Rebels9 Leader

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31987, 14 May 1969, Page 20

Rebels 9 Leader

fN.Z. Preu A«»n.—CopvrtahO THE HAGUE, May 12. The man the West Irian rebels are reported to have named as President of a free Papua State is living in the Netherlands. He is Mr Marcus Kaisiepo, aged 56, leader-in-exile of the banned Free Papua Movement, who has opposed for many years Indonesia’s rights to take over West Irian, the former Dutch colony of West New Guinea.

He visited the United Nations in October, 1962, to put West New Guinea’s case against it

Mr Kaisiepo was born at Wardo, on Biak Island, where Indonesian troops this week captured documents in moves against the rebels who have named him as their president. After village and mission schooling, Mr Kaisiepo became a teacher on the island in 1935 and worked there until 1941; and during his teaching career he translated the Bible into the Biak language.

The Japanese deported Mr Kaisiepo to a labour camp at Maokwari during the Second World War, but he managed to work for Allied intelligence from 1944. Then he entered the Netherlands Government service, working mainly on Biak. In 1949 he was a member of a West New Guinea delegation to The Hague for round-table talks, and a year later he attended the DutchIndonesian discussions there. In 1951, he joined the information and broadcasting service in Hollandia, the former capital of West New Guinea, now renamed Djayapura.

He became a member of the Hollandia council, and shortly before going into exile after the Dutch handed over West New Guinea, he was chairman of the West New Guinea Assembly.