Western Irian. Western New Guinea. Ours among the cannibal savages

Most colonial empires finally collapsed at least 40-50 years ago. However, echoes of the colonial era still make themselves felt in various parts of the globe. Most of the wars, including national liberation wars, also called separatist ones, in the countries of Asia, Africa, and Oceania are associated with the colonial legacy. When European powers divided African, Asian, and Oceanian territories, they least of all thought about whether the boundaries of the colonies corresponded to the real boundaries of historical and ethnocultural areas. As a result, after the formation of sovereign states, the problem of divided peoples and unnatural borders between countries established in the colonial era became widespread. Some former colonies, in turn, have themselves become regional powers, oppressing their national regions, effectively turning them into “internal colonies.” This article will discuss the “internal colonization” of the western part of the island of New Guinea by the Indonesians and the long-term struggle of the Papuans for their national liberation.

When the average person hears the word “Papuan,” he associates them with savages living in the Stone Age and engaged in cannibalism. What to hide - similar tribes, characterized by an extremely low level of development, exist in the forested and mountainous regions of the island of New Guinea to this day. But still, there is an independent state of Papua New Guinea, occupying the eastern part of the island of New Guinea and a number of adjacent islands (Northern Solomon Islands, Bismarck Archipelago, D'Entrecasteaux Islands). The south-eastern part of the island was under the control of the British Empire from 1884, and was later transferred to Australia. The north-east was a German colony before Germany's defeat in the First World War, and in 1920 it also came under Australian rule. In 1975, the eastern part of the island and adjacent islands became the independent state of Papua New Guinea. Today this state functions relying on significant assistance from Australia, yesterday’s metropolis, which continues to “guardianship” its former colony.

West Irian

As for the western part of the island of New Guinea, its development was much more dramatic. Until 1949, the western part of New Guinea was part of the Dutch East Indies colony. After the Netherlands officially recognized the political sovereignty of Indonesia in 1949, according to bilateral agreements, all power in the territory of the former Dutch East Indies, with the exception of West Irian, passed to the Indonesian republican government. It was decided to leave the latter under the control of the Netherlands until the final settlement of the issue of the future fate of this province.

In 1950, at negotiations between the Netherlands and Indonesia, the Dutch delegation rejected the Indonesian government's proposal to transfer West Irian to Indonesian control. In February 1952, the Dutch government introduced an amendment to the country's Constitution to make West Irian part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The desire of the Dutch authorities to maintain political power over the remote province of the former Dutch East Indies was explained by economic reasons - West Irian is a real storehouse of timber and minerals. Despite the decision of the Dutch government, Indonesia did not give up hope of annexing West Irian to its territory. In January 1955, radical Indonesian youth in Central Java announced the creation of the West Irian Liberation Army, headquartered in Semarang. By May 1955, 72.5 thousand volunteers had joined the army. Young Indonesians declared their readiness to take action at any time against the Dutch colonialists for the return of the province of West Irian to Indonesia.

The country's leadership set a course for the liberation of Western New Guinea from the Dutch colonialists, which was realized in 1961-1962. as a result of the Indonesian-Dutch armed confrontation. The Indonesian leadership brought armed forces into the province, while at the same time, with the help of trade unions, rousing Indonesian workers employed at Dutch enterprises in West Irian to go on strike. Indonesian authorities also announced the nationalization of Dutch enterprises and the deportation of Dutch citizens from the country. On August 15, 1962, the Netherlands was forced to sign an agreement in New York placing West Irian under the administration of the United Nations Provisional Executive Administration. Meanwhile, back on October 19, 1961, the Congress of the Peoples of Papua, which brought together about forty tribal leaders, decided to raise the Papua flag along with the flag of the Netherlands from November 1, 1961 and to perform the Papua anthem after the anthem of the Netherlands. On September 21, 1962, the UN General Assembly decided to transfer the province of West Irian under the control of Indonesia from May 1, 1963. The former Dutch colony of Western New Guinea was named “West Irian” (1969-1973), then the province “Irian Jaya” (1973-2002). In 2002-2005 Indonesian authorities decided to divide the territory into two separate provinces - Papua and West Papua.

