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This paper intends to (a) analyze whether the conflict in Papua meets the requirements to be categorized as a non-international armed conflict (NIAC) and (b) analyze the legality of the involvement of Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI) in the Papuan conflict using the principles found in international human rights law and international humanitarian law. This normative juridical research employs the conceptual, statutory, and comparative approaches. The results of the study indicate that the threshold of NIAC has not been met in the Papuan conflict, especially the requirements for determining the organized armed groups, as well as the intensity of attacks. Attacks in Papua are sporadic, disorganized, disjointed, and conducted without a clear chain of command. Considering the NIAC status, which has not been achieved, what is then applicable in the Papuan conflict is law enforcement operation under international human rights law as opposed to conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law. Under the standards of law enforcement operation, the involvement of TNI in the law enforcement operation against criminal armed groups is not absolutely prohibited as long as it satisfies the principles of law enforcement operation, namely legality, proportionality, accountability, necessity, and precautionary in carrying out their operations. This study establishes that the involvement of TNI in law enforcement operations against the KKB in Papua has not satisfied the aforesaid principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia, a diverse and sprawling archipelago nation, is a place where modernity often intersects with tradition, especially in certain parts of the area broadly known to the outside world as Papua. This article analyzes how the Indonesian Constitutional Court has upheld legal pluralism through noken, a traditional voting model used in elections in remote, mountainous parts of Papua in easternmost Indonesia. Legal pluralism, defined as the coexistence of multiple legal systems or norms within a single society, is a concept deeply embedded in the Indonesian legal landscape. The noken system includes a method where tribal chiefs or community leaders vote on behalf of their entire local area, after consensus is reached in a community meeting, with the votes being placed in a traditional woven bag, called a noken. Although the noken system differs from the universal suffrage model applied by the Indonesian Election Law, its constitutionality is guaranteed under a landmark decision handed down by the Indonesian Constitutional Court in 2009. That decision reinforced the validity of legal pluralism in Indonesia, including in elections. However, the Constitutional Court subsequently limited the constitutionality of implementing the noken system as Papuan society gradually transitions to the national electoral system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is one of the world's main problems, which has been very difficult to overcome. The poverty rate has influences on economic growth in an area. The greater the poverty rate in an area, the more difficult it is for an area to grow economically. Many factors affect the level of poverty. Geographical location, level of education, population growth in each region, significantly affect the poverty level. The many factors that affect the poverty level make it difficult for us to predict which factors will influence the level of poverty in an area, making it difficult for us to solve the problem. This research was made to predict what factors influence the level of poverty in Papua, Indonesia. This study uses a Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) method due to the existence of spatial heterogeneity. It produces model estimates that are local for each location and different from other locations to get a model with the most influential factors in each region. The results of this study are as follows. First, agricultural employees affected the poverty rate in each location in Papua. Second, house area and households with access to safe water are significant variables in Yapen, Biak Numfor, and Supiori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The usefulness of female genitalia as diagnostic character in Talanga since their signa structures are species specific. • A new endemic species Talanga horake is a new to science. • An identification key of Indonesian Talanga based on external morphology and female genitalia characters. Six species of the genus Talanga Moore 1855 are re-described based on both morphological and genitalia characters. T. tolumnialis Walker is not included due to the lack of available of material. Morphological characters such as a tapering, oblique outwardly antemedial band on the forewing and two black metallic spots externally bordered by similar minute interciliar spots on the hindwing, are proposed as the most appropriate characters to define the genus Talanga. The study also reveals that certain genitalia characters, such as a spatula-shaped uncus, a simple valva with a medial rod-like plate, a long cylindrical phallus without cornuti, a bundle of pencil hairs at the coremata base in male genitalia, and a pair of ovate or circular signa medially bearing denticles in female genitalia, are also diagnostic of this genus. The description of a new endemic species from Foja Mountain, Talanga horakae sp. nov. , is presented, as well as an identification key to Indonesian species, and images of adults and genitalia of the studied