The reality is that Indonesia is a country inhabited by various ethnic groups. The negative stigma among some PNG citizens toward Indonesia is mainly based on the feeling of Melanesian brotherhood with the Papuans.
By
AGUSTINUS WIBOWO
·5 minutes read
AGUSTINUS WIBOWO
RI Anniversary Ceremony at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in 2014.
Parts of Indonesia, especially Eastern Indonesia, are inhabited by Melanesians. Therefore, Indonesia participated in the Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival which was held in 2014 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
This was the largest cultural festival in the South Pacific region, held for two full weeks, attended by Pacific countries, such as Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. There was also Australia. In its inaugural participation at this festival, Indonesia brought a large delegation of artists from the provinces of Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, West Papua and Papua.
The first to perform from Indonesia was the Maluku delegation, whose performers wore dresses in Malay style and sang songs in Malay. Many PNG spectators felt the performance was too unfamiliar to them. The next day, The National daily published a photo of the Maluku performers, ironically captioned “An Asian Touch". On the same page, there was coverage of interviews with a number of "West Papua" people who came to the festival arena. One interviewee named Papuanus suspected that Indonesia had killed the indigenous Melanesian culture in Papua and replaced it with Asian culture.
The cold reception toward Indonesia changed completely on the last day when the performance was conducted by the Papua Province delegation. The men from Tolikara wore koteka, performing an energetic traditional Papuan dance to the beat of tifa drums. The attraction seemed to hypnotize all the spectators, who immediately burst into thunderous cheers. Koteka is very rare to find in PNG, so the appearance inevitably evoked a feeling of nostalgia, brotherhood and exoticism among the local public. The master of ceremonies even spontaneously danced on the stage with the Tolikara dancers.
This festival was a golden opportunity for Indonesia to carry out Melanesian cultural diplomacy, as well as to show its position on the Papua issue. Also present in the Indonesian delegation was Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe, who in his speech to the PNG public emphasized that Papua is progressing and is at peace as part of the Republic of Indonesia.
AGUSTINUS WIBOWO
Staff and extended family of the Indonesian Embassy in Papua New Guinea during the Indonesian Independence Day ceremony at the Indonesian Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in 2014.
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17 August 2014. The courtyard of the Indonesian embassy was filled with dozens of Indonesians who attended the 69th anniversary of Indonesia\'s independence. Among them was Dolf Marjen, a PNG citizen who wore batik clothes and was very fluent in Indonesian.
Dolf was born in Biak in 1957, so he has been familiar with Malay since he was a child. At that time, Papua was still called Dutch New Guinea (NNG). His father moved to PNG in 1962. Dolf remained in Biak, with his grandparents.
Far from his parents, young Dolf could only imagine the figure of his father. His grandparents were just poor fishermen who often ran out of money. At that moment he thought: Ah, if only Father were here, we would not have to feel the pain of this poverty anymore.
PNG gained independence from Australia in 1975. At that time, Dolf\'s father joined a mission from the PNG foreign minister\'s delegation to visit Biak. Dolf, who was studying at an economic vocational high school, saw a number of soldiers enter his classroom and immediately cowered in fear. The soldiers approached him, softly saying, “Don\'t be afraid. Your father wants to see you."
For a dozen years they were separated by a borderline, it was a meeting full of tears. Father Eli, Dolf\'s father, promised to bring Dolf to PNG. Dolf left for PNG in 1978, became a PNG citizen, and has worked for PNG\'s maritime security agency to this day.
AGUSTINUS WIBOWO
Dolf Marjen (right) while attending the Indonesian Independence Day celebration at the Indonesian Embassy in Port Moresby in 2014.
Now, approaching his old age, Dolf really wants to go back to Biak. There, he already owns land and is building a house. When the house is finished, Dolf plans to return to being an Indonesian citizen. It was also his father\'s dream, which did not come true until the end of his life. "After all, Indonesia is our home, our roots," said Dolf.
The reality is that Indonesia is a country inhabited by various ethnic groups, including Melanesians. Meanwhile, the negative stigma among some PNG citizens toward Indonesia is mainly based on the feeling of Melanesian brotherhood with the Papuans. Activists of the Papuan independence movement in their campaigns often say Melanesian Papuans are no longer the hosts of their own land.
I asked Dolf, is Papua, which is now inhabited by various ethnic groups from all over Indonesia, still home to him?
Dolf said it was precisely that reason that often made him argue with "West Papua" people in PNG. He believed that diversity, not racial supremacy, would bring progress to a nation. "It doesn\'t matter if all nations live together, build each other up and benefit each other. Why isolate yourself, but be left behind?” he said.
