Highland Papua
Highland Papua is a province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Lano Pago. It covers an area of and had a population of 1,467,050 according to the official estimates as at mid 2024.
Formally established on 25 July 2022 from the central and mountainous former part of the province of Papua, it is located on the central highlands of Western New Guinea, where it is the first and only landlocked province in Indonesia. The capital of Highland Papua is in Jayawijaya Regency, in Hubikosi District. The legal provision for the province's establishment was approved by the People's Representative Council on 30 June 2022, with the bill signed into Law No. 16/2022 by President Joko Widodo on 25 July, making it one of Indonesia's three then-youngest provinces alongside Central Papua and South Papua. It borders Papua New Guinea to its east, South Papua to its south, Central Papua to its west and the residual Papua Province to its north.
History
Dutch East Indies Expedition
In the 17th century, sailor Jan Carstenszoon recorded the existence of high, snow-covered mountains in the middle of the island, despite its location on the equator. The Europeans referred to this area as terra incognita, meaning an uncharted and mysterious territory. It wasn't until the 20th century that the tribes residing in the Papuan Highlands Province made contact with the outside world. The first recorded contact was made during an expedition led by Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz in 1909 with representatives from Pesegem. The purpose of the expedition was to find a path to reach Wilhelmina Peak, which is steep and covered in snow. During their journey, the expedition members rested and witnessed a traditional procession in the village of the Pesechem or Pesegem tribe. Following this initial expedition, de Bruyn, Franssen Herderschee, Karel Doorman, and others conduct their own expedition to explore and document the interior regions of Papua that had previously been unexplored by outsiders. Today, Jan Carstenszoon is remembered as the namesake of the Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak in Oceania, and the Carstensz Range.In 1920, van Overeem and Kremer led an expedition that successfully discovered the Swart Valley, now known as the Toli Valley in Tolikara Regency, and the Lani people who lived there. This exploration further led to the discovery of Lake Habema and allowed for access to Wilhelmina Peak from the northern side. The Baliem Valley, home to the Dani Tribe, was accidentally discovered by an expedition led by Richard Archbold from the American Museum of Natural History in 1938. This expedition was joined by dozens of Dutch soldiers and Dayak people who acted as porters. The Dutch named the Baliem Valley the Groote Vallei or the Great Valley.
File:Korporaal Margaret Hastings met pijl en boog in de Baliemvallei, KITLV 113765.tiff|thumbnail|left|Corporal Margaret Hastings, one of the survivors of the 1945 Gremlin Special incident with the Dani and the Yali in northern Baliem Valley.
In the book titled Lost in Shangri-La published in 2011, author Mitchel Zuckoff uncovered that the region was not yet mapped during World War II. The geography of the area was treacherous with its high and cloudy mountains, dense forests, and hostile tribes, leading to numerous fatalities. The most well-known incident took place on May 13, 1945, when Gremlin Special plane crashing into a mountain in Uwambo Village, Pass Valley, north of Baliem Valley. Following the crash, special operations were deployed, and three individuals were eventually rescued. The survival story of these individuals gained significant media attention at the time.
Church mission and colonial government
In 1954, a team of missionaries from the American Christian and Missionary Alliance, including pastors Lloyd Evan Stone and Einer Mickelson, were flown from Sentani into the Baliem Valley to introduce Christianity. Concurrently, the Dutch government, led by Frits Veldkamp, established a government post in the region to consolidate its authority in the interior. As a result, several villages, airfields, and infrastructure facilities were erected, laying the groundwork for a town that would later become known as Wamena. December 10, 1956 marked the official establishment of the Dutch government post, and the date is now commemorated as founding day of Wamena.The Star Mountains, are located in the far eastern region near the borders of Indonesia. This area was one of the unexplored territories of the Netherlands until the Royal Netherlands Geographical Society, or the Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap, launched an expedition in 1959. The expedition consisted of scientists from various fields, such as zoology, botany, and anthropology. The expedition members not only gained new knowledge about the region and its inhabitants but also managed to climb Juliana Peak, which is now called Mandala Peak. Prior to the expedition, a survey was conducted to find a suitable place for a camp and an airstrip. In 1955, Dutch officials such as Jan Sneep, Nol Hermans, and Pim Schoorl were sent on a small expedition to the Sibil Valley where they met the Sibil or Ngalum people. However, Dutch rule in the region was short-lived as Dutch New Guinea was annexed into Indonesia in 1963, thus ending Dutch influence in the area.
