Tanahmerah
Tanah Merah (or Tanamerah, literally means Red Land) is a town in South Papua province of Indonesia (not to be confused with Tanahmerah Bay) on the bank of Digul river, located some two hundred miles from Merauke within the interior of Western New Guinea (a town not occupied by the Japanese during WWII). It is the administrative center of Boven Digoel Regency; administratively, it is covered by Persatuan kampung of Mandobo District. History The town acted as a Dutch penal colony during the period when Indonesia was a Dutch colony. Under Indische Staatsregeling Article 37, "those who can be considered by the Government to disturb or have disturbed the public peace and order will be without any legal proceedings exiled for an indefinite period to a specially appointed place" were sent to Tanahmerah. Dr Sutan Sjahrir, first prime minister of the Indonesian Republic, described the political prisoners thus exiled as being in "profound spiritual misery" and "permanently broken in spirit". In 1942, the "Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile" (in Australia), fearing partisan armies, which would prejudice postwar reimposition of Dutch colonial rule in the Indies, organised for the prisoners to be brought to Australia, to be interned as prisoners of war.