species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia has the third highest number of tuberculosis (TB) patients infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) Lineage 1 (L1). Most of these MTB L1 cases can be found in Indonesia's remote easternmost province of Papua, one of Indonesia's most underdeveloped provinces with a particularly high burden for TB. In this study, we sequenced and described 42 MTB L1 isolates from a well-characterized cohort of patients. We found a genetically diverse MTB L1 population with no association between pathogen genetic relatedness and place of residence or pathogen genetic relatedness and patient ethnicity, which could reflect mixing between different locales and ethnicities or our low sampling fraction. Only a small number showed genetic variants associated with drug resistance (5/42, 11.9 %), probably due to a lack of effective treatment programs. The Papuan isolates showed similarities to other Island Southeast Asian Countries due to the high proportion of L1.2.1.2.1 (30/42, 71.4 %), especially East Timor and the Philippines. This study fills a research gap of MTB L1 in Indonesian Papua and should serve as a stepping stone for further research in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health development in the Papua region often lags behind other areas of Indonesia. The study aims to analyze the role of government-run insurance in primary health care utilization in the Papua region, Indonesia. The study examined 17,879 Papuan. The study used primary health care utilization as an outcome variable and health insurance ownership as an exposure variable. The study also employed nine control variables: province, residence, age, gender, marital status, education, employment, wealth, and travel time to primary health care. The research employed data using binary logistic regression in the final analysis. The results show that Papuans with government-run insurance were three times more likely to utilize primary health care than uninsured Papuans (AOR 3.081; 95% CI 3.026-3.137). Meanwhile, Papuan with private-run insurance were 0.133 times less likely to utilize primary health care than uninsured Papuans (AOR 0.133; 95% CI 0.109-0.164). Moreover, Papuans who have two types of health insurances (government-run and private-run) were 1.5 times more likely to utilize the primary health care than uninsured Papuan (AOR 1.513; 95% CI 1.393-1.644). The study concluded that government-run insurance increases the chance of primary health care utilization in the Papua region, Indonesia. Government-run insurance has the most prominent role compared to other health insurance categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Students' learning motivation is an important matter to consider along with the teaching motivation, especially for the remote and uncovered area from the educational context. The purpose of this research was to determine the results of a case study of the learning motivation of elementary school students in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia. Method: This qualitative research used the case study approach. The researchers collected the data from in-depth interviews, observation, a document study, respondents, such as the parents, students, educational workers, and principals. The data analysis technique used the methodological triangulation technique to ensure the validity and credibility of the data. Findings: The results showed two considerable aspects to create qualified human resources to contribute to Papua establishment. They were intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations from the students since the elementary school. The extrinsic factor dominated and influenced the intrinsic factor within the Papua context. The policymakers of the Papua establishment and education should accommodate and mobilize both extrinsic and intrinsic needs of students. Implications for Research and Practice: The students' motivations to learn are improved, especially in Papua. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many plants in New Guinean rainforest have relatively larger fruits than those in other tropical forests and may depend on large animal dispersers, but little is known about the impacts of forest disturbance, especially logging, on the species composition and abundance of these trees. In order to provide a baseline for the understanding of their vulnerability, we counted fruiting plants and measured habitat parameters in primary and human-altered habitats in the little studied lowland forest of northern Papua, Indonesia. During the surveys coinciding with peak fruit season, eighty-nine species were recorded in fruit, with 71 species in 24 families known to be consumed by birds, and most of them (97%) were trees. The diversity of bird-consumed fruiting plants differed among the habitat types and was highest in undisturbed primary forest and hunted primary forest. Secondary forests still had a high number of species and individuals but were dominated by light demanding plants and a low number of uniquely found species. Logged forest and agricultural habitats showed only a low abundance of bird-consumed fruiting plants, being about 2-3 times lower than in primary forests. Plants with large sized fruits (diam. > 20 mm) were mainly found in primary forests, confirming their importance for maintaining interactions between large frugivorous birds and plants that are of relevance for forest regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to examine the impact of improved road infrastructure on the livelihoods of indigenous Papuans in Indonesia. Using field-based investigations in two Trans-Papua road corridors in two provinces, and interviews with 110 informants, the findings show that while roads provide greater access for indigenous Papuans to local markets and to basic health and education services, they also increase access to consumable goods, increasing economic inequality and tensions between indigenous and migrant groups. The findings also confirm negative environmental impacts of these Trans-Papua roads, due to a rise in consumption of natural resources. The study suggests that the government needs to reconsider the focus of its infrastructure development strategies in Papua, from accelerating economic growth ("commodities") to improving the livelihood and access of indigenous Papuans to basic services ("communities"). