suaranewspapua.com- Papua Province is part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) located in the easternmost of Indonesia. History records that to become a part of the Republic of Indonesia is not an easy case. Full of blood and struggle of native Papuan sons to take Papua into the lap of Mother Earth. Thanks to their services and struggle they are determined as heroes.
The following are native Papuans who are national heroes:
First, the original hero of Papua, Frans Kaisiepo. Frans was born in Wardo, Biak, Papua on October 10, 1921. Frans was involved in the Malino Conference in 1946 which discussed the formation of the United States of Indonesia as a representative of Papua. He proposed the name Irian, a Biak word meaning hot place.
History also records three days before the Proclamation, to be exact August 14, 1945, Kaisiepo and several of his comrades in arms played the national anthem Indonesia Raya in Jayapura Hope Village. A few days after the Proclamation, or on August 31, 1945, Kaisiepo and his colleagues carried out the ceremony of raising the Red and White flag and singing the national anthem.
In addition, he also served as Governor of Papua between 1964-1973. On April 10, 1979 Frans died, he was buried in the Cendrawasih Heroes Cemetery Park, Jayapura. To commemorate his services, his name was immortalized as the name of the Frans Kaisiepo Airport in Biak. Besides that, his name was also immortalized in one of the KRI namely KRI Frans Kaisiepo.
Based on Presidential Decree number 077 / TK / 1993, the name of Frans Kaisiepo is further remembered as one of the rows of the Indonesian National Heroes accompanied by the award of Bintang Maha Putera Adi Pradana, Second Class.
To appreciate his services, on December 19, 2016, Frans Kaisiepo was immortalized in new Rupiah banknotes in RP 10,000
Next, there was TNI Major Johannes Abraham Dimara, a native of Papua who was designated a hero. Johannes was born in Korem, Biak Utara, Papua, April 16, 1916.
In 1946, he participated in the raising of the Red and White Flag in Namlea, Buru Island, Maluku. He helped fight for the return of West Irian to the Republic of Indonesia. In 1950, he was appointed Chairman of the OPI (West Irian Liberation Organization).
Johannes became a member of the TNI and infiltrated in 1954 which caused him to be captured by the Royal Dutch army and exiled to Digul, until finally released in 1960.
When President Soekarno announced Trikora (combining the western part of Papua), he became an example of a young Papuan figure and together with Bung Karno joined in calling for Trikora in Yogyakarta. He also called on all people in the West Irian region to support the integration of the West Irian region into the lap of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia. In 1962, the New York Treaty was held.
Johannes became one of the delegations with the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The contents of the agreement finally required the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to be willing to surrender the territory of West Irian into the hands of the government of the Republic of Indonesia. So, from then on the territory of West Irian entered into one part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
Johanes Abraham Dimara died in Jakarta on October 20, 2000. He received a token of appreciation from the government in the form of the First Satyalancana War of Independence and Satyalancana Bhakti. For his services the Government of the Republic of Indonesia has awarded the National Hero Title based on Presidential Decree No. 113 / TK / 2011.
Another native Papuan son who was designated a hero is Silas Papare. Silas was born in Serui, Papua, 18 December 1918, he was a fighter for the integration of Irian Jaya (Papua) into Indonesian territory. He was very persistent in fighting for Papuan independence, so he often dealt with the Dutch security forces in combating Dutch colonialism and in the end, he was imprisoned in Jayapura for influencing the Papua Battalion to rebel.
During his incarceration in Serui, Papua, Silas became acquainted with Dr. Sam Ratulangi, Governor of Sulawesi who was exiled by the Dutch to that place. His introduction further added to the belief that Papua must be free and join the Republic of Indonesia.
In October 1949 in Yogyakarta, he established the Irian Struggle Agency in Yogyakarta in order to assist the government of the Republic of Indonesia to enter West Irian territory into the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. Silas Papare, who was then active in the National Front for the Liberation of West Irian (FNPIB), was also asked by Sukarno to become one of the Indonesian delegates in the New York Agreement signed on August 15, 1962, which ended the Indonesia’s confrontation with the Dutch regarding West Irian. After the unification of West Irian, he was later appointed as a member of the MPRS (Provisional People’s Consultative Assembly).
To commemorate Silare Papare’s services, his name is enshrined as one of the Navy’s Parchim Corvette Warship KRI Silas Papare with a hull number 386. In addition, Silas Papare Monument was erected near the coast and Serui sea port.
While in Jayapura, its name is enshrined as the name of the Silas Papare College of Social and Political Sciences (STISIPOL), which is on Jalan Diponegoro. While in the city of Nabire, the name Silas Papare is remembered in the form of a street name.
Marthen Indey was born in Doromena, Papua on March 14, 1912, a Papuan son who was appointed by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia as a National Hero of Indonesia based on Presidential Decree No.077 / TK / 1993 dated. 14 September 1993 along with two other Papuan sons, Frans Kaisiepo and Silas Papare.
Marthen is Dutch police who later turned to support Indonesia after meeting with several political prisoners who were exiled in Digul, one of which was Sugoro Atmoprasojo. At that time, he was tasked with guarding political prisoners who had indirectly succeeded in growing his nationalist spirit in the battle against the invaders.
In 1946, Marthen joined a political organization called the Free Indonesia Committee (KIM) which came to be known as the Freedom Indonesian Party (PIM). While serving as chairman, Marthen and several tribal chiefs in Papua expressed their protest against the Dutch government, which planned to separate the West Irian region from the unitary territory of Indonesia. Knowing his side defected, the Dutch arrested Marthen and bought him for three years upriver Digul because Dutch troops felt betrayed by the action.
Having not succeeded in capturing West Irian to be reunited with the unitary territory of Indonesia, in 1962 Marthen was guerrilla to rescue RPKAD members who had landed in Papua during the Tri Komando Rakyat (Trikora). In the same year, Marthen presented the New City Charter which contained the strong desire of the Papuan people to remain loyal to the territorial unity of Indonesia. Thanks to the charter, Marthen was sent to New York to negotiate with the Dutch envoy for the return of West Irian, which had been under the temporary administration of the United Nations into Indonesian territory.
Finally, during the negotiations, West Irian officially joined the Indonesian unitary territory and changed its name to Irian Jaya. Thanks to his services, Marthen was appointed as a member of the MPRS (Provisional People’s Consultative Assembly) from 1963 to 1968. Not only that, he was also appointed as a seconded controller to the Jayapura Resident and held the rank of Major Titular for twenty years.
