Free West Papua: The Struggle for Decolonisation, Justice and Merdeka

‘Papua Merdeka,’ also known as Free West Papua, has become a transnationally recognised call to decolonise and demand an independent West Papua from the Indonesian state. The vision for a West Papua free from settler-colonial violence and capitalist encroachment reflects its colonial historical, cultural and geopolitical context, yet it is also undoubtedly interconnected with the global struggle for decolonisation, justice, and liberation. This paper explores the roots of this aspiration by starting with an examination of the Indonesian state’s mechanisms of power and violence in its effort to wield and maintain hegemony as a nationalist regime. Following that is a discussion on West Papuans’ resistance against settler-colonialism, militarisation, and capitalist expropriation, and how the struggle to decolonise their homeland embraces interconnecting facets of merdeka – self-determination, sovereignty, justice, and liberation. Understanding the complexity of intergenerational colonialism and contemporary empire-building as they interact with neoliberal globalisation and nationalist ideals is imperative to deconstruct the multidimensionality of attaining merdeka for West Papua. West Papuans’ struggle for decolonisation is indivisible from collective liberation, and proactive solidarity is integral to dismantle deeply entrenched colonial and neoliberal systems, as well as nation-state boundaries