The United Nations and the Indonesian Takeover of West Papua, 1962-1969: The Anatomy of Betrayal

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Routledge, Aug 27, 2003 - History - 256 pages
This book examines the role of the international community in the handover of the Dutch colony of West Papua/Irian Jaya to Indonesia in the 1960s and questions whether or not the West Papuan people ever genuinely exercised the right to self-determination guaranteed to them in the UN-brokered Dutch/Indonesian agreement of 1962. Indonesian, Dutch, US, Soviet, Australian and British involvement is discussed, but particular emphasis is given to the central part played by the United Nations in the implementation of this agreement. As guarantor, the UN temporarily took over the territory's administration from the Dutch before transferring control to Indonesia in 1963. After five years of Indonesian rule, a UN team returned to West Papua to monitor and endorse a controversial act of self-determination that resulted in a unanimous vote by 1022 Papuan 'representatives' to reject independence. Despite this, the issue is still very much alive today as a crisis-hit Indonesia faces continued armed rebellion and growing calls for freedom in West Papua.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
1 Background 19491962
5
2 Preparations for UNTEA 15 August to 1 October 1962
15
3 UNTEA 1962
27
4 UNTEA 1963
47
5 The first years of Indonesian rule 19631967
74
part 1
91
part 2
103
8 January to May 1969
120
9 May to July 1969
141
10 The Act of Free Choice and its aftermath
158
11 Conclusions
178
Notes
185
Bibliography
211
Index
219
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

John Saltford works as a South East Asian Specialist in the Reader Information Services Department of the Public Record Office. He received his PhD on the United Nations and West Papua from the University of Hull.

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