Frans Kaisiepo, the First Papuan Who Waves the Red and White in Papua

For the first time in Indonesian history, the government released a Rp10,000 bill displaying the face of a Papuan son in September 2016.

Of course, this Papuan son has a great service to Indonesia. He is Frans Kaisiepo. Some writings mention that he was born on October 10, 1921 in Wardo, Biak.

Young Frans was among the first Papuans to wave the Red and White and sing the song "Indonesia Raya" in Papua.

He has played an active role in defending the Indonesian nation, especially in Papua. He was directly involved in the Malino conference in 1946 in South Sulawesi as a representative from Papua. At the conference, he proposed the name Irian to change the name Papua.

Frans Kaisiepo was also known as the Governor of West Irian from 1964 to 1973. Since he was young, Kaisiepo has been known as an activist for the independence movement of the Republic of Indonesia in the Papua region.

Together with his colleagues, he struggled to unite the Papua region into Indonesia's lap after the proclamation of Indonesian independence.

During the three-day struggle period leading up to the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, and several of his colleagues listened to the song Indonesia Raya in Kampung Harapan Jayapura on August 14, 1945.

A few days after the proclamation, to be precise, on August 31, 1945, Kaisiepo and his fellow strugglers held a ceremony to raise the Red and White flag and sing the Indonesian national anthem.

On July 10, 1946, Frans Kaisiepo who was also a hero of Trikora formed the Free Indonesia Party. In the same month, he participated in the Malino Conference in South Sulawesi as one of the Indonesian delegates. He is listed as the only son of Papua who attended the important negotiations in the history of Indonesian independence.

Frans Kaisiepo died on April 10, 1979. He is buried in the Cendrawasih Heroes Cemetery, Jayapura. In 1993, Frans Kaisiepo was remembered as a national hero. This is stated in Presidential Decree No. 077 / TK / 1993.