The politics of history in West Papua - Indonesia conflict

This study examines how history is used as a source of legitimacy and a political instrument in the sectarian conflict between the Indonesian government and the West Papua nationalists. This paper explores the debate surrounding two historical aspects relevant to West Papua's demand for independence: first, West New Guinea's past as part of the Dutch colony and its relations with Indonesia and second, the 1969 referendum, the so-called Act of Free Choice, to decide West Papua's fate. The Indonesian democratization in 1998 provided momentum to revise the narration of West Papua's history. Democracy has empowered the Papuans as the victims of a power struggle to challenge the previous Indonesia's monolithic narration of history. The Papuans' alternative narration of history also serves as a medium of liberation from oppression by the Indonesian government. The Papuan story counters the theory that the narration of history is a privilege of the ruler and the winner.