Free Papua Movement
Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM — Indonesian: Papuan Independence Organization) is the national Organization for Papuan Freedom active since 1964. Though often misrepresented as a militant organization it seeks a preferably peaceful means by which to end Indonesian military occupation, have Indonesia respect the West Papuan Nation's right to independence, and to stop the TNI ethnic cleansing programs. The OPM retains a very high degree of support throughout the multi-lingual community.
On 1st December 1961 an elected West Papuan government declared independence for West Papua, in response the Indonesian militray dropped paratroops into West Papua on 18th December expecting a quick surrender, instead the local Papuan villages arrested the paratroopers and later gave their prisoners over to Papuan government troops. However the Indonesian military escalated the conflict and threaten the United States with expansion of Soviet and communism into Indonesia unless the US supported their desired occupation of West Papua. The United States immediatly changed from pro-freedom to a pro-occupation stance and during 1962 forced the Dutch government to sign into a secret agreement surrendering West Papua to Indonesia in spite of having acknowledged its independence in 1961.
The Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) was created after Indonesian troops occupied West Papua when members of the Papuan government began to disappear as did other political and religious leaders. Essentially all West Papuan people support the OPM in response to these killings, the occupation, and the denial of the 1961 independence and even their nations Morning Star flag.
In 1969 Papuans discovered the United Nations had shamefully given the Indonesian Military authority complete control of the now so-called "Act of Free Will", a farce in which Papuans were not allowed to prove their overwhelming wish to return to indepndence and for Indonesia to leave their country. In response to this Oom Nicolas Jouwe and two OPM commanders, Seth Jafeth Roemkorem and Jacob Hendrik Prai, planned to announce a new Papuan Independence in 1971.
On 1st July 1971 Roemkorem and Prai declared a Republic of West Papua, a constitution and schedule were drafted and adopted. The intention was that this declaration be used to challenge the recent "Act of Free Will" farce and the Indonesian annexation of the West Papuan nation as null and void. However, the declaration was intercepted by Indonesian security and never made it out of West Papua under Indonesian control.
This failure and personal conflict between Roemkorem and Prai soon initiated a split of the OPM into a PEMKA fraction lead by Prai, and a TPN fraction lead by Roemkorem. This greatly weakened OPM's ability to combat the Indonesian colonization programs.
In 1982 a OPM Revolutionary Council (OPMRC) was established, and under the chairmanship of Moses Werror the OPMRC has sought independence through an International Diplomacy campaign. OPMRC aims to obtain international recogition for West Papuan independence through international forums such as the United Nations, The Non Aligned Movement of Nations, The South Pacific Forum, and The Association of South East Asian Nations.