The Indonesian Irian Independence Party ( id, Partai Kemerdekaan Indonesia Irian, PKII) was a pro-Indonesian party in the

Netherlands New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea ( nl, Nederlands-Nieuw-Guinea, id, Nugini Belanda) was the western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas territory of the Kingdo ...

. The party was established in 1946 by several pro-Indonesian students as a way to support the integration of Papua into the territory of Indonesia. The party's leader, Silas Papare was awarded as the

National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia ( id, Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia) is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual deeds which can b ...

posthumously on 14 September 1993. The party's ideology was based on Pancasila and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The party had a youth wing, the Indonesian Youth Union ( id, Gabungan Pemuda Indonesia, GAPI), which was formed on 28 October 1958.

Establishment

The party was established on 29 October 1946 at the city of

Serui Serui Kota (Seroei) is a city and capital of Yapen Islands Regency of Papua, Indonesia. As of 2021, the city has a population of 13,568. It is located on the island of Yapen Yapen (also Japan, Jobi) is an island of Papua, Indonesia. The Yap ...

, in the Yapen Waropen region. The party was established with Silas Papare as the leader and Alwi Rachman as his vice. The party strove for the recognition of the independence of Indonesia as a united nation from

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

to Papua, and served as the contact for the pro-Indonesian movements all over Papua, such as in

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...

Sorong Sorong is the largest city and the capital of the Indonesian province of Southwest Papua. The city is located on the western tip of the island of New Guinea with its only land borders being with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's ...

Raja Ampat ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

Kaimana Kaimana is a small port town in West Papua, Indonesia and capital of the Kaimana Regency. It had a population of 13,613 at the 2010 Census. In March 2007, the Indonesian Navy conducted a training exercise off the coast of Kaimana in Kaimana Ba ...

, Inawatan, and

Fakfak Fakfak () is a town in West Papua and seat of the Fakfak Regency. It had a population of 12,566 at the 2010 Census, which rose to 18,900 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. It is served by Fakfak Airport. It is the only town i ...

. The party had around 4.000 members in Yapen Waropen. The integration of pro-Indonesian movements in Papua under PKII alarmed the Dutch. To counter the influence of PKII in Papua, the Dutch authorities in Papua decided to form the Papuan Council ( id, Dewan Papua), as a way to counter the influence of PKII. The council would later be turned into the

Free Papua Movement "Free Papua Movement" ( id, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM, tpi, Fri Wes Papua Grup) is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the West Papuan or West New Guinea territory which is currently being administrat ...

after the integration of Papua into Indonesia. To connect the pro-Indonesian movement in Papua with Indonesia, the party sent motions and resolutions to the Government of Indonesia in Jakarta regarding the independence of Indonesia and the pro-Indonesian movement in Papua. The party also sent its leader, Silas Papare, to Jakarta, as the representative of PKII.

Development

The party established its branches on the Serui Laut city on 30 November 1947. The establishment of the branch was done by eleven members of representatives in Serui Laut, which was coordinated by Silas Papare. Andris Wayoi and Sakeus Bonai were chosen as the leaders of the branch. The branch had around 300 members as of 1947. To garner more youth members, the party formed the Indonesian Youth Union on 28 October 1958, under the leadership of Piter Wayoi and Aser Samori. The movement had around 60 members during its formation.

References

Bibliography

* {{Former Indonesian political parties Defunct political parties in Indonesia Politics of Netherlands New Guinea 1946 establishments in Indonesia 1962 disestablishments in Indonesia Political parties disestablished in 1962 Political parties established in 1946