New Zealand as a potential West Papua peace-broker: The Bougainville experience revisited

by Maire Leadbeater

Thirteen years ago New Zealand hosted peace talks for the parties to the conflict in Bougainville.  Since these talks were instrumental in ending a horrific war it is understandable that New Zealand has gained a good reputation as a peace broker.  Over the last decade many West Papuan leaders have urged New Zealand to take up the peacemaker mantle again.  Now that the call for dialogue between West Papuan representatives and the Government of Indonesia is high on the agenda, it is time for a closer look at New Zealand’s role in helping to broker peace in Bougainville. 

West Papuan Demographic Transition and the 2010 Indonesian Census: “Slow Motion Genocide” or not?

By Jim Elmslie

Synopsis.

This paper analyses the ethnic breakdown of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat, commonly referred to collectively as West Papua, following the recent partial release of the 2010 Indonesian census. It shows the growing domination of the population by non-Papuan migrants to the point where the indigenous Papuans are now in the minority. Using historical growth rates the ethnic breakdown of the provinces is then predicted for 2020, showing the increasing marginalistion of the Papuans. The political ramifications of this massive demographic transition are then discussed, including the implications for Indonesia, Australia and the United States. The paper finishes with a discussion on whether a form of genocide is underway, as many Papuans claim, and concludes more research is needed to answer this question, specifically calling for an international fact finding mission.

Papuan Self Determination: the Indonesian Dimension

by Peter King

Paper for presentation at a conference on Comprehending West Papua organised by the West Papua Project, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney, 23-24 February 2010

What might persuade the Indonesian government that the time has come to yield to the near-unanimous desire of indigenous Papuans for self determination and independence for West Papua—or at least to begin a reconciliation process by adopting some version of the Papua Road Map to dialogue as laid out and being “socialised” by LIPI (the Indonesian Institute of Science)and Muridan Widjojo in Jakarta and by the Catholic Church and Neles Tebay in Jayapura?

Five scenarios come to mind:

Reflections on the New York Agreement, the Act of Free Choice and developments since.

by John Saltford

Colonial history meant that an arbitrary line was drawn down the centre of New Guinea in the 19th Century. The eastern side, Papua New Guinea, eventually got its independence from Australia in 1975, but its western neighbour, West Papua, was to endure a very different fate. In this short paper I will examine what happened and look at some of the recent debates on the best way forward for West Papua.

Suara Hati Perempuan Minahasa

Ketika orang kebanyakan sibuk bekerja dan cari pekerjaan, Nency, alumni s2 Sosiologi Agama UKSW, jadi anak rumahan. 

"Saya merasa tersiksa selama dua bulan terakhir ini, seperti katak dalam tempurung. Bahkan saya seperti gelas antik yang hanya dipajang dalam lemari antik yang mewah itu. Tak ada kebebasan, tidak ada kemandirian dan tidak ada kreasi melakukan sesuatu. Semuanya diatur dan dibatasi".

Pemimpin Bangsa Papua: MENOLAK PROSES HUKUM DI LUAR PENGADILAN NEGERI KELAS IIA JAYAPURA-PAPUA

Media Release

Pemimpin Bangsa Papua

MENOLAK PROSES HUKUM DI LUAR PENGADILAN NEGERI KELAS IIA JAYAPURA-PAPUA

Berhubung pernyataan salah satu anggota kejaksaan Tinggi Prov. Papua pada 11 Januari 2012, dan bertolak dari pengalaman bangsa Papua di masa lalu dimana banyak pejuang Papua diproses hukum di luar Papua kemudian mengalami nasip tragis, maka dari dalam terasi besi tahanan Negara Republik Indonesia saya, Forkorus Yaboisembut selaku  Presiden Negara Federal Republik Papua Barat bersama 4 orang masing-masing; Edison Waromi SH (perdana Menteri Negara Federal Republik Papua Barat), Dominikus Sorabut, Selpius Boby, Agustinus Kraar dan menyatakan sikap;

The anti-plebiscite campaigns in West Papua

by Pieter Drooglever

For reasons of opportunity and principle, the decolonisation-policies of the Netherlands since 1945 went under the aegis of self-determination. At the transfer of sovereignty in 1949 to the newly created Federal Republic of Indonesia, the Dutch refused to hand over the residency of New Guinea as well.  According to them, the Papuan population as a whole was not developed up to the point where it could determine for itself as yet, and there were plenty of indications that the leading layers of Papua society did agree with the argument. So the operation of self-determination had to be postponed for an as yet undeterminated period.