TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsAll you need to know about the movement for Papuan self-determination
The recent protests in Papua, West Papua and other regions have brought the issue of a Papuan referendum on self-determination to the fore. What is the history behind the long-running movement?
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Papuan students grouped under the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) hold a protest in front of Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Aug. 28. In the protest, they rejected racial abuse and demanded the government retract the internet blackout in West Papua and Papua. (JP/Donny Fernando)
T
he recent protests in Papua, West Papua and other regions have brought the issue of a Papuan referendum on self-determination to the forefront of the national debate.
The central government has said that a referendum is not an option, with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo saying that the issue of Papuan sovereignty had already been “resolved”.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto has also dismissed calls for a Papuan referendum, despite increasing calls from protesters for self-determination.
“I think that [demands for a referendum] are inappropriate,” he said recently. “The NKRI [the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia] is final.”
But what are the historical roots behind this renewed push for Papuan self-determination? Has the question of Papuan sovereignty truly been resolved?
Colonial times
