West Papua Project
About the West Papua Project
Primary Goal
This project seeks to promote peaceful dialogue between the people of West Papua and Indonesia, and to promote conflict resolution as a viable alternative to the current and escalating conflict.
Objectives
- Establish relevant links with NGOs, academics and parliamentarians in Australia, West Papua and Indonesia. The resulting networks will serve as a conduit for the dissemination of public information and as a key source of support for conflict resolution.
- Raise public awareness of the conflict between West Papua and Indonesia with particular reference to the human rights implications and the threat to the stability of the South Pacific region.
Project description
This project aims to put in place concrete strategies to achieve the goal of peaceful dialogue between Indonesia and West Papua. These strategies will consist of strengthening networks, addressing the information deficit on West Papua through research and a public awareness campaign, and promoting education on conflict resolution. The project will be coordinated in collaboration with various key players, including: the Research School for Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University, the University of New South Wales, the International Commission of Jurists and the Australian West Papua Association.
Papua Desk
The Papua Desk is a newly established clearing house of concise briefing papers covering many critical aspects of the economy, politics and society in West Papua. Its aim is to provide current, academically formatted information for the use of clients in non-government groups, academia, the media and politics. Full Mission Statement can be found here
Contacts:
Dr. Jim Elmslie, Papua Desk Executive Officer,
Dr. Peter King, Professor/Research Associate in Government and International Relations,
Current Briefs:
- The New Threat to West Papua’s Forests – Oil palm Plantations
Joe Collins - The HIV/AIDS Pandemic in West Papua
Amanda Freund - West Papua and New Zealand Foreign Policy
Maire Leadbeater - Demographic Transition in West Papua and Claims of Genocide
Jim Elmslie
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| Brimob mobile paramilitary police–and future victims? | The peak of Puncak Jaya in the central highlands of West Papua | High and Low: Indonesian soldier and Papuan street vendors, Jayapura |
Workshops and Position Papers on Peace Building in Papua
From 2001-2005 four Project workshops were held, bringing together dozens of representatives from a cross-section of West Papuan society, plus Australian and Indonesian participants, to deliver a clear message of the need for peace in Papua through collective dialogue. An account of these workshops together with their outcomes may be found in Position Papers 2-5 below. The workshops were made possible by generous grants from the Myer Foundation, the University of Sydney, the Uniting Church and other church groups.
- West Papua Project position paper 1:
Peaceful Dialogues over West Papua: the Design of a Way Forward,
March 2001 - West Papua Project position paper 2:
Exploring the Prospects of Peace with Justice: Report on a Workshop and Future Plans,
September 2001 - West Papua Project position paper 3:
West Papua: Reconciliation as a Way of Promoting Peace Dialogue,
May 2002 - West Papua Project position paper 4:
Reconciliation and Consolidation Among Papuans: Report on Workshop III,
January 2003. (revised April 2004) - West Papua Project position paper 5:
Peacebuilding and Development in West Papua – Dialogue versus Violence: Hearing other Voices. Report of Workshop IV,
August 2004
West Papua Conference
On August 9 & 10, Indonesian Solidarity in association with the West Papua Project (CPACS), organised a conference on West Papua 2007: Paths to Justice and Prosperity. The convenors (Eko Waluyo and Peter King) have made the conference program and associated papers, presentations and a report on the conference available.
- Conference Program:
West Papua 2007– Paths to Justice and Prosperity. - Papers:
Implementation of the Special Autonomy Law in West Papua
Agus A. Alua, chairman of MRP - Australia's Foreign Policy towards Indonesia, especially West Papua
Dr Clinton Fernandes - West Papua: Genocide, Demographic Change, the Issue of ‘Intent’, and the Australia-Indonesia Security Treaty.
Dr. Jim Elmslie - Decolonization Without Independence
John O Ondawame - International Solidarity for Papua
Professor Peter King - Conference Report:
Peacewrites
Peter King.
Human rights in West Papua: Recent Reports for the West Papua Project
Jim Elmslie with Peter King and Jake Lynch – Report:
Blundering In? The Australia-Indonesia security treaty and the humanitarian crisis in West Papua
CPACS, The University of Sydney, March 2007
(A new report from the West Papua Project on military abuses in the Papuan
highlands and the Australian government's dubious role in its new security treaty with Indonesia.)
John Wing with Peter King – Report:
Genocide in West Papua? The role of the Indonesian state apparatus and a current needs assessment of the Papuan people report prepared for the West Papua Project and ELSHAM Jayapura, CPACS, The University of Sydney, August 2005
(This report, based on risky field work in Papua and launched in the national parliament, was immediately picked up by media and parliaments around the world and continues to reverberate.)
Link to Submissions and Testimony by Jim Elmslie, Peter King, Paula Makabory and Benny Giay on the Agreement between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the Framework for Security Cooperation
(The Lombok Treaty, November 2006): Submissions and Testimony
Personnel
- Coordinator:
Mr John Wing - Conveners:
and
- CPACS Director: Associate Professor Jake Lynch
- CPACS Administration Officer:
- Papua Representative: Dr Benny Giay (ELSHAM, Jayapura)
- US Representative: John Rumbiak (Kaplan Foundation, New York);
- Vanuatu Representative: Dr John Ondawame
- Fiji Representative: Rex Rumakiek
- Indonesia Representative: Dr George Aditjondro (Jogjakarta)
Patrons
- Dr Meredith Burgmann: Former President, Legislative Council of NSW
- Professor Tim Flannery: Division of Environmental and Life Sciences, Macquarie University
Steering Group for June 2007
- John Wing (Chair, Coordinator): Research Fellow, CPACS
- Jake Lynch: CPACS
- Stuart Rees: Sydney Peace Foundation
- Peter King: Government and International Relations
- Joe Collins, Ann Noonan: Australia West Papua Association
- Jim Elmslie: Research Fellow, CPACS
- Paula Makabory: Institute for Papuan Advocacy & Human Rights (Australia) and ELSHAM Papua
- Clinton Frenandes, Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales
Books by West Papua Project Members
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- Denise Leith, The Politics of Power: Freeport in Suharto’s Indonesia, University of Hawaii Press, 2002
- Jim Elmslie, Irian Jaya Under the Gun: Indonesian Economic Development Versus West Papuan Nationalism, University of Hawaii Press, 2002
- Peter King, West Papua and Indonesia since Suharto: Independence, Autonomy or Chaos? UNSW Press, 2004
- Clinton Fernandes, Reluctant Indonesians: Australia, Iindonesia and the Future of West Papua, Scribe Publications, Melbourne, 2006
Map of West Papua and surrounding area
(Click on the map to download PDF)
