Boven Digoel is one of the historical places in West Papua, Indonesia. Boven Digoel itself is located in the interior of West Papua which was used as a place of exile for rebels from the Dutch colonial government.

Digoel was hastily prepared by the Dutch colonial government to accommodate prisoners of the November 1926 uprising. Boven Digoel was then used as a dumping location for East Indies political activists, numbering around 1,308 people.

Boven Digoel is a natural prison. Boven Digoel or on the map listed as Tanah Merah, is a division area of Merauke Regency, South Papua Province, the eastern tip of Indonesia.

Digoel was built by Governor General De Graeff in 1927 as a place of exile for political prisoners. Around Digoel there is a jungle with towering trees.

Digoel is far from anywhere, with only air access to access the location. Digoel is increasingly scary because there are many vicious malaria mosquitoes. The Digoel River is 525 kilometers long. Apart from being long, there are also many crocodiles in this river.
With a location very far from the crowds, Boven Digoel was a very strategic location to exile rebels during the Dutch East Indies era.

There are a number of Indonesian struggle figures who were exiled to the interior of West Papua. Including two of them, Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Syahrir, these two figures were considered dangerous to the Dutch colonial government. So Hatta and Syahrir were exiled to a place that was still filled with towering shady trees.

In this case, Hatta and Syahrir were considered enemies of the Dutch colonial government, because they were considered disobedient and opposed to the policies set by the colonial government.

Apart from the two East Indies political activists, there were also other names who were thrown to Boven Digoel. These names include Mohammad Bondan, Maskun, Burhanuddin, Sukasumitro, Murwoto, Ali Archam, and a number of other fighters.

Prisoner Transferred
When Japan occupied the East Indies and the Pacific War broke out, the Boven Digoel prisoners were moved or transferred by the Dutch to Australia. The transfer was because the Dutch were concerned that the prisoners would rebel if they remained in Boven Digoel.

Part of the camp was not liberated earlier than mid-1943, but in the face of Japanese occupation, the Dutch finally closed the Digoel camp and sent all residents or prisoners of Boven Digoel to Australia.

The Dutch hoped that the Indonesian people who were held captive and then taken to Australia would help the Dutch. However, the situation turned around, the political prisoners were able to influence the Australian labor unions to boycott Dutch ships that landed on the Kangaroo Continent.
Finally, after the Allies succeeded in achieving victory over the Dutch colonial government in the East Indies, the prisoners were returned to their place of origin in Indonesia. In the end the allies occupied the East Indies. So it changed hands, from Dutch hands to Japanese hands. Indonesia is still under the power of other countries. Until finally Indonesia became independent in 1945