Initially, West Irian remained the most socio-economically and culturally backward region of Indonesia. Despite the fact that Indonesia is a fairly densely populated country, with a population of 253.5 million people, West Irian remains a sparsely populated area. Most residents live in rural areas, in villages. Vast expanses of land in the interior of the island are uninhabited and virtually unused due to the lack of normal roads and inaccessibility. IN largest city Jayapura is home to the local university. The majority of West Irian's population, unlike the rest of Indonesia, is of Papuan and Melanesian ethnicity. Melanesian peoples inhabit the coastal regions, while Papuan peoples inhabit the predominantly mountainous and wooded interior of the island. The population of the provinces of West Irian speaks three hundred local languages, while at the same time it is used as a language of international communication official language Indonesia - Bahasa Indonesia.

The economic backwardness of West Irian is due to the underdevelopment Agriculture. Most Papuan and Melanesian villages exist by engaging in primitive farming, hunting, and collecting fruits and berries. At the same time, Indonesia is actively exploiting the natural resources of Western New Guinea. As a matter of fact, natural resources are one of the key subjects of interest of the Indonesian authorities in this economic and cultural periphery of the country.

Copper, oil, natural gas, gold, and uranium are mined in West Irian. The forests of the western part of the island are also of great value. The forest is cut down and exported for sale. However, despite the fact that the natural resources of the Papuan 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 politicians and experts to talk about West Irian as an “internal colony” of Indonesia. In addition to poverty, unemployment, and constant problems associated with displacement from their original habitat due to deforestation and mining, the Papuan and Melanesian population also faces discrimination from Indonesians who profess Islam and belong to the Mongoloid race.

The dissatisfaction of the indigenous population of the island with Indonesian policies entails the growth of separatist sentiments. Papuans and Melanesians accuse central Indonesian authorities of predatory exploitation natural resources, with complete disregard for the economic, social and cultural needs of the local population, discrimination against indigenous people, and obstruction of the right of autonomy and self-government in the Papuan provinces. Since the Indonesian authorities are clearly not in the mood to compromise with the local population, the latter has no choice but to choose the path of national liberation struggle, which results in armed resistance to the Indonesian authorities.

Free Papua Movement

Back in December 1963, almost immediately after Western New Guinea came under Indonesian control, the Free Papua Movement (Indian: Organisasi Papua Merdeka, abbreviated as OPM) was created. The half-century-old organization has waged an armed struggle against Indonesian rule on the island for decades, combining it with political campaigns around the world. The goal of the movement is the separation of Western New Guinea from Indonesia, a revision of the island's economic development strategy in the direction of abandoning the predatory and uncontrolled use of its natural resources and countering the spread of a modern Westernized way of life in Western New Guinea. In other words, the Free Papua Movement advocates for economic self-sufficiency, social well-being and national identity of the region.

In the last decades of the twentieth century. The Free Papua movement enjoyed tacit financial and methodological assistance from the Libyan Jamahiriya. As is known, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi positioned himself as a friend of many national liberation movements in the world, and in the case of Papua, he considered supporting the partisans as a way of putting pressure 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 who have been waging guerrilla warfare in the Philippines since the late 1940s. Fighters of the Free Papua Movement underwent combat training in the camps of the New People's Army, where many of them, in addition to military specialties, also accepted Maoist ideology.

Initially, the Free Papua Movement declared one of its most important goals to be the rejection of any modern life, providing for avoidance of cooperation with religious, government, and charitable organizations. In turn, the Indonesian leadership began repressive measures against the Papuan national liberation movement. Thirty thousand Indonesian troops and civil servants were stationed in West Irian. At the same time, United States Ambassador Galbraith argued for the need to reduce the number of Indonesian troops on the island. From July 14 to August 2, 1969, the law on free elections was developed. 1,025 Papuan elders were selected to vote on the agreement with Indonesia. Naturally, they voted “for integration” with the Indonesian state. In the same time, most of The Papuan and Melanesian population of West Irian did not recognize the voting results. Massive armed resistance to the Indonesian government began.

