Papuan Nationalism Within The Framework of Indonesian Nationalism

Violence, discrimination and racism have remained to be major issues faced by Papuans ever since the independence of Indonesia and the inclusion of Papua in Indonesia’s territory until today. This phenomenon can be seen through various aspects. One of those is the determinant aspect of a country’s existence: nationalism. Within the framework of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, the existence of Papuan nationalism is undeniably still present and alive, even though Indonesian nationalism is the central one in maintaining the pillars of the Indonesian nation and state. This article discusses how Indonesian nationalism positions Papuan people, and vice versa. Furthermore, this article questions whether the Papuan identity is a part of Indonesia’s. The discussion of this article focuses on the developing nationalism discourse, in the hope to overcome the ‘double-nationalism’ in Indonesia when it comes to Papua’s issue, by using Benedict Anderson’s concept of nationalism. Finally, this article addresses a crucial question, which is how to develop the Papuan idea within the framework of Indonesian nationalism.