25 Facts About Silas Papare

Silas Papare became a legislator between 1954 and 1960 and had participated in the Round Table Conference and the New York Agreement.

Silas Papare then began criticizing the Indonesian government's actions in Papua throughout the 1960s and was briefly arrested, though he later returned to the legislative body.

Silas Papare died in 1979, and was made a National Hero in 1993.

Silas Papare enrolled at the local village school at the age of nine and graduated in 1930, working at his parents' farm for a year before pursuing further education at a nurse school in Serui starting in 1931.

Silas Papare was among some of the first to be educated in the Dutch civil servant schools in Papua, which were established in 1944.

Silas Papare organized local resistance against Japanese forces around the Cenderawasih Bay area and provided intelligence to allied forces there, particularly after the Battle of Hollandia.

Silas Papare sent three papuans, Otniel Papare, Abiatur, and Yehuda from Manokwari to allied position in Hollandia to report on Japanese position in Nabire and Manokwari.

Silas Papare headed back to Nau from Serui in torpedo boat to scout Japanese position in Warenai and Sorong and supervised the construction of local defense in 13 days.

From 1 to 14 August 1944, Silas Papare was part of an operation to find and rescue the four man crew of a crashed American B-25 bomber.

Silas Papare was involved in the preparation of the last attack on leftover Japanese position in Cendrawasih Bay, in Post Mowari and Manokwari.

Immediately after the war, once Dutch authorities took over Papua's administration from the Allies, Silas Papare became the head nurse in Serui.

Atmoprasojo, Corinus Krey, Marthen Indey and eventually Silas Papare would be captured and sent to prison in Hollandia.

Silas Papare attained a sort of a messianic reputation locally, regarding being a savior from Dutch colonialism into an imagined utopia under Indonesian rule.

Silas Papare was imprisoned in Serui though was released under pressure of Alwi Rachman his deputy and Serui locals, though he was moved to Biak because the Dutch authorities claimed he suffered memory loss.

Between 1951 and 1954, Silas Papare worked in hospitals in Jakarta, before he was appointed to the Provisional People's Representative Council on 24 March 1954 to replace the deceased Rajiman Wediodiningrat.

In 1953, Indonesian government formed Irian Bureau, where Silas Papare became the first Commissioner, to fight for Indonesia integration and serve as embryo for governorship.

Silas Papare intended to become the future provincial government for Papua.

Silas Papare was reappointed to the Provisional People's Representative Council in 1956, as one of the delegations from Papua.

Silas Papare maintained his parliamentary seat until his pensioning in 1960.

Canadian researcher David Webster claimed that in 1961 Silas Papare told the American Ambassador to Indonesia at the time that he intended to return to Papua to support the growing independence movement, and that he was threatened with arrest for his criticism of Sukarno, despite Silas Papare being considered as the future Indonesian governor of Papua at that time.

Silas Papare was arrested in 1962 during UN administration, though he had been released by 1963 and he returned to the parliament.

Silas Papare was particularly critical of government's military actions in the campaign against the OPM revolts in the mid-1960s.

Silas Papare died on 7 March 1978 in Jakarta, and he was buried in Serui.

Silas Papare was declared a National Hero of Indonesia in 1993.

Silas Papare's name was given to a Parchim-class corvette of the Indonesian Navy, a political school in Jayapura, and as a road name in Serui.