Supporters of self-determination for West Irian put forward a project to create an independent state, the Republic of West Papua. This movement is prohibited in Indonesia; for demonstrating symbols of Papuan national resistance, there is a risk of receiving up to twenty years in prison on charges of treason. However, since the late 1960s. Papuans are fighting in the jungles of the island in order to achieve independence from Indonesia. In 1971, the creation of the Republic of West Papua was announced. ORM commanders Seth Japhet Roemkorem and Jacob Hendrik Pry drafted a constitution for the Republic of West Papua, but due to disagreements between field commanders, ORM soon split, which became a serious obstacle to the centralization of the Papuan national liberation movement. FPM (Free Papua Movement) became a largely amorphous association, integrating diverse groups led by their warlords into a single resistance network.

In the second half of the 1970s. ORM has launched actions against foreign and Indonesian companies developing mineral resources in Western New Guinea. First of all, the Papuan guerrillas began sending letters of protest to company headquarters, and after a lack of response from company management, they moved on to direct action. From July 23 to September 7, 1977, a series of terrorist attacks were organized against the Freeport mining company: telephone cables were cut, a warehouse was burned, and several industrial facilities were blown up.

In 1982, the Revolutionary Council of the Free Papua Movement was created, the purpose of which was to organize an international campaign of solidarity with the Papuan people, capable of achieving recognition of the independence of Papua by Western countries. In 1984, the city of Jayapura, the capital of the province of Irian Jaya, was attacked by ORM guerrillas, but Indonesian troops managed to relatively quickly repulse the rebel attacks, using obvious force and technical superiority. The attack was used by the Indonesian military to boost counterinsurgency efforts on the island. The fight against guerrillas took on the character of extermination of the indigenous population, as a result of which a mass exodus of residents of the “cleared” villages began across the border - to Papua New Guinea.

On February 14, 1986, Freeport was again notified of upcoming OPM protests. Following the letters, several of the company's slurry and fuel pipelines were damaged. The result was significant losses incurred due to loss of suspension and diesel fuel. At the same time, the partisans set fire to the fuel line and fired at the police who arrived at the scene. On April 14, 1986, the ORM action was repeated - this time pipelines and electrical cables were also damaged, equipment was burned. The partisans fired at repair crews trying to approach the company's facilities. In January and August 1996, ORM fighters captured Indonesian and European specialists working on rotation at the mining company's facilities. Two hostages were killed, the rest were freed.

In July 1998, guerrillas raised the West Papua flag on the Kota Biak water tower (Biak Island). A group of rebels remained near the flag for several days and were eventually arrested by Indonesian military authorities. Among those detained during this action was the legendary leader of the national liberation movement, Filep Karma.

Currently, Philep Jacob Samuel Karma (born August 15, 1959) is considered one of the most famous Papuan figures of the national liberation movement. He was born into the family of a colonial civil servant, Andreas Karm, who served in the Dutch administration. Origin helped Philep Karma get an education - he studied in Java, then at the Asian Institute of Management in Manila (Philippines). Filep Karma has two children. On July 2, 1998, he led a flag-raising demonstration in Biak and was shot in both legs by rubber bullets. The court sentenced Karma to six and a half years in prison for high treason, but after ten months in prison the sentence was overturned.

On December 1, 2004, he raised the morning star flag (the national Papuan flag) at a ceremony in Jayapura, after which he was arrested and sentenced to fifteen years in prison on charges of treason. Amnesty International added Filep Karma to its list of political prisoners - prisoners of conscience. The morning star flag is considered the national symbol of West Papua. It has been in use since the Dutch administration of Western New Guinea from 1949-1962. It was first flown on 1 December 1961, flown alongside the Dutch flag, and was abolished following the incorporation of West Irian into Indonesia in 1962. Since then, the flag has been actively used by the Free Papua Movement and other Papuan national liberation organizations. It consists of a red vertical stripe with a white five-pointed star in the center and a white panel with blue transverse stripes. Just one public display of this flag in modern Indonesia can get you several years in prison on charges of treason.

Despite the passing decades and changes in the political regime in Indonesia itself, the government has failed to reach an agreement with the fighters for the independence of West Papua. On the territory of the two provinces into which West Irian has been divided since 2003, a sluggish Civil War. For almost half a century of resistance to the Indonesian occupation of the island, according to the Free Papua Movement, about 500 thousand Papuans were killed by government forces. International estimates are more modest - about 100 thousand Papuans and Melanesians were killed. Most of them are civilians, victims of air strikes on villages that supported the guerrillas, as well as “cleansing” of villages by Indonesian security forces. That is, in the territory of West Irian there is a real genocide of the indigenous population, which Western governments and most international organizations do not pay attention to. On the other hand, the Indonesian leadership seeks to maintain secrecy about what is happening in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, because it fears international publicity of war crimes by the Indonesian administration. Foreign journalists and, in general, foreign citizens are extremely reluctant to be allowed into the region.

