Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Around 500 people, consisting of freedom fighters, war veterans, and their children and grandchildren commemorated Monday the 43rd anniversary of Papua's return from the Dutch government to Indonesia, at the Cenderawasih Sports Hall in Jayapura.

A Papuan youth figure, Nico Maury, said the ceremony was organized to show the world that not all Papuans wished for the province to separate from Indonesia.

"We're in a democratic era now, and (it's normal that) some of our brothers and sisters might wish for autonomy. But, we, the sons and daughters of freedom fighters, are determined to secure Papua as an integral part of the country," he told The Jakarta Post. The ceremony was also attended by Papua caretaker Governor Soadjuangon Situmorang, Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Tommy Jacobus and Cenderawasih University Rector Bert Kambuaya.

According to Nico, the younger generation will defend what their parents struggled for in the past.

A freedom fighter, Ramses Ohee, described May 1, 1965, as the day "Papua returned to the folds of the motherland" after the Dutch relegated its authority to Indonesia through the United Nations.

He said the ceremony was chiefly organized by freedom fighters who had been saddened by the aspirations of those who wished to leave Indonesia.

The highlight of the ceremony was the bestowal of an honorary title on caretaker Governor Situmorang. He was made a Mamta tribal chief, and given the name Kotelo Kabam Papua.

The extended Mamta tribe encompasses Jayapura mayoralty, and Keerom, Jayapura and Sarmi regencies.

Mamta tribal chief Ramses Ohee presented Situmorang with a crown and hung a tribal bag, a token of responsibility, around the governor's neck. As a tribal chief, one of Situmorang's new duties is to fight for the rights of Papuans in achieving prosperity.

Situmorang considers the title an honor, and a sign that he is no longer considered an outsider, but a native Papuan. "They have accepted me wholeheartedly, now it's an emotional tie," he said.

He said that as a tribal chief of a major Papuan tribe, he needed to fight for the welfare of Papuans. Situmorang's reign as a chief will not be permanent, though – he will return to Jakarta after a full governor is inaugurated in Papua.