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many plants in New Guinean rainforest have relatively larger fruits than those in other tropical forests and may depend on large animal dispersers, but little is known about the impacts of forest disturbance, especially logging, on the species composition and abundance of these trees. In order to provide a baseline for the understanding of their vulnerability, we counted fruiting plants and measured habitat parameters in primary and human-altered habitats in the little studied lowland forest of northern Papua, Indonesia. During the surveys coinciding with peak fruit season, eighty-nine species were recorded in fruit, with 71 species in 24 families known to be consumed by birds, and most of them (97%) were trees. The diversity of bird-consumed fruiting plants differed among the habitat types and was highest in undisturbed primary forest and hunted primary forest. Secondary forests still had a high number of species and individuals but were dominated by light demanding plants and a low number of uniquely found species. Logged forest and agricultural habitats showed only a low abundance of bird-consumed fruiting plants, being about 2-3 times lower than in primary forests. Plants with large sized fruits (diam. > 20 mm) were mainly found in primary forests, confirming their importance for maintaining interactions between large frugivorous birds and plants that are of relevance for forest regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia gained its independence in 1945, and in the 1960 s, Papua was approved, de jure, by the United Nations as part of Indonesia. However, since its integration to Indonesia, racism, stigmatization, and violence have been part of Papua's history. The present study was designed to understand the meaning of Indonesia and being Indonesian as perceived by indigenous Papuans, and how they perceive social change. We interviewed 63 Papuans who lived in Papua, North Sulawesi, and Java Island, and used thematic analysis to organize and describe the data. We found that, despite feelings of disappointment found among Papuan participants how the majority of Indonesians treat and negatively perceive the Papuans, many of them still consider themselves as Indonesians. Their concern is that, if Papua is indeed considered part of Indonesia, and Papuans are also called Indonesians, they asked to be treated like other citizens equally. In terms of social change, there is an improvement in Papuan infrastructures, but this development is considered slower compared to other regions. We suggest that in order to build trust, peace, and justice in Papua, it is better to start treating the Papuans like other Indonesians equally, consider criticism as a reminder to treat them better, and investigate seriously human rights violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the enactment of its post-war Constitution, Indonesia has recognized asymmetry as an important tool to accommodate and manage the complexity of its population and its regional diversity, while at the same time retaining its unitary character. Indonesia has 260 million people, 300 ethnic groups, a large number of islands and 34 major provinces. The founders of the Indonesian state had to strike a balance between harnessing an integrated national political culture and recognizing the complexity and unique characteristics of its regions. Under the current Constitution, therefore, five of Indonesia's 34 provinces have special status with asymmetrical powers and functions. Each of the special regions has a unique background and circumstance that, in some cases, predates the existence of the Indonesian state. Although asymmetric decentralization adds complexity to the administration of the Indonesian state, it keeps the country together by allowing constitutional space for regional uniqueness, managing the stresses that arise in deeply divided societies. Indonesia's combination of symmetry and asymmetry provides unique lessons for other countries trying to strike a balance between unity and recognition of diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Papua hosts a 4000-km highway for national economic and social integration. • This 'development corridor' is shifting conservation and development dynamics. • Peatland conservation, customary land rights, and forest integrity are affected. • Gubernatorial planning intervention is an interim measure prior to planning reform. Abstract The island of New Guinea harbours one of the world's largest tracts of intact tropical forest, with 41% of its land area in Indonesian Papua (Papua and Papua Barat Provinces). Within Papua, the advent of a 4000-km 'development corridor' reflects a national agenda promoting primary-resource extraction and economic integration. Papua, a resource