Abstract
In this response we critique Cahyo Pamungkas and Yogi Setya Permana’s proposal to see military repression in West Papua as a result of two equal factors: fear of Papuan independence and Papuan fear of military repression. They argue this in the article titled “The Role of Fear and Memory in West Papua’s Ethnonationalist Conflict,” published in this journal in volume 97 (1) in March 2024. While we applaud their effort at investigating the emotional aspects of the West Papua conflict, juxtaposing these two forms of fear to explain the cycle of violence in Indonesia’s easternmost region fails to reflect the reality of the situation. In this article we suggest several other paths to develop a deeper comprehension of fear in Papua. Such investigations will also show the need for a shift in the general perspective on the resolution of the Papua conflict.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 605-611 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Pacific Affairs |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 29 May 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2024 |
Keywords
- chameleon politics
- fear
- Indonesian military
- memoria passionis (collective memory of suffering)
- West Papua conflict