Is an Independent West Papuan State Possible

A comprehensive survey of the current status of the disparate units making up the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) in Papua, Indonesia; the political organisations supporting independence; and how the two are linked. Cillian Nolan is primary author.

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Studies

The Indonesianization of Papua project, which has been going on since 1963, has not yet reached the ideal stage. The rise of the post-2000s separatist movement indicates a need to re-read the relationship between Indonesia and West Papua, an examination of past and current events. This study aims to examine the dynamics of Indonesia's attitude and policy towards West Papua, the discourse, and the tension between Indonesia and the Papua freedom movement. This study uses a historical approach by diachronically reviewing how the Indonesian occupation and the Indonesianization project began and its relation to resistance from the Papuan community with the manifestation of the existence of the Papua Freedom Organization. In addition, to capture the synchronic dimension of the current situation, the writer also interviewed several key figures in the integration-and-disintegration of Papua as the primary data source. Indonesia has had a very monochromatic perspective of Papua throughou...

In this book chapter, I trace and sketch the backgrounds of social, economic and political fault lines in Indonesian Papua. While reformasi policy makers in Jakarta have developed a series of inconsistent policies towards In- donesia’s easternmost province over the last few years, the reactions of local elites in Papua are more than merely reactionary. For example, the apparent endorsement of the Indonesian state by supporters of Abraham Atururi (the transitional Governor of Irian Jaya Barat who proceeded the current interim Governor Timbul Pujianto) has provoked a fundamental challenge to those elites who seek to maintain and consolidate their recent political gains under a Special Autonomy (Otsus) law written for a uni- fied Papua. From 2000 till 2005, this political lobby was led, among others, by the late Jaap Solossa, then Governor of Papua, his Vice Governor, Con- stan Karma, and the Speaker of the Representative Council (DPR, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) Papua, John Ibo.

2010

This report addresses the momentous events that have transpired in West Papua and its diaspora in recent months. A response to the recent International Crisis Group (ICG) report entitled Radicalisation and Dialogue in Papua1 is also necessary as it is being used as justification by the Indonesian government in two serious initiatives currently underway: the prosecution of activist leader Victor Yeimo on charges of 'rebellion' and the unfolding TNI military operations in the highlands of West Papua. One initiative may unjustly deprive a man of his liberty; the other will almost certainly cost the lives and livelihoods of innocent Papuan civilians. The ICG report is biased, poorly conceived and researched. Its conclusions are therefore questionable even while the consequences of those conclusions are potentially so dire. A rebuttal is essential.

Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization, 2015

The existence of Papua in the Republic of Indonesia has long political and historical stories,started from international political fights among European countries in economics realm to fight between the Netherlands and Indonesia after the independence of Indonesia on August 17, 1945... Indonesia’s efforts to control Papua’s area and establish Papua as part of Indonesia are being executed seriously. This can be seen through foreign diplomacy effort which performed by government and internal effort (domestic) such as establishing several legal provisions in local government. Keywords: political dynamic, status of special autonomy

2011

This chapter is based on my study on West Papua of 2005, which has been published in English under the title: An Act of Free Choice. Decolonization and the Right to Self-Determination in West Papua (Oneworld Oxford 2009; see www.oneworld-publications.com). An Indonesian translation appeared under the title Tindakan Pilihan Bebas. Orang Papua dan

IJSES, 2021

Since the birth or issuance of Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning special autonomy for the Papua Province and West Papua Province, for 25 (twenty five) years in the life of the people in this Special Autonomy era, the Papuan people have lived and experienced prolonged conflicts. Because it seems that the commitment of the indigenous Papuans to accept the special autonomy is not united among the indigenous Papuans themselves, because the views or attitudes of the Papuan people towards special autonomy differ from their views on accepting the special autonomy. The views of the community include: Positive views, negative views and neutral views. From this view, every protracted conflict arises in the life of the indigenous Papuan people themselves. The existence of special autonomy cannot be a solution for Papua. Even the special autonomy that has been running for 25 years has become part of the conflict in Papua. In fact, the political intention of Law No. 21 of 2001 is to address the four root causes of problems that afflict Papua, namely the failure of development, marginalization and discrimination of indigenous Papuans, state violence and allegations of human rights violations, as well as the history and political status of the Papua region. In connection with the hectic expansion of regions in Papua, for the elite the issue of the division of the Province is like two coins, on the one hand the issue of expansion is a space for the struggle for power relations, namely the space to maintain the legalization of the government over itself and its ethnicity base through the control of the legislative and executive seats. On the other hand, the stuttering perspective of the ethnic community in each tribe in Papua regarding their elite conception which has begun to blur due to the degradation of the modern and democratic system, makes anyone who is able to seize the space of state power and become a political elite, will also gain the legitimacy of the elite.-an in the ethnic cultural system.