December 1 – More Than A Flag-Raising Day!
By Herman Wainggai - The Island of New Guinea is divided in to two: The west side is the independent state of Papua New Guinea, which gained its independence from Australia in 1975. The western part was known as “Western New Guinea,” which was colonized by the Netherlands since 1828. The Dutch government also colonized or administered the Islands of Indonesia to the far west. In 1945, after World War II, the Netherlands – Dutch government – after years of fighting with Indonesian rebels, gave up Indonesia. Indonesia declared independence in 1945 and in 1949, the Dutch government formally recognized Indonesia’s independence and sovereignty.