SUMMARY
OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka: Organization for a Free Papua: Free Papua Movement) was an indigenous resistance movement that developed in the 1960s in response to the official transfer of ruling authority for the territory of West Papua from Dutch colonial rule to the Government of Indonesia. The decision to grant the territory of West Papua to the Government of Indonesia resulted from the New York Agreement of 1962 and the controversial Act of Free Choice in 1969. These transpired with the involvement of the United Nations, the governments of Indonesia, the Netherlands and the United States of America. The United States of America was concerned with Indonesia as a potential communist threat whilst Indonesia was concerned with a nearby territory gaining independence and claimed itself the legitimate inheritor of the entire Dutch East Indies colonial territory. The Netherlands felt that West Papua was entitled to self-determination but during discussions on the future of West Papua, the voices of the local people were noticeably absent.
The indigenous West Papuan population is ethnically and culturally closer to the Melanesian population of the South Pacific islands rather than the native population of the Indonesian archipelago. Historically, their experiences with the Dutch colonial administration also differ. For example, Indonesians from other parts of the archipelago fulfilled the education and official administration roles in West Papua as opposed to the indigenous population. Under Indonesian rule, West Papuans suffered from economic, social and urban marginalization, with particular grievances arising from the Indonesian transmigration program that led to an influx in migrants from more heavily populated islands in Indonesia. The area of West Papua is also rich in natural resources including gold and copper but these have been heavily extracted by multinational companies with minimal returns to the indigenous population.
These experiences and events, coupled with new West Papuan graduates from the Dutch system of education, catalyzed the OPM into action in 1965. Based initially in Manokwari, the OPM used guerilla tactics to carry out attacks on Indonesian security patrols, kidnappings as well as attacks on the multinational companies extracting natural resources from West Papua. The Morning Star flag was adopted by the OPM as a symbol of West Papuan independence and resistance and illegal flag raising ceremonies were also carried out. The Government of Indonesia responded to OPM activity by employing an aggressive military response that distinguished little between civilians and OPM members. This served to garner increased support for the movement.
As an umbrella organisation, rather than being a close and coherent group, the name OPM was originally employed by the Government of Indonesia to denote all groups that sought to achieve independence from its rule. However, OPM soon came to be the strongest symbol of the nationalist sentiment of resistance against the Government of Indonesia. Subsequent narratives attribute the creation of the OPM to various actors and groups. Although the OPM was relatively localized and ad hoc with multiple factions, one main group for the OPM was the Front Persiapan Kemerdekaan Papua Barat (FPKPB), otherwise known as the Independence Preparatory Front for West Papua. The FPKPB operated with its military wing, Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat: National Liberation Army (TPNPB), whose name was later shortened to Tentara Pembebasan Nasional (TPN). Other groups also fighting as part of the OPM included Gerakan Nasionalis Papua: the Papuan Nationalist Organization and Front Nasional Pemilihan Keluar Republik Indonesia: National Front Electing Separation from Indonesia.
On 1 December 1971, the FPKPB declared West Papua’s independence from the Government of Indonesia. In 1973, the FPKPB was reformed and renamed the Provisional Revolutionary Government of West Papua (RPG). The heads elected for the executive and legislative branches of the RPG were Seth Rumkorem, an ex-member of the Indonesian army, and Jacob Prai respectively. These were the key leaders of the OPM movement. Yet, differences in their personal backgrounds, characters and regionalism led to a leadership split in 1976. Whilst Rumkorem was supposedly left with approximately 500 fighters, Prai formed the Pembila Keadilan or The Council for Restoration of Justice (PEMKA) and National De Facto Government of West Papua. Allegedly, 30,000 guerilla fighters shifted in support of Prai during this split. Despite this, under their leaderships the OPM continued to increase its campaign against the Government of Indonesia and peaking in its level of activity in the 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1978, Prai was arrested and Rumkorem left West Papua in 1982. Although there were no further major splits, leadership struggles undermined the unity of OPM. This hindered the ability of the OPM to accumulate much backing from international states, despite petitions to the UN and other authorities. International support was gained from a few states including the Government of Senegal, who permitted the OPM to operate an information office in Dakar as well as some South Pacific states such as Vanuatu. OPM was also linked to Muammar Gaddaffi, the ex-Libyan dictator and a few senior commanders were trained in Libya during the 1990s. Sweden and the Netherlands provided political asylum for a number of exiled OPM members, including Jacob Prai in Sweden.
Several attempts were made by various groups to unite the separate factions of the OPM into one united force during the decades. The resignation of the Indonesian President Suharto opened a political window known as the ‘Papuan Spring’ between 1998 and 2000. This led to special autonomy being granted to West Papua in 2001 and since 2006, the OPM transitioned to more non-violent measures and their military strength declined. In 2014, reports stated that all factions of the West Papuan resistance movement had combined to form the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).
OPM has been involved in the intrastate category of UCDP organized violence.
