1977 there was an uprising of the 15-thousandth of the Lani tribe against the Indonesian military presence. The command of the Indonesian troops responded with aviation bombing villages of Lani. Many relatives of Wanda were killed, a two-year-old boy was damaged. From 1977 to 1983 Benny Wanda and his family hid, like thousands of other members of the tribe, in the jungle. After the Lani tribe capitulated, Benny went to study at the university in Jayapur, where he received a sociological education.

Benny Venda was elected an elder tribe, at the same time launching active political activities in the direction of the struggle for the self-determination of the people of Western Papua. He was elected by the Secretary General of the Tribal Assembly, created to preserve the customs and traditions of the tribes of Western Papua and the combined elders of the Mountain Tribal groups. The Tribal Assembly made full political independence from Indonesia and rejected any options for autonomy offered by the Indonesian government. In 2002, Benny Venda was convicted of organizing demonstration in support of independence, which turned into mass riots. During the excitement, Papuars killed a policeman and burned two stores. The arrest was used by Benny Venda for accusations of Indonesian authorities in political repression against the Papuan National Liberation Movement. At the same time, Benny for the incriminated acts threatened to 25 years in prison. However, the Papuan leader managed to escape from prison. With the help of activists, he was taken out in Papua - a new Guinea, where he was shortly delivered to his wife Maria Venda. Somewhat later, with the help of a European human rights organization, Venda received political asylum in the UK.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government decided to arrest the Venda using Interpol. For this, he was introduced into the register of the wanted criminals. However, after the proceedings that carried an international character, in 2012, Interpol removed the Venda from the list of criminals, making the conclusion about the political injuries of his case by Indonesian authorities. Since then, the Vendan is legally operating in the UK, cooperating with the sympathetic Papuan national liberation movement by activists in Oxford University. Solidarity movement with Western Papua in the UK brings together student groups in British universities. There are representative offices in Oxford, the Hague and Port Morsby (the capital of Papua New Guinea).

In 2013, Benny Venda took a trip to the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, putting the task of familiarizing the public of these countries with the problems of Western Papua and the tasks of the national liberation movement. In April 2013, the headquarters of the free West Papua in Oxford was opened, which caused the negative reaction of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which caused the UK ambassador and explanations. In May 2013, Venda spoke before 2.5 thousand students in the Sydney Opera House, which also led to the claims of Indonesian leadership - this time already to the Australian authorities who allowed this event in Sydney. In addition to active political activities, Benny Venda and his wife Maria are world famous performers of traditional Music of West Papua. In 2008, they released the album "Songs of Freedom" (Ninalik Ndawi).

National Committee of West Papua

In addition to the movement for the free Papua (ORM), in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, as well as among Papua Russian students in other regions of Indonesia, the National Committee of the Western Papua (KNPB) operates. This organization was created on November 19, 2008 in Jayapur, to organize the referendum of Papuass and Melanesian peoples on the realization of the right to self-determination of the provinces of Papua and West Papua. Initially, the organization adhered to exclusively non-violent methods. Nevertheless, in April 2009, on a 15-thousand demonstration, which the Committee was organized, eight demonstrators were killed by Indonesian police.

In response, the Committee called on Papuass students studying in universities on Java, Bali, Makassare and Manado, return to Papua. Hundreds of young people responded to the proposal of the Committee, however, by returning to their native province, many of them were arrested. In 2010, the Committee organized new demonstrations, accompanied by clashes with police and security forces. Currently, the Committee has offices in Jakarta, Manado, as well as outside Indonesia. In 2010, the Chairman of the Committee was elected Bukthar Tabuni, the international press secretary - Viktor James. Soon they were both arrested and convicted for three years of imprisonment each for incitement to violation of state security of Indonesia. The Deputy Chairman of the Maco Taboney Committee on June 14, 2012 was killed by a group of police officers. Viktor Jaimo replaced the Tabunya Butard as Chairman of the Committee, but almost immediately ran from the territory of Western Iriana, fleeing from police repression.

Viktor Jaimo was born in 1983, a long time was a prominent activist of the Papuan National Liberation Movement, until he was elected by the Secretary General of the National Committee of the Western Papua, whose position and currently occupies. On October 21, 2009, he was arrested at the hotel in Abpare and was accused of state treason. On July 23, 2010, Jamieo was convicted of incitement to a state security violation. On December 1, 2012, on the day of the first raising of the National Flag of Papuans, the National Committee tried to demonstrate the dispersed police. On May 13, 2013, Jameim was again arrested during a march in Jayapur.

The problem of self-determination of Western Papua is unlikely to be solved in the foreseeable future. Indonesia and the transnational corporations standing behind her back will never go to the fact that the region, so-rich in forest and minerals, "was installed" and "closed" for foreign companies, as wishing fighters for independence. Therefore, it is worth expecting further continuation of the armed confrontation of government troops and rebels, attempts by Papuan public organizations to attract the attention of the world community to the problem of Western New Guinea. On the other hand, the nature of the nature of Western New Guinea becomes a serious obstacle to the Government troops of Indonesia. Up to 75% of the territory of the provinces of Papua and West Papua is covered with thick forests, a significant part is the mountains. This greatly makes the movement of military and police units. At the same time, the disunity of the Papaus and Melanesian population on hundreds of ethnic groups and tribes entails and obvious difficulties in the formation of a single national liberation movement with centralized leadership.