frontier containing vast forest and mineral resources, increasingly exhibits new conservation and development dynamics suggestive of the earlier frontier development phases of other Indonesian regions. Local environmental and social considerations have been discounted in the headlong rush to establish the corridor and secure access to natural resources. Peatland and forest conversion are increasingly extensive within the epicentres of economic development. Deforestation frontiers are emerging along parts of the expanding development corridor, including within the Lorentz World Heritage Site. Customary land rights for Papua's indigenous people remain an afterthought to resource development, fomenting conditions contrary to conservation and sustainable development. A centralised development agenda within Indonesia underlies virtually all of these changes. We recommend specific actions to address the environmental, economic, and socio-political challenges of frontier development along the Papuan corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For five decades Tanah Papua, or the West Papua half of the island of New Guinea on the intersection of Asia and the Pacific, has been a critical issue for the region with a majority of the Melanesian population supporting self-determination, and ultimately independence. While being prepared for eventual post-war independence by the Dutch colonial authorities, Indonesian paratroopers and marines invaded the territory in 1962 in an ill-fated military expedition dubbed Operation Trikora ('People's Triple Command'). However, this eventually led to the so-called Act of Free Choice in 1969 under the auspices of the United Nations in a sham referendum dubbed by critics as an 'Act of No Choice' which has been disputed ever since as a legal basis for Indonesian colonialism. A low-level insurgency waged by the OPM (Free West Papua Movement) has also continued and Jakarta maintains its control through the politics of oppression and internal migration. For more than five decades, the legacy media in New Zealand have largely ignored this issue on their doorstep, preferring to give attention to Fiji and a so-called coup culture instead. In the past five years, social media have contributed to a dramatic upsurge of global awareness about West Papua but still the New Zealand legacy media have failed to take heed. This article also briefly introduces other Asia-Pacific political issues- such as Kanaky, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinean university student unrest, the militarisation of the Mariana Islands and the Pacific's Nuclear Zero lawsuit against the nine nuclear powers-ignored by a New Zealand media that has no serious tradition of independent foreign correspondence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent experiences with truth and reconciliation processes in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific suggest that there is a role for historical research and memory in helping to build sustainable peace and stability in new nations--and conversely, that ignoring violent pasts undermines peacebuilding efforts. Two truth commissions have operated in this region, in Timor-Leste (East Timor) and Solomon Islands. There are also calls for truth and reconciliation processes in Indonesia at the national and local levels, including in (West) Papua. As the onlyWestern developed country to have held a full truth commission, Canada could play a powerful role in promoting and supporting mutual dialogue on the implementation of truth and reconciliation outside its borders. We can derive both potential lessons and recommendations for Canadian action to promote truth and reconciliation processes from the cases of Indonesia, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new tiger beetles species, Polyrhanis dabraensis sp. nov., is described from Dabra (Foja mountains region, Papua, New Guinea, Indonesia). Its elytral markings are similar to those of Polyrhanis funerata and P. barbata, but it is much smaller and its anteapical spot is more expanded on the disc and is connected with the apical lunule. The aedeagus has a thin straight hook (spur) directed perpendicularly on the dorsal side, like that of P. io, P. innocentior, P. excisilabris, P. olthofi, and P. vannideki. It is easily recognized by its distinctive elytral markings and small body size. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Handedness is a heritable trait, and left-handedness is related with increased fitness costs. Left-handedness persists, however, as a minority in every human population investigated. One explanation for this persistence has been put forward in the fighting hypothesis, which postulates that left-handers have a frequency-dependent benefit in fights. Support for this has been found in the finding that left-handedness is relatively frequent in populations with high homicide rates, according to estimates of left-handedness partly based on pictures and films made for a different purpose. We measured handedness based on hand preference in 10 ecologically relevant tasks in 621 subjects in the nonindustrial society of the Eipo (Papua, Indonesia) in which homicide rate was very high. This set of tests was validated in 198 Western students. Contrary to the prediction based on the fighting hypothesis, we did not find a high frequency of left-handedness or a difference between men (who participate in warfare) and women (who do not). These findings challenge the idea that fighting is the driving evolutionary force for the persistence of left-handedness in human populations. Furthermore, we