Under Indonesian rule
After control of Western New Guinea under UNTEA was incorporated into Indonesia, the government through Ministry of Home Affairs issued decision No. 37 and No. 38 of 1968 to form eight Regional People's Representative Council in West Irian Province. Regional council of Jayawijaya Highland was formed on 4 July 1968 to prepare for the execution of Penentuan Pendapat Rakyat or shortened to PEPERA. To support PEPERA, tribal leaders from the Central Highlands of Irian, like Alex Doga, Kurulu Mabel, and Ukhumiarek Asso, formed PEPERA Headquarters. Later, these tribal leaders led by Silo Doga, were invited to meet Sukarno in Merdeka Palace. There they declared their loyalty to the republic and proclaimed Sukarno as the Tribal Leader of Highland Papua through a blood oath with their thumbs. Because the blood of Doga was considered to have mixed with that of Sukarno and vice versa, he was later known as Silo Karno Doga and named his district as such. Meanwhile, PEPERA in the Jayawijaya Regency was implemented by Deliberative Council for Determining People's Opinion in Jayawijaya Regency led by Clement Kiriwaib on 16 July 1969 in Wamena, where they agreed on two decision, West Irian is an indivisible part of Unitary State of Republic of Indonesia and will not be separated from Bangsa Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke. In December, the government issued Law No. 12 of 1969 concerning the Establishment of the Autonomous Province of West Irian and Autonomous Regencies in the Province of West Irian. One of them was Jayawijaya Regency which included the Local Government areas of Baliem, Bokondini, Tiom, and Oksibil.This regency was precursor of the Highland Papua Province. On 11 December 2002, Jayawijaya Regency was divided into Jayawijaya, Yahukimo, Bintang Mountains, and Tolikara Regencies. Then on 4 January 2008, the remaining Jayawijaya Regency was again divided into Jayawijaya, Lanny Jaya, Nduga, Central Mamberamo, and Yalimo Regencies. These eight regencies which had originally been part of the Jayawijaya Regency were finally reunited into the Highland Papua Province in 2022.
Since it was incorporated to Indonesia, this area has been marked by acts of violence by the pro-independence group Free Papua Organization. Several incidents caused by Free Papua Organization include research team hostage in Mapenduma in 1996, killing of Istaka Karya workers who were building a bridge in Nduga in 2018, and the burning of high schools and health centers along with the killing of health workers in the Pegunungan Bintang Regency. In the highlands of Papua, there are also frequent community unrest which caused material losses and casualties, for example the burning of government offices in Yalimo due to the 2021 regional elections, riots in Wamena in 2019 that killed 10 Minang migrants, and clashes between tribes of Lanny Jaya against Nduga in Wouma District, Jayawijaya Regency using arrows and burning houses in 2022.
Formation of Highland Papua Province
Highland Papua was formally enacted on 25 July 2022, along with South Papua and Central Papua, and was inaugurated on 12 November. Soon after the approval of the bill for the creation of the province on 30 June, Pegunungan Bintang Regency objected to their inclusion in the new province, stating that their access to public services are much closer to Jayapura than to Wamena, and demanded to stay instead within Papua province or to be created as a new province of Okmekmin. But their inclusion was rejected by Tabi customary council of the original Papua province as well as from the South and Highlands. Local government officials and some residents of the regency threatened to secede and join Papua New Guinea if their demands were not met.On 16 July when the province was waiting to be formalized, TPNPB gunmen shot and killed eleven civilians and injured two others in the village of Nogolait, Nduga Regency. On 22 July, the Highland Papua Secretariat Office was established in Wesaput District, Jayawijaya Regency, by the Tim Daerah Otonomi Baru Provinsi Papua Pegunungan, an advocacy group for the formation of the Highland Papua autonomous region, to be the center of information for the new province.
After Law no. 16 of 2022 was inaugurated, the regents in the new province collaborated with the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Kelompok Kerja III Task Force to support the New Autonomous Region to establish the location of the governor's office and temporary service, the provisional budget prior to the regional elections, the State Civil Apparatus, as well as grants from each regencies, the parent province, and the central government. Pokja also reviewed the potential location of the future Provincial Government office centre with alternatives offered between Muliama District, Wamena, Megapura, or Hubikiak. Meanwhile, the temporary governor's office is located at the Education Office of Jayawijaya Regency although there are other recommendations such as the Wamena Mall. The temporary governor's office sign was installed on 6 September 2022 but was vandalised a day later by 9 members of the Jayawijaya Regency Student Association who were eventually arrested by the police. Originally the provincial capital was decided to be in Jayawijaya Regency, specifically near the border of Welesi and Wouma Districts. However there was rejection due to the region considered fertile land, in addition no progress was made in constructing the Governor's office during the two years term of acting Governor Kondomo and Wanggai. Hence, The elected Governor John Tabo decided to move the capital to Gunung Susu, in Hubikosi District, after the land was granted by Jayawijaya Government.