Arnold Clemens Ap (born July 1, 1946, in Numfor Island, Netherlands New Guinea – died April 26, 1984, in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, Indonesia) was a West Papuan cultural leader, anthropologist and musician.
At the time of Ap's death, strong attempts by the New Order government were being made to unify Indonesian peoples under a more Javanese culture.
[3] In November 1983, he was arrested by the Indonesian military special forces Kopassus and imprisoned and tortured for suspected sympathies with the Free Papua Movement, although no charges were laid.
Arnold Ap and Mambesak are still popular in West Papua region, and their works are seen as symbols of Papuan identity.
According to Danilyn Rutherford, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago, as of 2002 access to limited cultural expressivity facilitates images of tolerance and "unity in diversity," the official national motto.