Category: Benny Wenda

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    The United Liberation Movement of West Papua has blamed the Indonesian military over the attack at a hospital in Kiwirok, near the Papua New Guinean border, in which a nurse was killed.

    Interim president Benny Wenda of the ULMWP has issued a statement in response to accusations by the Indonesian authorities against the West Papuan army, saying that the upsurge in violence is because of the militarisation of the region to protect business and a “destroy them” policy directive from Jakarta against West Papuan resistance.

    Indonesia has accused the West Papuan army of attacking the hospital and killing nurse Gabriella Meliani in Kiwirok.

    But Wenda claimed, according to sources he has spoken to, the clash was started by an Indonesian migrant doctor threatening people with a pistol.

    “This triggered a West Papua Army investigation. A nurse fled from the scene and fell down a slope, fatally injuring herself,” said Wenda.

    Indonesia had deployed more than 21,000 new troops since December 2018, displacing tens of thousands of civilians from Nduga, Intan Jaya, Puncak Jaya and Sorong.

    Not keeping Papuans safe
    “These troops are not there to defend Indonesia’s ‘sovereignty’ or keep my people safe; they are there to protect illegal mining operations, to defend the palm oil plantations that are destroying our rainforest, and to help build the Trans-Papua Highway that will be used for Indonesian business – not for the people of West Papua,” Wenda said.

    “The Indonesian government is creating violence and chaos to feed these troops. As the head of the Indonesian Parliament, Bambang Soesatyo, ordered, ‘destroy them first. We will discuss human rights matters later’.

    “He reiterated this statement [on Monday], and was backed by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mahfud Md.”

    Benny Wenda
    United Liberation Movement of West Papua leader Benny Wenda on a visit to New Zealand in 2013. Image: Del Abcede/APR

    The killing of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani and his two brothers in April last year was an example of how this policy worked.

    “Indonesian soldiers murdered the two brothers in April last year. Months later troops tortured and killed the pastor,” Wenda said.

    Indonesian soldiers to blame
    “In both cases, the military blamed the West Papua Army for the attacks – but Indonesia’s own human rights commission and military courts found that Indonesian soldiers were to blame. A similar pattern will unfold with the events in Kiwirok.”

    Wenda said Indonesia must allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua to investigate this violence and produce an independent, fact-based report, in line with the call of 84 international states.

    “Indonesia’s ban on media, human rights groups and aid agencies from entering West Papua must be immediately lifted. If Indonesia is telling the truth about these events, why continue to hide West Papua from the world?,” he said.

    “This war will never end until President Widodo sits down with me to solve this issue. This is not about ‘development’, about how many bridges and roads are built.

    “This is about our sovereignty, our right to self-determination — our survival.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    A West Papuan group seeking self-determination has greeted Papua New Guinea on its 46th anniversary of independence, predicting that one day the artificial colonial border separating the two would “fall like the Berlin Wall”.

    “Happy 46th independence anniversary to Papua New Guinea. We send a message of solidarity from your brothers on the other half of New Guinea,” said interim president Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

    “We are there with you in spirit for this great celebration.

    “I know that one day all of New Guinea, from Sorong to Samarai, will celebrate true independence and enjoy God’s creation on our green island. This is our long-term dream.

    “With one half unfree, our island is not complete.

    “We are one island, with one ancestor. Just because a colonial border separates us, does not mean we are destined to be apart forever.

    “One day this artificial line will fall like the Berlin Wall, bringing our people together once more.”

    Wenda said in a statement it was in “my heart’s dream to see elders from each half of the island meet and watch their grandchildren dance together in peace like the Bird of Paradise”.

    He said Papuans continued to dream of liberating the people of West Papua from tyranny, 21st colonialism imposed by the Indonesian government.

    “You have reached your 46th year of sovereignty – we have been fighting for the last 58 years for independence and freedom,” said Wenda.

    Benny Wenda Sky
    Exiled Papuan leader Benny Wenda … “the new generation, in West Papua and PNG, must fight to liberate the rest of New Guinea”. Image: Office of Benny Wenda

    “We will pray for your celebrations and thank the forefathers who liberated PNG.”

    On the other side of the island, said Wenda, Papuans still struggled for their freedom, but their forefathers had already set their destiny.

    “Now the new generation, in West Papua and PNG, must fight to liberate the rest of New Guinea,” he said.

