Crossing the Border
West Papuan Refugees and Self-determination of Peoples
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West Papuan nationalism is located at the intersection between two historical processes. It is the struggle of the people of what was the non-self-governing territory of Dutch New Guinea which, because of a unique de-colonizing history, did not lead to independence or some other self-determined political configuration, but to integration into Indonesia through a process which instilled in West Papuans a firmly held belief in their right to self-determination. Reflecting the ideology of the decolonizing period and their experience of alienation and oppression under Indonesian rule, West Papuans tend to identify their belief in their right of self-determination with the aspiration for an independent state. But an approach to the problem of resolving the conflict in Irian Jaya underlying the 1984 refugee influx (and Papua New Guinea’s border problem), can now best be made through the new discourse on self-determination reflecting a new generation of self-determination claims. The West Papuan people occupy a clearly bounded territory consisting of traditional homelands in which they are still the majority population, although continuing transmigration of Indonesians from other provinces could change that. Expediency caused the international community to allow the integration of West New Guinea into Indonesia without the safeguards the UN had prescribed. A people promised the right of self-determination was converted by sleight of hand, into a minority within the Republic of Indonesia with no recourse to international law.
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About the Book
The West Papuan claim to the right of self-determination was denied by a series of political acts by the United States, the Netherlands, Indonesia and the United Nations, in the 1960s. The result was the spasmodic flight of thousands of refugees over the next two decades. Today, the task of containment of West Papuan discontent continues. In a thesis divided into four distinct sections, Dr. Alan Smith presents enlightening insight into the 1984-85 refugee crisis; details Papua New Guinea’s responses to the crisis; focuses on the underlying causes of the refugee influx and the limited prospects for achieving a solution; and argues that solutions to problems stemming from the crisis require the development of an authoritative international procedure for treating frustrated self-determination claims. Finally, Dr. Smith shares his views on the UN’s involvement with the claims of indigenous peoples for self-determination and how it represents a unique opportunity for achievement. Crossing the Border is a thesis that utilizes thorough research to examine both the West Papuans’ self-determination rights as well as their rights as refugees.
About the Author
Alan E. D. Smith was born in Perth, Australia, later migrated to Melbourne with his family, and eventually worked in Papua New Guinea, where he became engaged in the West Papua self-determination issue and was subsequently expelled. After earning a PhD from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, he worked in Thailand and Myanmar on political and social issues in Myanmar. Now retired, Dr. Smith lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.