In response, the Papuan partisans themselves also do not stop active armed resistance to the Indonesian government. On 24 October 2011, Police Chief Mulia was shot dead at the airport by Free Papua Movement militants. On January 8, 2012, guerrillas attacked a bus carrying Indonesian civilians and military personnel, killing one Indonesian police officer and three civilians. On January 21, 2012, members of the ORM killed a migrant from West Sumatra, thereby confirming their policy of opposing the settlement of Western New Guinea by Indonesians. On April 8, 2012, ORM militants attacked an airplane at Mulia airport. Five gunmen opened fire on the landing plane, killing one civilian and wounding both pilots, a passenger and her child. On July 9, 2012, a policeman and two Indonesians were killed. Similar reports come from the provinces of Papua and West Papua almost every month.

At present, ORM remains an amorphous rather than a centralized organization. Her internal structure poorly studied even by Indonesian counterintelligence officers and police themselves. It is known that in 1996, the supreme commander of the ORM was Matthias Wenda, under whose leadership about nine semi-autonomous armed units operated. Throughout the history of the ORM, there have been contradictions between individual field commanders vying for leadership of the movement as a whole. Thus, Seth Roemkorem was the commander of the ORM and the president of the Provisional Government of West Papua, Jacob Prai was the leader of the Senate of West Papua. After Seth Roemkorem left for the Netherlands, Jacob Pry took over the leadership of ORM. He created a council of commanders of nine people, whose detachments were based mainly on the border of West Papua.

Benny Wenda and his struggle

Among the most famous figures of the Papuan national liberation movement, personifying the struggle for Free Papua in the West, one should name, first of all, Benny Wenda. He is a relatively young man. Born in 1975 in the Baliem Valley in the central highlands of West Papua. When Wenda was two years old, in 1977 there was an uprising of the 15,000-strong Fallow deer tribe against the Indonesian military presence. The command of the Indonesian troops responded with aerial bombing of Lani villages. Many of Venda's relatives were killed, and a two-year-old boy's leg was injured. From 1977 to 1983 Benny Wenda and his family hid, like thousands of other tribe members, in the jungle. After the fall of the Lani tribe, Benny went to study at the university in Jayapura, where he received a sociology degree.

Benny Wenda was elected tribal elder, at the same time launching active political activities towards the struggle for self-determination of the people of West Papua. He was elected secretary general of the Tribal Assembly, which was created to preserve the customs and traditions of the tribes of West Papua and brought together the elders of the highland tribal groups. The Tribal Assembly advocated complete political independence from Indonesia and rejected any options for autonomy offered by the Indonesian government. In 2002, Benny Wenda was convicted of organizing a pro-independence demonstration that turned into riots. During the unrest, Papuans killed a policeman and burned two shops. The arrest was used by Benny Wenda to accuse the Indonesian authorities of political repression against the Papuan national liberation movement. At the same time, Benny faced up to 25 years in prison for the acts accused of him. However, the Papuan leader managed to escape from prison. With the help of activists, he was taken to Papua New Guinea, where his wife Maria Wenda was soon taken. Somewhat later, with the help of a European human rights organization, Wenda received political asylum in the UK.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government decided to arrest Wenda with the help of Interpol. To do this, he was included in the register of wanted criminals. However, after an international investigation, in 2012 Interpol removed Wenda from the list of criminals, concluding that his case was politically biased by the Indonesian authorities. Since then, Venda has been operating legally in the UK, collaborating with activists sympathetic to the Papuan national liberation movement at Oxford University. The West Papua Solidarity Movement in the UK brings together student groups at British universities. There are representative offices of the movement in Oxford, The Hague and Port Moresby (the capital of Papua New Guinea).

