Nicolaas Jouwe: The Creator of the Kejora Flag Now Supports the Republic of Indonesia

Wearing flowers, wearing a fedora hat, the old man stood at Sentani Airport, Papua. He removed his crutch from his hand, his body bent and finally fell on his stomach. He kissed the land of Papua, paying off the longing passion.
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The old man is Nicolaas Jouwe, and the incident at Sentani Airport on March 22, 2009 at the same time destroyed the oath not to return to Papua since he went to the Netherlands in 1963 ago. He is the most important figure behind the controversial flag of Bumi Cenderawasih, the Morning Star Flag, or often also referred to as the Morning Star Flag.


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"I was the one who created the Morning Star Flag which was first raised on December 1, 1961," Nicolaas said in his book, 'Return to Indonesia: Steps, Thoughts, and Desires'.
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Nicolaas was born in Hollandia (now Jayapura) on November 24, 1924. The palm of the hand, that is the term he used, brought him into the army even though he never wanted to be a soldier. Also it was his palm that led him to become one of the Papuan leaders in the past even though he claimed he did not want that title.
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The Morning Star flag was constructed, patterned on 13 horizontal blue and white lines, the figure represented the number of regional plans to be developed. The star image is a symbol of ideals. Nicolaas through Danilyn Rutheford's book states that the star means hope, one of the elements in Christian virtue, namely faith, love, and hope.
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After Nicolaas's Bintang Kejora was chosen to become the flag of West Papua, then on December 1, 1961, the flag was flown next to the Dutch Flag for the first time.
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The political process continues through the New York Agreement. Papua will be handed over by the Netherlands to Indonesia through a UN agency called UNTEA. After Papua was handed over to UNTEA in October 1962 and six months later it was handed over to Indonesia, Jouwe left Papua and went to the Netherlands.
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He settled in the city of Delft, vowing never to return to his native land if it was still occupied by Indonesia. The movement against Indonesia in Papua continued when Nicolaas lived in the Netherlands. The name Nicolaas was proposed by the 'Organization of Struggle for the Independence of the State of West Papua', the forerunner to the OPM, as the vice president who accompanied President Markus Kaisiepo. Nicolaas, who was in the Netherlands, who was initially skeptical, was later convinced of the struggle in West Papua (the area now known as the Province of Papua and West Papua, Indonesia).
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Until 2008, Jouwe still stressed his attitude to not return to Papua, which is Indonesia's territory. Until 2009, there was a letter from Indonesia that reached The Hague. The letter came from the 7th President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) specifically for Nicolaas.
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"I consider this letter to be very fine written, a good invitation, and I feel that this letter was written with a heart and sincerity. This letter was written not with the brain but with the heart. Jesus said: Believe with the heart, not with the brain," said Nicolaas.
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Immediately imagined the past of his struggle to free Papua from Indonesia. This time the shadow was not accompanied by heroism. "I have realized that what has been fought for so far is the wrong choice. Now I see that the attention of the Indonesian government and political conditions are different for Papua," he said.
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"I will return forever in Papua, Indonesia. Once Indonesia is independent, it remains independent," said one of the main figures in the history of this OPM. Nicolaas finally left for Jakarta and continued to fly to Papua at the age of 85. "I must go home, go home with a happy heart."
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He was determined to devote the rest of his life to the advancement of the land of birth. Nicolaas died on September 16, 2017 at the age of 93 in the country in a condition already an Indonesian citizen, and has received an award from President SBY in the form of Bintang Nararya.
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(* as quoted from detik com)