Conflict Management in Indonesia – An Analysis of the Conflicts in ...

Figure 1: Map of Papua
Courtesy of the Coordination Agency National Survey and Mapping (Bakosurtanal) and the Central Statistic Bureau (Badan Pusat Statistik),
Republic of Indonesia, 2011.
People’s Command (Trikora)” to “liberate” Papuans
and to thwart the establishment of a “State of Papua”. 66
Papua was to be integrated in the Unitary State of
the Republic of Indonesia.
The Indonesian National Army (Tentara Nasional
Indonesia or TNI) soon realised that Papuans did not
want to be “liberated”. Although in some regions,
such as Kaimana and Fakfak, Papuans supported
the integration of Papua into Indonesia, in most
regions they faced resistance from the Papuan
Volunteer Corps (PVC), an armed unit set up in
1961 to defend Papua against the TNI. 67
In the context of the Cold War and the fear of
Indonesia joining the communist block, the United
States lobbied other Western governments to stop
supporting the Dutch policy on Papua. The Dutch
finally agreed to a political solution, partly because
the TNI dropped 1500 paratroopers into Papua to
set an example of Indonesia’s military strength. 68
In 1962 the Dutch and Indonesian Governments
concluded the New York Agreement, which
required the Dutch to leave Papua and transfer
sovereignty to the United Nations Temporary
Executive Authority (UNTEA) for a period of six
years until a vote could be conducted to determine
Papuans’ preference for either independence, or
integration with Indonesia. Not having been a party
to the New York Agreement negotiations, many
Papuans were displeased and immediately stepped
up efforts to reach independence. One manifestation
of this desire was the emergence of the Papua
Freedom Organisation (Organisasi Papua Merdeka
or OPM) in 1965. 69 Primarily engaging in low-level
66 The Trikora stated: Defeat the formation of the puppet state of Papua
of Dutch colonial make; Unfurl the Honoured Red and White Flag
in Papua, Indonesian native land; Be ready for general mobilisation
to defend the independence and unity of Country and Nation.
67 The Papuan Volunteer Corps (sometimes also called Papuan Volunteer
Defence Forces) was dissolved in 1963 when UNTEA left Papua. Many
of its members joined the OPM when it was founded in 1965. See:
www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/past/unsfbackgr.html.
68 Elmslie, Jim, Irian Jaya under the gun: Indonesian economic development
versus West Papuan nationalism, (Honululu: University of
Hawai’i Press, 2002), p.19.
69 Some say that the OPM was founded in 1964. For example: Tan,
Andrew (Ed.) 2, A handbook of terrorism and insurgency in Southeast
Asia, (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2007).
An Analysis of the Conflicts in Maluku, Papua and Poso
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