Silas Papare

Silas Papare (18 December 1918 – 7 March 1973) was a Papuan guerilla leader who organised a rebellion by a Papuan battalion of the Dutch army in December 1945. The rebellion was crushed the next year.

He founded the Partij Kemerdekaan Irian Indonesia ("Indonesian Irian Independence Party") in November 1946. Papare had adopted the name "Irian" to designate West New Guinea. The word iryan means "steamy" in the Biak language and was used by Frans Kaisiepo, who was the West New Guinea delegate at the Malino Conference in July 1946. Papare was declared National Hero of Indonesia. His name was given to a Parchim-class corvette of the Indonesian Navy.