Jakarta – After 50 years, Papuans still feel that the Dutch government betrayed them by not honoring a past promise to give them independence, a Dutch newspaper reported.

The promise never materialized, but the hope for independence remains in the hearts of Papuans, according to De Volkskrant at the beginning of its report on Papua, as quoted by Radio Netherlands Worldwide on Monday.

The Dutch government retained the name it gave to Papua during its occupation, Nieuw-Guinea, even after it hand over power to Indonesia in 1949, without clear reasons, the newspaper reported in an article titled "Papuans are betrayed by politicians".

The Dutch developed the region, probably to show the world that occupation was not always bad, it reported.

But Indonesia kept trying to claim the region, with several attempts at invasion. The international community urged the Dutch to let go of the region accordingly to prevent things from getting worse.

The Dutch, which were unwilling to give up Papua to Indonesia, prepared independence for the Papuans, with the introduction of the Morning Star Flag on Dec. 1, 1961, by Nicolaas Jouwe. A Nieuw-Guinea Council, the would-be Free Papua Organization, was established, it reported.

The battle between the Indonesian and Dutch governments over Papua ended at the United Nations with a compromise that the region would be under the auspices of the UN and a referendum would be organized, so that Papuans could freely choose whether they wanted to be independent or not, it reported.

When the referendum was held in 1969, a number of Papuans with voting rights were forced to join the Republic of Indonesia, it reported. The international community protested the Indonesian government's move but to no avail.

Nieuw-Guinea has since become one of Indonesia provinces and was named Irian Jaya, with Jayapura as the capital, it reported. It was later officially renamed Papua. It is clear then that Papuans are disappointed by the Dutch government's broken promise, it reported. (mtq)