In the wake of US protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a #PapuanLivesMatter discourse has emerged in Indonesia. Indonesians are scrutinising racism against the indigenous populations of Indonesia’s two easternmost provinces, Papua and West Papua, the site of a protracted conflict for independence between sections of Papuan society and the Indonesian government.
The #PapuanLivesMatter campaign follows the massive, sustained anti-racism protests in Papua in August and September 2019, which began after Papuan students in East Java were the targets of racial abuse in the days leading up to Indonesia’s Independence Day.
To discuss racism towards Papuans, its impacts and drivers, Dr Dave McRae chats to Ligia Giay, a PhD candidate at the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University in Perth, and a frequent author on racism against Papuans. She is also part of the team that runs the Voice of Papua newsletter.
The Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Dave McRae from the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, Dr Jemma Purdey from Monash University, Dr Dirk Tomsa from La Trobe University, and Dr Charlotte Setijadi from the Singapore Management University.
Look out for a new Talking Indonesia podcast every fortnight. Catch up on previous episodes here, subscribe via iTunes or listen via your favourite podcasting app.
Photo by Raisan Al Farisi for Antara.