In 2013, Benny Wenda undertook a trip to the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, setting himself the task of familiarizing the public of these countries with the problems of West Papua and the tasks of the national liberation movement. In April 2013, the headquarters of Free West Papua in Oxford was opened, which caused a negative reaction from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which summoned the British Ambassador for investigations and explanations. In May 2013, Wenda spoke to 2.5 thousand listeners at the Sydney opera house, which also entailed claims from the Indonesian leadership - this time against the Australian authorities, who allowed this event to be held in Sydney. In addition to his active political activities, Benny Wenda and his wife Maria are internationally renowned performers of traditional music from West Papua. In 2008 they released the album Songs of Freedom (Ninalik Ndawi).

National Committee of West Papua

In addition to the Free Papua Movement (FPM), the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) operates in the provinces of Papua and West Papua, as well as among Papuan students in other regions of Indonesia. This organization was created on November 19, 2008 in Jayapura, to organize a referendum of the Papuan and Melanesian peoples on the implementation of the right to self-determination of the provinces of Papua and West Papua. Initially, the organization adhered exclusively to nonviolent methods. However, in April 2009, at a demonstration of 15,000 people organized by the committee, eight demonstrators were killed by Indonesian police.

In response, the committee called on Papuan students studying at universities in Java, Bali, Makassar and Manado to return to Papua. Hundreds of young people responded to the committee's proposal, but upon returning to their home province, many of them were arrested. In 2010, the committee organized further demonstrations, accompanied by clashes with police and security forces. The committee currently has offices in Jakarta, Manado, and outside Indonesia. In 2010, Bukhtar Tabuni was elected chairman of the committee, and Viktor Jaymo was elected international press secretary. They were both soon arrested and sentenced to three years in prison each for inciting a violation of Indonesian national security. The committee's deputy chairman, Mako Tabuni, was killed by a group of police officers on June 14, 2012. Victor Jaymo replaced Bukhtar Tabuni as chairman of the committee, but almost immediately fled the territory of West Irian to escape police repression.

Victor Jaymo was born in 1983, for a long time he was a prominent activist in the Papuan national liberation movement, until he was elected Secretary General of the National Committee of West Papua, which position he currently holds. On October 21, 2009, he was arrested at a hotel in Abepura and charged with treason. On July 23, 2010, Jaimo was found guilty of inciting a violation of state security. On December 1, 2012, the day the Papuan national flag was first raised, the National Committee attempted to hold a demonstration, which was dispersed by the police. On May 13, 2013, Jaymo was arrested again while holding a march in Jayapura.

The problem of West Papua's self-determination is unlikely to be resolved in the foreseeable future. Indonesia and the transnational corporations behind it will never allow a region so rich in forests and minerals to be “mothballed” and “closed” to foreign companies, as the independence fighters want. Therefore, we can expect further continuation of the armed confrontation between government troops and rebels, and 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 natural features of Western New Guinea are becoming a serious obstacle for Indonesian government troops. Up to 75% of the territory of the provinces of Papua and West Papua is covered with dense forests, a significant part being mountains. This makes it very difficult for military and police units to move. At the same time, the disunity of the Papuan and Melanesian population into hundreds of ethnic groups and tribes entails obvious difficulties in forming a single national liberation movement with centralized leadership.

zap. part o. New Guinea, belonging to the Republic of Indonesia. Area 412.8 thousand km 2, pop. St. 700 t.h. (1962). Basic population - Irians, including Papuans, Melanesians, Indonesians; there are also Europeans. The indigenous population is engaged in farming, collecting wild fruits, fishing, hunting. Communal tribal land use predominates. The administrative center is the city of Kotabaru (former Holland). The story of ZI is part of the history of Indonesia. In the Middle Ages, ZI was controlled by the Srivijayan rulers (7th-13th centuries), and later became part of the Majapahit Empire (13th-16th centuries). There was a fierce struggle for influence in Zimbabwe between the sultanates of Tidore and Ternate, which ended in the 17th century. the victory of Tidore, who subjugated Z.I. After the colonial expansion of Holland spread to Z.I., it became at the beginning of the 20th century. part of the so-called Netherlands East Indies.

