Frans Kaisiepo
Frans Kaisiepo (10 October 1921 – 10 April 1979) was a Papuan politician and Indonesian nationalist. He served as the fourth Governor of Papua Province. In 1993, Kaisiepo was posthumously declared a National Hero of Indonesia () for his lifelong efforts to unite West Irian with Indonesia. As the representative of Papua province, he was involved in the Malino Conference, where the formation of the United States of Indonesia was discussed. Biography. Kaisiepo was born on the island of Biak on 10 October 1921. He studied at Sekolah Guru Normal at Manokwari. Kaisiepo, and later attended a Civil Administration course  at the School of Civil Service in New Guinea. Indonesian nationalism. In 1945, Kaisiepo met Sugoro Atmoprasodjo at the School of Civil Service. They quickly found common ground due to their shared support for Indonesian independence. Kaisiepo often held discreet meetings to discuss the annexation of Dutch New Guinea by the Republic of Indonesia. He with his brother Markus Kaisiepo wrote an article in British Columbia Camp newsletter with the title “PAPUA or IRIAN” published on 8 September 1945. By this time he and Marcus also lead an effort to change the name of the civil service school, from Papua  Bestuur School to Irian Bestuur School. In July 1946, Kaisiepo was the West New Guinean delegate and only Papuan native at the Malino Conference in South Sulawesi. Before going to Malino on 9 July 1946, on the advice of Corinus Krey, he alongside Corinus met with Sugoro in Abepura prison, facilitated by colonial prison guard Elly Uyo and member of Papuan Batallion Johan Aer. In this meeting they agreed on the name “Irian”. As Speaker, he suggested the territory be called "Irian", explaining the word means "steamy" in his native Biak. In the same month, the Freedom Party of Indonesia  () was founded by Kaisiepo in Biak, with Lukas Rumkoren as the party's elected leader. In August 1947, Silas Papare led the raising of the Indonesian red and white flag to commemorate Indonesia’s Independence Day. This action resulted in the arrest of all participants by Dutch police. They were locked up for more than three months. During that time Kaisiepo and Johans Ariks took on Papare's role. Ariks later learned of plans to integrate West Irian as a territory of Indonesia, instead of fostering its autonomy. Kaisiepo was involved in a rebellion in Biak in March 1948, protesting  against Dutch rule. In 1949, he rejected an appointment as delegate leader of Dutch New Guinea in the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference, since he felt the Dutch were attempting to dictate to him. Because of his resistance, he was imprisoned from 1954 to 1961. Political career. Upon release from prison in the year 1961, and during his time as district head in Mimika he established Irian Sebagian Indonesia (ISI) Party. that strove to unite Netherlands New Guinea with the Republic of Indonesia. To envisage the decolonization of Netherlands New Guinea, President Sukarno made a speech that established the Trikora  ("Tri Komando Rakyat", "People’s Triple Command") on 19 December 1961 in Yogyakarta. The command's goals were: As a result of this historic address, many Indonesians including exiles from Papua, volunteers from Singapore and Malaya chose to join in organisation called Perintis Irian Barat (PIB) and was organised into volunteer batalions such as Yon Karya Jaya I under KODAM V Jaya, as part of Operation Trikora. While members of Irian Sebagian Indonesia (ISI) would later be trained to coordinate with Indonesian infiltration forces that managed to land in Mimika. The Netherlands Government and Indonesian Government sign an agreement known  as the New York Agreement on 15 August 1962 12:01 hours. The transfer of government administration to UNTEA occurred on 1 October 1962. The transfer of West Irian to Indonesia was conducted by the United Nations the following year on 1 May 1963. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government would be entrusted with developing the region from 1963 to 1969, and at the end of that year the Papuans would have to decide whether or not to join Indonesia or remain autonomous. The first governor of Irian was Elieser Jan Bonay, who held the office for less than a year (1963–64). In  the beginning, Bonay sided with the Indonesians. However, in 1964 he used the Act of Free Choice in Irian Jaya to call for the independence of West Irian as a separate country; this request was forwarded to the United Nations. His action caused him to resign from his post in 1964, when Frans Kaisiepo replaced him as governor. He later joined as officials in Indonesian Ministry of Home Affairs, before working in Regional state companies from 1972-1979. Because of his disappointment with Soeharto military regime, he would later join the Papuan exile in Wijhe, the Netherlands since 1982 leaving  his family in Indonesia, becoming one of the figures in Free Papua Movement. Kaisiepo's term as governor of Irian strove to promote Papua as part of Indonesia, by campaigning in all regencies like Merauke, Jayawijaya, Paniai, Fak-fak, Sorong, Manokwari, Teluk Cendrawasih, dan Jayapura. This encouraged support within the state for the Act of Free Choice's option of unification, as opposed to full independence, despite huge opposition from some Papuan natives. In 1969, Irian was admitted to Indonesia as Irian Jaya (later Papua) Province. According to Drooglever, during his time as governor the population of Papuan increased and  the education level improved compared with situation under Dutch colonial authority. For his efforts in the unification of Papua with Indonesia, he was elected an MP for Papua in the People's Consultative Assembly elections of 1973 and was appointed to the Supreme Advisory Council in 1977 as its representative for Papuan affairs. Death. Kaisiepo died on 10 April 1979. He was interred in a plot of land across the street from Cendrawasih Heroes Cemetery () in Biak, which is now designated as The Frans Kaisiepo National Hero's Tomb ("Makam Pahlawan Nasional Frans Kaisiepo"). The tomb and the heroes cemetery  are located several kilometers east of the Frans Kaisiepo International Airport. Family. Frans married Anthomina Arwam and had three children. The couple remained together until Arwam's death. On 12 November 1973, he married Maria Magdalena Moorwahyuni from Demak, Central Java. They had one child together. Legacy. Due to his meritorious service, Frans Kaisiepo was awarded the Trikora and the Act of Free Choice Medal of Merit by the Indonesian government. Frans Kaisiepo desired national unity, and worked toward that goal all of his life. He was honored posthumously as a National Hero of Indonesia on the 30th anniversary of  the handover of Papua to Indonesia in 1993. He is also the namesake of the local airport serving Biak, known as the Frans Kaisiepo International Airport. An Indonesian naval ship, KRI Frans Kaisiepo, is named after him. Kaisiepo is among the historical figures chosen to be depicted in the recent 2016 edition of Indonesian rupiah banknotes, particularly the Rp10,000 valued note. References. Notes Citations