The flag of West Papua, ratio unknown

{[pd}} File links The following pages link to this file: New Guinea Flags of non-sovereign nations Western New Guinea ... {[pd}} File links The following pages link to this file: New Guinea Flags of non-sovereign nations Western New Guinea ...

Description

The flag of West Papua consists of a red vertical band along the hoist side, with a white five-pointed star in the center. To the fly side are 13 horizontal stripes alternating blue and white. The flag was designed by Nicholas Jouwe, and adopted by the New Guinea Council as the national flag in October, 1961. The Netherlands recognized this national symbol on November 18, 1961. The flag is also known as the Morning Star (or, natively the "Bintang Kajora"). The similarity to the flag of the United States is intentional, and the similarity to the flag of Cuba is incidental, as Cuba's flag is derivative of the United States. 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year—i. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years), with 43 remaining. ... The phrase Morning Star can refer to several things. ... Flag ratio: 10:19; nicknames: Stars and Stripes, Old Glory The flag of the United States consists of 13 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in... Flag ratio: 1:2 The flag of Cuba was adopted on May 20, 1902. ...

Nationalist movement

Jouwe was a member of the Council, and after the annexation of West Papua by Indonesia, he remained in the Netherlands as an advocate of the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, or "Free Papua Movement"), a nationalist organization demanding freedom from Indonesian rule. To this day, the Morning Star is flown by advocates in the Netherlands and Vanuatu. It is illegal to fly the flag in Indonesia, and is punishable by arrest, detention, torture, and extra-judicial death. The flag is routinely flown in shops and homes that are sufficiently insular from Indonesia soldiers and police, and is raised at nationalist demonstrations regularly. Special ceremonies take place on December 1 of each year, to commemorate the proclamation of the intention to create the Republic of West Papua in 1961. Map showing West New Guinea region The region of West New Guinea is the western half of the island of New Guinea or Papua, and has also been known as Irian Jaya or West Papua. ... The Free Papua Movement (Indonesian: Organisasi Papua Merdeka, abbreviated OPM) is a nationalist organization established in 1965 with the goal of establishing an independent state in the western portion of the island of Papua, which is currently under Indonesian control as the provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Republic of West Papua is a proposed state that would give sovereignty to the people of western New Guinea (now the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Irian Jaya Barat). ...

Sources

• Peter D. King, West Papua & Indonesia Since Suharto: Independence, Autonomy, or Chaos, p. 31-32 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0868406767/qid=1117919267/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-9445278-6142459?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)
• Richard Chauvel, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies Working Papers - Working Paper 121: Essays on West Papua, Vol. 2 (http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/publications/seawp.html)
• The primary site for information on West Papua (http://koteka.net)