According to the conditions of the Dutch-Indonesian agreements (see "Round Table" conference) signed in November. 1949, Holland formally recognized Indonesian sovereignty over the entire territory. b. Goll. East Indies with the proviso that ZI will temporarily remain under its control and the issue will be resolved through bilateral negotiations within one year from the date of transfer of sovereignty to Indonesia. However, the negotiations (Apr. 1950 - Feb. 1952) were disrupted by the Dutch. In Feb. 1952 Goals The government passed a constitutional amendment declaring Z.I. part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the 9th (1954), 10th (1955), 11th (November 1956 - March 1957) and 12th (1957) sessions of the General. At the UN Assembly, which considered the issue of Z.I., the fair demands of Indonesia were not satisfied due to the opposition of Westerners. powers

In 1962, preparations for Indonesia began. armed strength to possible war. operations against the Dutch in Z.I.; several hundred Indonesian. paratroopers began fighting there. Goll. the production was forced on August 15. 1962 sign an agreement in New York on the transfer of Z.I. to the control of Indonesia. On May 1, 1963 ZI became part of Indonesia.

Lit.: Kesselbrenner G., Zap. Irian, M, 1960; Jamin M., Kedaulatan Indonesia atas Irian Barat, Bukittinggi-Djakarta-Medan, 1956.

V. V. Gordeev. Moscow.

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• - the western part of the island of New Guinea, part of Indonesia. Administratively forms a province. Area 412.8 thousand km2. Population 918 thousand people. . The administrative center is Jayapura...
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"WEST IRIAN" in books

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Irian Jaya is the name of the western part of the island of New Guinea. The territory, formerly called Netherlands New Guinea, was annexed by Indonesia in 1963 after a short but brutal military campaign by President Sukarno.

Today, Irian Jaya is considered the most isolated region from the rest of the world. Mangrove swamps make large sections of the coast impassable, and dense jungle and high mountains(some snow-covered peaks reach a height of 5000 m) completely isolate individual parts of this territory from each other. There are almost no roads and extremely undeveloped air and sea ​​communication, as a result of which it sometimes takes weeks to get to many remote villages along narrow and dangerous paths.

Perhaps in part because of its territorial fragmentation, the province is incredibly diverse in its peoples and cultures. The isolated and highly distinctive local tribes - many of whom are barely beyond the Stone Age - speak more than 100 languages ​​that are incomprehensible even to their neighbors.

Irian Jaya has an amazing diversity of flora and fauna. Ferns, orchids and climbing plants form a living carpet here, intertwining with the overhanging canopy tropical forest. This dense bush is home to more than 700 species of birds, including the huge flightless cassowary and the famous birds of paradise (Paradisea apoda). In forests and open grassy areas there are also marsupials - tree and bush kangaroos, flying squirrels.

After oil was discovered in western New Guinea half a century ago, seaport Sorong (40 thousand inhabitants) with hotels and bars, where workers from other parts of Indonesia began to arrive. From Sorong you can easily take a boat to the Raja Empat Island Nature Reserve, where you can observe birds of paradise in natural conditions.

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 laid claim to the middle part north coast New Guinea. East of Jayapura, on the shores of Yos Sudar So Bay, is located nature reserve Yotefa has many beautiful beaches, where you can see the wrecks of several ships that were once sunk during military operations at sea. To the east, along the shore of the bay, there is a settlement of the Sepik tribe, famous for their primitivist painting of tree bark and the production of carved tribal figures. In the eastern suburbs of Jayapura is the building of the Chand Rawasih University with its magnificent Anthropological Museum. The most interesting in the museum's exposition is the collection of objects of material culture of the Asmat tribe, acquired thanks to a subsidy from the John D. Rockefeller III Foundation. The figures and weapons presented here, made by masters of this tribe, are distinguished by absolute harmony and aesthetic perfection and are highly valued by connoisseurs of primitivist art. Although the Asmat tribe lives on south coast New Guinea, in Jayapura there is a specialized store of Asmatian handicrafts.

Of the highlands of Irian Jaya, the most extensive and accessible is the Grand Baliem Valley, located in its central part - a 72-kilometer rock corridor through which the Baliem River flows. Here, in small villages scattered throughout this wide valley, more than 100 thousand people from the Dani tribe live. The only way to get here and get out is by air. Trails and increasingly numerous vehicle tracks connect the center of the Wamenu Valley with the rest of the villages. Don't forget to bring warm clothes, sturdy shoes and a backpack. Porters and guides can be hired from the hotel in Wamena.

