Tanah Merah (or Tanamerah, literally means ''Red Land'') is a town in South Papua province of Indonesia (not to be confused with

Tanahmerah Bay Tanahmerah Bay, or Tanah Merah Bay, ( id, Teluk Tanahmerah, "red soil bay") is a bay on the north coast of New Guinea, in Jayapura Regency, Papua, Indonesia, about 50 km northwest of the provincial capital of Jayapura. During World War ...

) on the bank of

Digul The Digul River () is a major river in southern Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is the fourth longest river in New Guinea after Sepik River, Mamberamo River and Fly River. With a total length of and has a drainage b ...

river, located some two hundred miles from

Merauke Merauke is a large town and the capital of the South Papua province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency in South Papua. It is considered the easternmost city in Indonesia. The town was originally called Ermasoe. I ...

within the interior of

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

(a town not occupied by the Japanese during WWII). It is the administrative center of

Boven Digoel Regency Boven Digoel Regency is a regency (''kabupaten'') in the northern part of the Indonesian province of South Papua. It is split off from Merauke Regency (of which it used to be a part) on 12 November 2002. The regency covers an area of , and the tot ...

History

The town acted as a Dutch penal colony during the period when Indonesia was a Dutch colony. Under ''Indische Staatsregeling'' Article 37, "those who can be considered by the Government to disturb or have disturbed the public peace and order will be without any legal proceedings exiled for an indefinite period to a specially appointed place" were sent to Tanahmerah. Dr

Sutan Sjahrir Sutan Sjahrir (5 March 1909 – 9 April 1966) was an Indonesian politician, and revolutionary independence leader, who served as the first Prime Minister of Indonesia, from 1945 until 1947. Previously, he was a key Indonesian nationalist organiz ...

, first prime minister of the

Indonesian Republic Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Ind ...

, described the political prisoners thus exiled as being in "profound spiritual misery" and "permanently broken in spirit". In 1942, the "Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile" (in Australia), fearing partisan armies, which would prejudice postwar reimposition of Dutch colonial rule in the Indies, organised for the prisoners to be brought to Australia, to be interned as prisoners of war. This did not fit entirely well with the host country, and on 7 December 1943, the Tanah Merah prisoners were freed from their Australian prison camps. Lockwood (1975) considers the evacuation of these prisoners to Australia (and their subsequent freedom within Australia) to be a vital catalyst in the launching of the boycott on Dutch shipping (the

Black Armada The Black Armada ( id, Armada Hitam) was a name applied to Dutch merchant and military vessels which were prevented from sailing to the newly proclaimed independent Indonesia from Australian ports due to waterfront strikes or 'black bans' by mari ...

) at the end of the second world war, and in the subsequent creation of the

Republic of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...

Transport

The town is served by Tanah Merah Airport.

Notes

{{reflist, refs= {{Citation , author1=Indonesian Independence Committee , title=Dutch imperialism exposed : the green hell of Tanah Merrah , date=1946 , publisher=Indonesian Independence Committee , url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-348267842/view?partId=nla.obj-348270716#page/n1/mode/1up , accessdate=21 September 2018 Melbourne, Victoria Lockwood, R. (1975) Black Armada & the Struggle for Indonesian Independence, 1942-49. Australasian Book Society Ltd., Sydney, Australia. {{Listed Invalid ISBN, 9 09916 68 3 Sjahrir, S. (1949). "Out of Exile", translated with an introduction by Charles Wolf, Jr. New York: The John Day Company. Western New Guinea Regency seats of South Papua

History

Transport

See also

Notes