Within Oxford’s grand town hall, a group of activists celebrate the sixty-second independence anniversary of West Papua. They find themselves in the old courthouse, a symbolic venue, as the West Papuan people search for justice. The flag-raising ceremony is held every 1st December around the world to celebrate West Papuan independence. An independence they're still searching for.
In 1961, when West Papua declared independence from Dutch colonial control, their independence was quickly stripped from them in an unknown act of Cold War meddling, as the US government urged the Dutch government to hand over West Papua to Indonesia, in an attempt to stop the Soviet Union influence. After the New York Agreement was signed by the Netherlands and Indonesia in 1962. Which gave control of West Papua to the United Nations, and which one year later transferred control to Indonesia. From there, a brutal repression took place before a controversial vote on self-determination called ‘The Act of Free Choice’ occurred in 1969, and voted unanimously for continued Indonesian occupation. The vote is now considered a failure of the UN’s right to self-determination.
This year’s flag-raising ceremony at Oxford town hall gave a sense of spiritual hope. 10,000 miles away from the country they dream of having. The event was full of speeches from different members of the Free West Papua Campaign, crisscrossed with songs and prayers of hope for a nation of their own. Lost to the international community, but remembered in Oxford.
Oxford has played a key role in bringing attention to the West Papuan cause, and a key role in demonstrating the lengths the Indonesian government will go to to stop any mention of the West Papuan people. Oxford’s affiliation started in 2004 when the Free West Papua Campaign was launched, led by Benny Wenda – an exiled West Papuan independence leader.
The launch of their headquarters in 2013, prompted the British ambassador to Indonesia to be summoned to answer why a ‘separatist’ group launched their headquarters in Oxford. This type of government meddling continues today, with a potential case of sports washing behind Oxford’s Utd’s recent takeover.
Oxford's role as a city of enterprise, diversity, and progress empowers it to continue to oppose oppression whenever it sees it. As with the recent city council rebellion over Labour's position on the Gaza-Israel war. The City's determination to continue fighting for the West Papuan people was on show yet again.