After crossing the river, many tourists make a three-hour hike to the village of Akima, where the local headman, for a small fee, shows those who wish to see the mummified body of his deceased grandfather.

Eric Oei
Guide: Window to the World, Southeast Asia.

Irian Jaya - this is the name of the western part of the island of New Guinea or Western New Guinea. This territory, formerly called Netherlands New Guinea or West Irian, was annexed by Indonesia in 1969 as a result of President Sukarno's border expansion campaign. Since 1973, West Irian began to be called Irian Jaya ("Victory Irian"). In turn, Irian Jaya this moment is divided into two provinces - Papua (Papua) and West Papua (Papua Barat).
West Irian (Irian Jaya) in the north is washed by waters Pacific Ocean, in the west - the Kerama Sea, in the south - the Arafura Sea, and in the east it borders on Papua New Guinea. The territory of Irian Jaya is 421,981 sq. km. This is 22% of Indonesia's total land area. The main city of West Irian is the port of Jayapura. Irian Jaya is located south of the equator and is dominated by mountainous terrain. The Maoke Mountains range, running from north to south, divides West Irian into two parts. The peak of Puncak with a height of 5,030 m is the most high point Indonesia. About 75% of Irian Jaya's territory is covered with forests, most of which are impenetrable tropical forests.

Today, Irian Jaya is considered the most isolated region from the rest of the world. Mangrove swamps make large parts of the coast impassable, and dense jungle and high mountains (some snow-capped peaks reach a height of 5,000 m) completely isolate parts of this territory from each other. There are almost no roads and extremely poor air and sea communications, resulting in sometimes weeks of travel along narrow and dangerous paths to reach many remote villages. Perhaps in part because of its territorial fragmentation, the province is incredibly diverse in its peoples and cultures. Isolated and very peculiar local tribes, many of whom barely survived the Stone Age. The most famous of the Irian Jaya tribes today are the Asmat tribe, headhunters. This tribe gained fame in 1961, when all the world's newspapers were full of reports about the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller, the son of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who went to Irian Jaya to buy household items of the Asmat tribe.

West Irian is the least populated area of ​​Indonesia, its population is approximately 1.56 million inhabitants, which gives an average density of 4 people. per 1 sq. km. More than 3/4 of the population lives in rural areas in small, scattered groups. All settlements are usually located in the coastal zone or in several fertile valleys, and there are also several border towns within the province. Large areas within the province are uninhabited. People travel between cities by plane or sea. Main settlements are Jayapura (pop. 149,618), Mankowari, Sorong, Merauke and Biak. Jayapura, the administrative center of the province of Irian Jaya and its largest city, was founded at one time by the Dutch, who laid claim to the middle part of the northern coast of New Guinea. About 300 languages ​​are spoken in West Irian, most of which are dissimilar and incomprehensible even to neighboring tribes. Bahasa Indonesia (the official language of Indonesia), along with local dialects, is used as a common language.

Climate Irian Jaya is predominantly tropical, humid and hot on the coast; the rainy season lasts from December to March, the dry season from May to October. The climate is hot and very humid almost everywhere. Summer temperatures range from +24-32°C, in winter +24-28°C. In the mountains the temperature is lower, and in some places there are snow fields that never melt. The rains are very heavy, especially in summer, with precipitation levels ranging from 1,300 to 5,000 mm per year. Irian Jaya boasts the most long rivers Indonesia, such as Baliem, Memberamo and Tariku. In the southwest, rivers have caused the formation of large mangrove swamps and tidal forests.

Flora and fauna. Western New Guinea is considered a paradise for naturalists. It has an amazing diversity of flora and fauna. The flora of Irian Jaya is a diversity of mountains, grasslands, swamps and bogs, tropical, tidal, deciduous and coniferous forests, in which one can find an endless variety of grasses, ferns, moss, vines, flowers and trees. The fauna of the province is also very diverse. A variety of plants form a living carpet here, intertwining with the overhanging rainforest canopy. Irian Jaya is famous for its diversity of butterflies. The dense bush is home to more than 700 species of birds, 80 varieties of the famous bird of paradise (Paradisea apoda) and the huge flightless cassowary. Freshwater and terrestrial vertebrates are almost no different from the animals found in Australia, including those from the marsupial family, including tree and bush kangaroos and flying squirrels. In the forests and grassy open meadows you can find many varieties of snakes, turtles, anteaters, porcupines, possums, bats and rats (including the world's largest tree-climbing water rats), as well as giant lizards, kangaroos, tree-dwelling and marsupial cats.

