ABSTRACT

This article explores three interrelated components of the independence movement in Papua – armed resistance, political struggle, and international lobbying. As an insurgency, the armed resistance in Papua is local, sporadic and does not threaten Indonesian control. Indonesia’s predominantly military response to both armed and peaceful resistance has given violence a greater significance in the Papua conflict than the capacity of the armed resistance groups would suggest. The significant Indonesian military deployment and the associated human rights abuses have provided ammunition for pro-independence international lobbying. Notwithstanding a highly constrained political environment, activists continue to demonstrate after nearly 6 decades of Indonesian rule the capacity to mobilise support for independence harnessing issues such as racism. The article examines the Government’s dilemma that the means it has chosen to sustain its authority – an overwhelming military superiority – is one of the factors that fuels Papuan support for independence. What form of governance is possible in democratic Indonesia, when a portion of Papuan society does not consent to Indonesian rule?

摘要

本文探讨了巴布亚独立运动的三个相互关联的组成部分——武装抵抗、政治斗争和国际游说。作为叛乱，巴布亚的武装抵抗是局部的、零星的，不会威胁到印度尼西亚的控制。印度尼西亚对武装抵抗和和平抵抗的主要军事反应使巴布亚冲突中的暴力比武装抵抗团体的能力所暗示的更为重要。印度尼西亚的大规模军事部署和相关的侵犯人权行为为支持独立的国际游说提供了弹药。尽管政治环境受到高度限制，但在印度尼西亚统治近 6 年之后，活动家们继续展示利用种族主义等问题动员支持独立的能力。文章考察了政府的困境，即它选择维持其权威的手段——压倒性的军事优势——是推动巴布亚人支持独立的因素之一。当巴布亚社会的一部分不同意印度尼西亚的统治时，在民主的印度尼西亚，什么形式的治理是可能的？