Violence and Civilian Strategy for Protection in West Papua, Indonesia

Abstract

This article discusses the protection strategy of civilians in West Papua from continued direct violence. Are there initiatives and infrastructure for civilian protection? What is the common protection mechanism the actors share? These questions were explored qualitatively in Jayapura, Sorong, and Wamena in November 2022 and June 2023. By invoking the concept of agency and Joshua Barter's classification of strategy for civilian protection, this article finds that violence and strategies for civilian protection in West Papua are contextualized to local development, geopolitics, and demographic composition between transmigrants and indigenous Papuans. These also determine the agents’ capacity to respond to violence and to build protection strategies. This research contributes the concept of nonpartisan peace voice as a protection strategy. Furthermore, it highlights that a common feature of the protection strategy that the Papuans in Jayapura, Sorong, and Wamena share is the mobilization of both international and local networks.