81st Independence Day: UNIPA Academic Says Peace Is Key to Papua's Progress

The commemoration of the 81st Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia is a momentum to strengthen the spirit of unity in developing Papua amid the diversity of society and the complexity of development challenges.

Universitas Papua (UNIPA) academic Dr Hendrik Arwam said Papua’s development cannot rely solely on infrastructure development and economic growth. The most important foundation that must continue to be strengthened is peace and mutual trust within society.

“Development requires peace. Without peace, it is difficult for communities to build a future together. Therefore, the spirit of unity must continue to be nurtured in every Papuan,” Hendrik said in his reflection on the 81st Anniversary of Indonesian Independence.

According to Hendrik, Papua has a highly diverse social character. Differences in ethnicity, language, culture, religion and social background are assets that should become energy for development, not a source of division.

He assessed that Papua’s diversity needs to be managed as a social strength. Development will not run optimally if society is still burdened by prejudice, distrust or horizontal conflict.

“Papua has extraordinary diversity. These differences should not be seen as a weakness. On the contrary, diversity must become social capital to build Papua together,” he said.

Hendrik assessed that mutual trust among members of society is one of the most important assets for Papua to move forward. Trust will strengthen collaboration between communities, government, the education sector, business actors, religious leaders, traditional leaders and the younger generation.

“If we trust each other, we can work together. If trust is lost, no matter how good a development programme is, it will be difficult to gain community support,” he said.

According to him, Papua’s development must be placed within a human development framework. Communities are not merely recipients of policy, but must be part of the process of formulating, implementing and overseeing development.

“Development must create a sense of ownership. Communities need to feel that development is a shared asset, not something that comes from outside and whose results they merely receive,” Hendrik said.