3 - Marginalization and the Politics of Resistance in Papua

This paper, written partly based on my observations in May 2023 in areas of Sorong, part of the larger Papuan region within Indonesia, though now specifically located in the province of Southwest Papua, demonstrates the continuing marginalization of the Papuans in three analytic aspects: demography, economy and politics. The Papuans in Sorong and in many urban areas have become a minority in their own land. Economically, the expansion of a more capital intensive economy has pushed away the Papuans from the labor market, as most of the jobs opened up have been dominated by the non Papuans. Politically, although the status of Special Autonomy (Otonomi Khusus, Otsus) has given opportunities for the Papuans to fill the top local governmental positions, both at  provincial (provinsi) and the district (kabupaten) levels, the Papuans have generally felt the strong imposition of Jakarta as the center of power and authority. The Papuan reaction to their marginalization in various forms, among others, and perhaps the strongest one is through resistance politics. This paper argues that to understand the dynamic relation between marginalization and the politics of resistance  a re-reading of the history of the process of decolonization from the Dutch and the process of integration within Indonesia is critically important.