Prior to the Second World War, West Papua was included in the Dutch East Indies administration as the Government (province) of Moluccas with the town of Ambon as the seat of the Governor. This Government (province) was sub-divided into two residencies, the residency of Ambon, to which belonged the southern part of West Papua, and the residency of Ternate, to which belonged the northern part of West Papua. As the world knows, the Moluccas, with the town of Ambon and Ternate, are and have always been part of Indonesia. So is the territory of West Papua which was never mentioned apart from the Netherlands East Indies. It was as always has been looked upon as part of the Netherlands East Indies, and thus, also a part of Indonesia.
In sum, the claim that the people of West Papua are different in civilization and culture from Indonesia would not only be a ludicrous distortion of history but also a tendentious half-truth. For, inter-linkages between Indonesia and West Papua can be traced as far back the pre-historic period. During that time, tribes originating from South-East Asia moved in a southern direction in several waves. Part of these migrations went through Indonesia and some reached Papua. Similarities in customs, manners, civilizations, culture and language strongly point to this truism. In modern time, the West Papuan use the national language of Indonesia - Bahasa Indonesia - as their lingua franca with their brethren from other parts of the country. This language is also used by the West Papuan to communicate with people from different linguistic groups within their territory. Regardless of ethnicity, cultural and linguistic differences, people in different parts of the islands call themselves Indonesians. Indonesia is their nationality and they all live in the territory once governed by the Netherlands as a single entity known as the Netherlands East Indies, of which West Papua was an integral part.
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