An Open Letter to the People of West Papua

We have recently been discussing your ongoing courageous struggle to liberate yourselves from more than 100 years of occupation, first by the Netherlands, briefly and brutally by Japan during World War II, and now by Indonesia. In that regard, we would each like to share a brief message with you, our friends from West Papua.

**Papua province | West Papua province | Green = western New Guinea, (Indonesia) divided into the two provinces of West Irian Jaya (light green) and Papua (dark green) | Beinge (yellow) = eastern New Guinea, the ‘mainland’ portion of the nation of Papua New Guinea | Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. | Wikimedia Commons

The work and dedication you have been devoting to the cause of freedom for West Papua has inspired me to recall my own experience with some of your ancestors during my 4 years with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during World War II, which included 2½ years as a coastwatcher. Ten months of this time was spent in enemy-held territory as a signaller.

I am 92 years old now, but in those days from 1942 to 1945 I was Sergeant James Burrowes VX136343 in ‘M’ Special Unit of the Allied Intelligence Bureau, known as the ‘Coastwatchers’.

Our intelligence role for the war effort was described by Admiral Halsey, Commander of the US 7th Fleet, in these words: ‘Without the Coastwatchers, the Pacific War would not have been won!’

Therefore, in this context, I would like to briefly relate the contribution of some of your Papuan ancestors who were also coastwatchers, assisting and being part of parties infiltrated into Japanese-held territory.

Those I can name include Papuans known to us as Yali, Mas, Buka and Mariba although I can name many others such as Golpak, his son Kaole, Yauwika, Rayman and Ishmael.

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From Robert: When I was a child, each year my father would take me to the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne at the beginning of July.

I would listen to an old man talk about the sinking of the ‘Montevideo Maru’, a Japanese prisoner of war ship that was sunk during World War II, killing all of the 1,053 Australian prisoners of war on board. I would watch my aunt crying as this story was told.

One of the prisoners on this ship was my father’s older brother, Robert (Bob), who had been captured at Rabaul during the Japanese invasion on 22 January 1942. Bob was a member of the 34th Fortress Engineers of the Australian Imperial Force and had been responsible for installing guns at Praed Point in Rabaul Harbour.

Apart from his older brother, my father also lost his twin brother Thomas (Tom) during the war. Tom was a member of the RAAF’s 100 Squadron and the Beaufort Bomber on which he was a wireless airgunner was shot down over Rabaul on his first mission on 14 December 1943.

My childhood is dotted with memories of my uncles: wearing Bob’s war medals to school on ANZAC Day, going to the Shrine of Remembrance each year, and listening on those rare occasions when Dad talked about his brothers.

Sometimes, when asked, Dad would also talk about his own experience during the war. He was a member of ‘M’ Special Unit, a coastwatcher operating behind enemy lines in Japanese-occupied New Guinea.

Whenever he talked about his experience and the efforts of fellow coastwatchers, Dad would invariably mention their heavy reliance on the Papuans who also served as coastwatchers. In his words: ‘Without them there would have been NO Coastwatchers as they were the ones guiding us, carrying all our gear, building our thatched shelter, cooking, protecting us as sentries – you name it.’

In 1966, the year I turned 14, I decided that I would devote my life to working to end human violence. This is more than a life passion: It is why I live.

One of the things that I have learned is that we can use thoughtfully applied nonviolent strategy to defeat occupying powers. I wrote a book on how to do this. See ‘The Strategy of Nonviolent Defense: A Gandhian Approach‘.

Just as Papuan ancestors helped my father and fellow coastwatchers to play a key role in defeating an occupying power, it is now my duty and great privilege to help the people of West Papua to defeat another one.

Papua Merdeka!