In coastal waters You can see sea turtles and sea cows. East of Jayapura, on the shores of Yos Sudar So Bay, lies the Yotefa Nature Reserve, with many beautiful beaches, and the remains of several ships sunk during naval warfare. In the inner valley of the Foja ridge, several hundred kilometers from the Bird's Head, many new species of animals and plants, previously unknown to science, were discovered: giant flowers and a rare tree kangaroo; orange honeyeater: the first new bird species found on the giant island in more than 60 years. The Foja Range and the waters at Bird's Head are considered some of the most unique areas of biodiversity on the planet.

Western New Guinea (Irian Jaya, West Irian) is the name of the western part of the island of New Guinea, belonging to Indonesia, consisting of two provinces: Papua and West Irian Jaya. Incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, western New Guinea was formerly known as Netherlands New Guinea and West Irian, and from 1973-2000 as Irian Jaya.

The territory of Western New Guinea was annexed by Indonesia in 1969 under the Act of Free Choice, which is not widely accepted. In 2003, the Indonesian government announced that Irian Jaya, previously a single province, would be divided into three provinces: Papua, Central Irian Jaya and Western Irian Jaya. However, this decision was met with significant protests among the local population. As a result of the decision Supreme Court Indonesia, the creation of the province of Central Irian Jaya was cancelled. Western Irian Jaya had already been created by that time (02/06/2006), but its future is still unclear. On February 7, 2007, it was renamed the province of West Papua (Papua Barat).

New Guinea has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years and the area of ​​modern Irian Jaya was known to Indonesian and Asian sailors many centuries before the Portuguese first sighted it in 1511. The Dutch captured western New Guinea in 1828 and incorporated it to the Dutch East Indies and officially annexed it in 1848. The separatist movement of Irian Jaya (the name of the island of New Guinea) was created in 1961. This movement fights for the independence of the entire island. The fighting took place in 1961-62. Indonesia's struggle to annex the former Dutch colony of West Irian was carried out with the assistance of the USSR (tactical air and naval groups were created). However, military operations as such were not carried out, the conflict was resolved peacefully, and the Dutch colonial troops left West Irian. The Dutch government finally abandoned this territory in favor of the United Nations. On September 21, 1962, the UN General Assembly adopted the “Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning Western New Guinea (West Irian)” (the establishment of a UN Security Force in Western New Guinea (West Irian) to assist the Provisional executive body UN (in western New Guinea)). Irian Jaya remained a Dutch colony until 1962.

The end of Dutch rule coincided with a campaign of confrontation launched by President Sukarno, who sent more than 2,000 Indonesian troops into the province to provoke an anti-Dutch uprising that ended in failure. West Side New Guinea, which received the new name West Irian, gradually came under the control of the Indonesian government and the issue of annexing the territory to Indonesia was to be decided through a referendum. In 1963, there was the first attempt to proclaim the independent Republic of West Papua by the local population, which was suppressed by force by the Indonesian authorities.

A referendum was held in 1969, but instead of a vote by the entire population, the decision was made by 1,025 specially selected delegates. West Irian became part of Indonesia in August 1969. This limited voting demonstrated the very real problems of relations with the remaining 650,000 inhabitants of the province. As a result, these problems led to the formation of the Free Papua Movement (Organisesi Papua Merdeka), which argued that if a full referendum were held, the people would vote for independence from Indonesia. On July 1, 1971, the movement made a new, also unsuccessful, attempt to proclaim the independence of the Republic of West Papua. Since then, this organization has been waging an insurgency against the Indonesian government. In 1984, the independence of the territory was again declared under the name of the Republic of Western Melanesia, but the leaders of the movement were arrested. Since 1973, the central Indonesian authorities, as a sign of perpetuating ownership of the territory, renamed the province of West Irian to Irian Jaya (“Victory Irian”).