This stillness,this lack of incident: making conflict visible in West Papua

This article examines how the ongoing conflict in West Papua between state security forces and Papuan independence activists is made visible in activist social media postings in their attempts to draw attention to the violence, abuses, and problems in Indonesia’s easternmost province. The use of social media may provide new avenues for raising awareness about the conflict and its consequences. However, a social media strategy that contrasts the innocence and justness of the Papuan people with the violence and barbarity of other Indonesian peoples and the state risks entrenching established tropes which may serve to discourage broader support for West Papuan pleas for justice and independence.