In 1969, in an ‘Act of Free Choice’ the UN gave West Papuans the choice between the same two options put before the Timorese in 1999: integration with Indonesia or full independence.
Few people are aware that West Papua was the first ever UN administered territory and the first territory granted a UN sponsored vote. But for the Papuans, the process and outcome could not have been more different. The vote, conducted by Indonesia with UN supervision. For many West Papuans, the UN-sponsored vote legitimised the integration into Indonesia in 1962. Read the rest of this entry »
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