During the Covid 19 pandemic, the West Papua Womens Office in Docklands launched the Dag Hammarskjöld-West Papua Living Memorial project to recall the Decolonisation Program prepared by UN Secretary-General Hammarskjöld for the Non-Self-Governing Territory of Netherlands-New Guinea (West Papua). The Sec-General planned to introduce a motion about the program to the 1961 UN General Assembly. However, three days before the opening of the Assembly he was assassinated (18 September 1961) near the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo where he was mediating post-independence conflict. Without his authoritative and influential presence, members of the General Assembly succumbed to Indonesia’s machiavellian strategy to incorporate the Non-Self-Governing Territory and didn’t pass the motion. Instead they supported the development of a ‘peace treaty’ between Indonesia and the Netherlands, which ultimately created an Indonesian colony out of the Melanesian nation.
Supporters of West Papua’s self-determination are invited to plant a Dag Hammarskjöld-West Papua Living Memorial (tree) and email a 2-minute video of the ceremony to the West Papua Womens office. Diaspora communities from territories that have been decolonised, and those still struggling for recognition, are especially welcome. The project concludes on 18 September–the day Mr Hammarskjöld was killed, and the videos will be presented on a USB to the current UN Secretary-General António Guterres on 29 September—the date of his buried in Sweden.
Inquiries FrwpWomensOffice@gmail.com; Louise 0424 745 155; www.dfait.FederalRepublicofWestPapua.org To send video Go to www.transfer.com, add your video, and email to frwpwomensoffice@gmail.com. Suggested name for tree 'Hammarskjöld-WestPapua Living Memorial' Two suggestions for wording on plaque (1) This tree honours UN Sec-General Dag Hammarskjöld (1953-61) a champion of self-determination. West Papua waits for its liberation on this the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations (2) In honour of Dag Hammarskjöld, UN Sec-General (1953-1961), killed before his Decolonisation Program for West Papua was raised in the 1961 General Assembly. Suggested speech for ceremony We plant this tree in commemoration of Dag Hammarskjöld's contribution to peace-making and the development of the United Nations. We lament his untimely death and the OPEX Plan not implemented that would have secured West Papua's self-determination. We remember the second Secretary-General for his ethical, moral, visionary, and humane peace-making at this time of the United Nations 75th birthday when our world is in need of qualities such as these to help self-determination for nations struggling against oppression, climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. May the legacy of his life, work and writings continue to inspire present and future leaders to assist and refine the UN's role to bring peace and healing to our world. May this tree be a reminder that truth, justice, liberation and love cannot die. And that Dag Hammarskjöld's life and legacy lives on to inspire us now and for future generations. Happy Birthday to the United Nations.
How is planting a tree for Dag Hammarskjöld seeding a vote for West Papua at the UN?
Many UN member-states now recognise that their failure to uphold West Papuans right to self-determination in November 1961 enabled the brutal subjugation of an indigenous people by a foreign state (Indonesia) that has never recognised the principle of self-determination (despite being a UN member since 1950). They also recognise that despite Indonesia’s claims of ‘being a democracy’ and of ‘developing West Papua’, its policies and practices have, in fact, little changed since 1962. West Papuans in 1962, at the beginning of the Indonesian occupation, constituted 99% of the population. In 2010 they were 30%, and in 2030 they are projected to be just 15%.
Trees planted in honour of Dag Hammarskjöld should fortify the activism of states, NGOs, and individuals to support a motion in the UN General Assembly where West Papuans current, and historical, arguments for their right of sovereignty (over their land) can be debated and recognised. In 2019, the Pacific Islands Forum (18 UN member-states, including Australia and New Zealand) and the African Caribbean Pacific Group (79 UN member-states) passed motions of preparatory support for West Papua’s registration on the UN Decolonisation List, which should have happened in 1961. The passage of a motion requires 2/3 majority support (130 of the 193 UN member-states). Will the tree-plantings inspire the support of the 30 more states required?
Tree-planting Project Information
Information letter, Dag Hammarskjold tree-memorial
“Hammarskjöld, the UN, and West Papua” (23 x A4 PDF)
Twenty-three fully-referenced photo-text slides compiled by the West Papua Womens’ Office-Docklands, explaining how the United Nations failed to uphold West Papua’s self-determination program in 1961, and why welcoming the return of the West Papuans is an opportunity to recognise and rectify the terrible mistake. OPEX, West Papua_compressed
Videos & Photos of tree-planting ceremonies
All the two-minute videos of the sixty tree-planting ceremonies from around the world, at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEY-DS7HW6Q
Radio Interview, 2 April 2016, Professor Henning Melber Director, Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, Sweden (2006-2012). Dag Hammarskjold, why he died and why it matters Truth Perspective, SOTT Radio Network. https://media.sott.net/srn/20160402ttp-interview-with-henning-melber-dag-hammarskjold-why-he-died-and-why-it-matters.mp3
Radio Interview, 28 July 2020, Louise Byrne (West Papua Womens Office-Docklands). Hammarskjold, West Papua, the UN 3CR Tuesday Hometime, 28 July 2020 (1:29-2:00).
Opening, Dag Hammarskjöld Bridge, Leopoldville (Congo), 17 September 1962
The Dag Hamarskjöld Bridge in the Democratic Republic of Congo was opened on 17 September 1962 in front of members of the Central Government and Leopoldville Provincial Government, the Diplomatic Corps, ONUC officials, and a large crowd of Congolese. The bridge was the first major construction work completed in the Congo with UN aid (UN Photo Library, Photo # 209485).
The plaque built into the Dag Hammarskjöld Bridge in Leopoldville on 17 September 1962 was removed by President Mobutu, but has since been replaced (UN Photo Library, Photo # 209482).
