By 1965, the West Papuans were fighting back with the resistance movement known as the OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, or Free Papua Movement), but instead of being reported as a last-ditch struggle for a people’s survival, it was portrayed as the quaint attempt of a few savages to shoot down napalm-dropping helicopters with bows and arrows. The UNTEA staff quelled anti-Indonesian protests, disregarded gross violations of human rights, and assiduously ignored West Papuan representatives.