found lower percentages of left- and mixed-handers compared to a Western population who executed the same tasks. Since left-handedness is associated with health problems, we suggest that in a society lacking Western health care, selection pressures against left-handedness may be more intense and therefore its frequency may be reduced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Chloroquine (CQ)-resistant Plasmodium vivax was first documented in 1989 and threatens much of eastern Indonesia, with>50% of therapeutic failure rates. We screened 2236 subjects for malaria infection through active case detection and identified 232 infected cases with 100 subjects carried P. vivax mono infection. We prospectively evaluated therapeutic responses to CQ in 73 subjects infected by P. vivax in northeastern Papua, Indonesia. We phenotyped these infections as susceptible or resistant to CQ using a 28-day in vivo test format. Eighteen subjects (25%) had persistent or recurrent parasitemia during the test and were provisionally classified as resistant. Among the remainder, 46 (63%) subjects had no persistent or recurrent parasitemia and were classified as having infections sensitive to CQ, 4 were lost to follow up, and 5 dropped out. Among the 18 provisionally resistant cases, 1 subject (6%) had persistent parasitemia at Day 3 and was considered as a direct treatment failure, 2 subjects (11%) had recurrent parasitemia by Day 7 and were considered early treatment failures, and 7 (39%) and 8 (44%) had recurrent parasitemia by Days 14 and 28, respectively. Analysis of blood for CQ+N-desethylchloroquine (DCQ) levels on day of recurrence from 15 of the 18 with treatment failures showed 11 subjects having CQ+DCQ blood levels⩾100ng/ml and 2 with CQ+DCQ blood levels<100ng/ml. The 28-day cumulative incidence of therapeutic failure likely due to parasite resistance was 17.5%. These findings affirm P. vivax resistance to CQ in eastern Indonesia, albeit at lower levels than reported elsewhere. This simple means of phenotyping P. vivax infections could be implemented in other malaria endemic areas of Indonesia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article investigates the trends of sexually transmissible infections (STI) among newly-arrived female sex workers (FSW) in Timika, Indonesia with whom many single and migrant men at Timika's Papua gold mine have sex frequently. The prevalence and causes of several types of STIs were identified among FSWs who were recruited between 1997-2002 including gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. It showed that STIs were associated with younger age, the frequency of sexual activity and the non-usage of contraceptive. It recommends enhanced interventions and a periodic presumptive treatment for these FSWs through a sustainable intervention program in partnership with the mining industry.

Abstract. The names commonly applied to the ethnic group of the Kau until now have been determined by non-emic denotations. Besides this fact, concepts constitutive for the ethnic consciousness of the Kau will be dealt with. They take a significant position in the development of strategies for coping with the social environment in which the group is embedded. These concepts are transmitted through principles analogically coded into mythical motifs. In mythical presentations these ideas are passed on and conserved in a society. This process will be exemplified by means of Kau myths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the particular way on understanding Indonesia through political elites in Ambon and Papua and making them the focus of research. It mentions that the ruling of Dutch with patterns of religious conversion, education policies, and administrative structures of the colonial period have influenced the members of the Ambrose and Papuan on the way they perceived of being Indonesian and reacted the formation of Indonesian. It states that their responses were not consistent and no relation on the pattern of political developments in Ambon and Papua.

Educational school trips may contribute to student visitors' cultural identity by facilitating exposure to new cultural values. This study sought to analyse how native Papuan student visitors from a secondary school in Indonesia make meaning of their own cultural identity, and further, explore their responses to the cultural issues faced by young Papuan generations. The study employed a grounded qualitative methodology, which allowed respondents to voice their own opinions on cultural identity. The results include 3 themes: Becoming more Papuan; Clarifying and understanding the cultural context and; Self-reflection. This study reveals how students in the trips conceptualize cultural understanding as a bridge to their cultural identity. Furthermore, they brought the larger ideas of Papuan identity and community values and demonstrated intention to maintain it through conservation and preservation. Several recommendations are provided for future research in the tourism and education fields to foster cultural experiences for student visitors from different cultural backgrounds. • Exposures cultural attributes influence the way students identify and refer to themselves as part of culture. • The concept to preservation highlighted; concern about issues of cultural identity and its degradation. • Collaboration needed in designing and developing an integrated approach to curriculum and cultural identity materials. • Cultural trips are perceived as cultural bridge to recognize cultural identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]