Sumatra is Indonesia, Kalimantan is Indonesia, Sulawesi is Indonesia, Likewise Papua is an inseparable part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
So that differences in ethnicity or skin color certainly do not become obstacles for all elements of the nation to uphold a sense of unity and unity.
Anger that exploded because of racist tone of speech, has recently appeared in various news both mass media and online media. Apparently racist words have a serious impact on national security.
We must not forget that the differences possessed by Indonesia are created so that the Indonesian world has a beautiful harmony. Just imagine, if from Sabang to Merauke everything is the same, wouldn’t that be something to saturate.
Like a guitar, it will certainly be enjoyed when it has 6 different strings, what if all 6 strings have the same sound? can indeed sound but does not show harmony.
Even Pancasila, which was formulated long ago, has a motto that is gripped by Garuda Birds, namely Bhineka Tunggal Ika which means different but still one.
But the problem of racism which has not appeared for a long time, apparently also appeared two days after the celebration of independence. Papuan students who live in Surabaya get the term “Monkey” and this then triggers the anger of the Papuan people in Manokwari and Jayapura. Coupled with slander and information that is increasingly oiling outbursts of anger that are difficult to stop. As a result, roadblocks and fires in the Papua Parliament Building became inevitable.
If there are still those who doubt that Papua is part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, this history may be a guide for us. That the joining of the West Irian Region into the 26th Province of Indonesia in 1969, was officially through PEPERA which was attended by all representatives of the Irian Territory before the United Nations, and with the ratification of the UN General Assembly Resolution No. 2504 on October 19, 1969.
This is a long journey for the people of Papua. A struggle to make a determination to join, be sovereign and become part of the Republic of Indonesia.
We should understand together, that in a long period of time, there was a heroic event in order to maintain the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke. Where 4 years after Indonesian Independence it turned out that the Netherlands still did not want to leave Papua.
At that time Indonesia tried to continue and force the Netherlands to leave Indonesia, one of which was through the Round Table Conference (KMB) which was taking place at The Hague in the Netherlands on August 23, 1949.
On this occasion, it was agreed that all of the former Dutch colonies were the territory of the Republic of Indonesia, except West Papua which the Dutch would return to the Motherland of Indonesia 2 years later.
But from the KMB agreement that has been made, the Netherlands is still denying the contents of the agreement itself. Until 1961, the Netherlands was still in Papua. Even the Netherlands is also preparing steps to separate Papua from the Republic of Indonesia.
The Dutch cunning in forming his puppet state in Papua certainly angered the Indonesian nation. Therefore, on December 19, 1961 in Alun – Alun Utara Yogyakarta, Indonesian President Ir Soekarno announced the Tri Komando Rakyat (Trikora) to return West Irian to the lap of the Republic of Indonesia.
After going through tough diplomacy facilitated by the United Nations, the Netherlands finally agreed to sign the New York Agreement (NYA) with Indonesia on August 15, 1962. The contents of the agreement were the road map for resolving disputes over the Papua region.
So that the Netherlands does not lose face, the New York negotiations regulating the transfer of power from the Netherlands over the land of Papua is done indirectly. The Netherlands finally handed it over to the UN, only then did the UN submit it to the Indonesian government through a referendum (PEPERA)
From the story above, of course we can know how great the struggle of Indonesia in defending its territory, even after Indonesia’s independence was proclaimed.
We certainly agree that the Papuan people must be independent, but not in the context of independence to separate from Indonesia. But independence to be able to develop and be independent on the ground water.