Why West Papua?

West Papua is known for its diversity in flora, fauna, and natural resources. Unfortunately, this diversity in nature is not echoed in the human relations in and surrounding West Papua, and diving a bit deeper into this topic, one soon notices that appearances are deceptive.
After the redistribution of the Dutch national territories, the western half of New Guinea was granted to Indonesia and the aftermath of this decision is still very much noticeable today: unresolved power relations, military deployments, discrimination, and general social ills are some of the more dire effects brought on by this decision. We encourage you to read about the History on West Papua here.
West Papua holds a hybrid position: neither does West Papuan society feel a sense of belonging to Indonesia, nor is the identification as West Papuan tolerated.

In the context of our focus seminar Political History of Indonesia after 1945: Events, ideas, movements, this blog aims at drawing attention to the political and humanitarian grievances in West Papua. Despite generally known grievances, global reporting leaves much to be desired. West Papua has been effectively ignored and kept off the list of global atrocities and outrages which concern the Western world.
We have set ourselves the goal of not only exposing the current crimes against humanity, but also questioning their past. Why does Indonesia hold on to West Papua, but refuses to invest any effort in a balanced relationship with the people living there? What is it that the West Papuan people want? What will bring stability and safety to West Papua – integration into a globalized world or defense of traditional values?

Since our knowledge is largely based on what is written in textbooks, a term paper would provide a rather one-sided examination of the topic. Therefore it is important for us to enter into a dialogue with people who care about West Papua. Be it West Papuan people or foreigners who have committed themselves to the clarification of the grievances for various reasons. With targeted interview questions we try to capture different voices and encourage an open discussion. It is important to us to argue with as much historical accuracy and critical examination as possible.
Furthermore, this blog will not remain static. It is intended to be an ongoing project: via the feedback form, interested people are welcome to contact us and share their opinions on the topic. Interviews that are edited at a later date will also be uploaded over time.

We hope that our blog will give you food for thought and help you to better understand the current oppression in West Papua.