ABSTRACT
This chapter exposes Indonesian counter-terrorism operations in TimorLeste and West Papua as state terror. It highlights the continua of state terror across time and regions, from physical violations including the killing of civilians, to environmental destruction, to the building of communities of fear and suspicion. In doing so, the chapter illustrates how state terror has enhanced Indonesia’s position in the global political, ideological and economic order. In particular, it shows how Indonesian terror strategies have been made acceptable to, and supported by, powerful states and corporations. Presented here are five features of Indonesian counter-terrorism operations that have maintained terror for those in Timor-Leste and West Papua. First, Indonesia has been able to portray counter-terrorism operations as being focused events while, in reality, state actions have terrorized many civilians; second, through the overt public violation of bodies and landscapes, Indonesian officials have created community terror; third, through discourse control, Indonesia has fed local mistrust and facilitated the denial of terror at local, regional and international levels; fourth, by engaging Timorese and Papuan people in violations, Indonesia has collectivized terror; and, finally, through the lack of legal protection afforded to West Papuans and Timorese, terror has been built through impunity. Taken together, these strategies have meant that local populations have been terrorized over decades; few Timorese or Papuans have been exempt. Yet this situation has been challenged in myriad ways. At a local level, activists have engaged in campaigns for cultural and social recognition, they have protested at key sites and endured the consequences of calling for independence. Beyond borders, Timorese and Papuan people have engaged with others to raise awareness, employ legal actions and build international support for their cause. They have demonstrated that, even in bleak circumstances, there is scope and appetite for political mobilization and resistance.
