Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Hai Tanahku Papua

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Hai Tanahku Papua ("Oh My Land Papua") is the national anthem of West Papua.

Contents

History

The anthem was composed by the Dutch missionary Rev. Izaak Samuel Kijne during the 1930s.

After the Dutch supervised election of a regional parliament, the Nieuw Guinea Raad, a group was formed on 19 October 1961 to elect a national committee. The committee drafted a Manifesto for Independence & Self-government, a national flag (the Morning Star Flag), state seal, selected "Hai Tanahku Papua" as a national anthem, and called for the people to be known as Papuans. The New Guinea Council voted unanimously in favour of these proposals on 30 October 1961, and on 31 October 1961 presented the Morning Star flag and Manifesto to Governor Platteel. The Dutch recognized the flag and anthem on 18 November 1961 (Government Gazettes of Dutch New Guinea Nos. 68 and 69), and these ordinances came into effect on 1 December 1961. The anthem went out of public use after the military occupation of West Papua by the Indonesian Military in 1963.

Current status

The anthem is currently a prominent symbol of independence activists, including Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Movement), and use of the anthem within the province is prohibited. The song has also been proposed as a symbol of Papua province.

References

Hai Tanahku Papua Wikipedia