    “One day we will join these independence celebrations hand-in-hand, with the Morning Star [banned in Indonesia] raised alongside the PNG flag. We will stand together and celebrate together.”

    While Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia in 1975, West Papuans declared independence in 1961 but this was overturned in a non-democratic referendum in 1969 — the so-called Act of Free Choice — after Indonesian paratroopers had invaded Papua, then a colony of The Netherlands.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Indonesian authorities have been accused of adopting a strategy of deploying military force to drive thousands of Papuans from their homes to make way for powerful business interests.

    The accusation comes from the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) in a statement responding to news that about 2400 internal refugees have been displaced from 19 villages after renewed Indonesian military operations in the Maybrat regency.

    The humanitarian crisis there is being compared to Nduga and Intan Jaya, where more than 50,000 West Papuans have been displaced by military operations in recent years.

    “Maybrat is a peaceful place. The violence we are seeing now is a result of Indonesian state attempts to clear the local people and grab the gold and minerals that lie under the earth,” said ULMWP interim president Benny Wenda.

    “I have been stating for a long time that Indonesia’s military operations are not about ‘sovereignty’, but business.

    “Now, Indonesia’s own NGOs have confirmed this. New reports from WALHI Papua, LBH Papua, KontraS, Greenpeace Indonesia and several other groups have noted the deep links Indonesia’s retired generals, Kopassus officers and intelligence chiefs have with resource extraction projects in West Papua.

    “Powerful Indonesian leaders like Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Maritime Affairs Minister, hold direct interests in the Wabu Block gold concession in Intan Jaya, where huge military operations have forced thousands of people from their homes.”

    ‘Wiping our entire villages’
    Wenda claimed the military operations were attempts to “wipe out entire villages and clear the way for illegal mines”.

    “They are killing us because we are Black, because we are different. This is state-sponsored terrorism,” he said.

    Wenda said that given these economic interests, the Papuan people could not “trust the reports of the Indonesian police and military whenever one of their own is killed”.

    “The military men’s presence in the region is illegal. Their presence is part of Indonesia’s business interests, part of their illegal colonial occupation of my land.

    “The 1969 Act of No Choice was illegal, it was not done by one man one vote as required by the 1962 New York Agreement. The UN did not endorse what happened, it only ‘took note’ following fierce opposition led by Ghana in the UN General Assembly.

    “Indonesia cannot claim that its invasion of West Papua is a done deal – it is not. It is the root cause of all the issues we see today.

    “Indonesia has no right to send any more military to West Papua, to build the Trans-Papua Highway, or to construct any more military posts.”

    Negotiated solution
    Wenda said the issue would never end until Indonesian President Joko Widodo negotiated a “solution for the good of West Papua and Indonesia to hold a referendum on independence”.

    He said Indonesia must listen to the will of 84 countries and allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit West Papua immediately.

    “If the international community wants to help end the bloodshed in my homeland, it must act to ensure this visit happens,” Wenda said.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    A pro-independence movement in West Papua has appealed to several Western countries — including New Zealand — to provide urgent humanitarian help by supplying covid vaccines directly to the Papuans to cope with the “double crisis” in the Indonesian-ruled region.

    Benny Wenda, interim president of the Provisional Government of West Papua, said today he had made the appeal by writing to the foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

    “I have also written to the President of the European Commission, the WHO [World Health Organisation] and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the escalating covid-19 situation in our land,” he said in a statement.

    “This new crisis is a further existential threat to my people.”

    Indonesia had caused a double crisis for the people of West Papua by launching military operations in the middle of the pandemic, Wenda said, as he had warned.

    “Just yesterday, villagers from the West Moskona district were attacked by troops after attending a peaceful worship session against ‘Special Autonomy’, fleeing to the forests and the city of Bintuni,” he said.

    “Woman and children are afraid to return to their villages in case the military and police arrest or attack them.”

    50,000 plus displaced
    “More than 50,000 people have been displaced in Nduga, Puncak and Intan Jaya over the past two and a half years. Their homes have been destroyed, their churches burned and their schools occupied by soldiers.

    “They are left in internal displacement camps, where the virus will spread rapidly. Already in the cities, patients are being turned away or treated in cars outside the hospital.”

    Western countries and the WHO had an urgent moral obligation to give vaccine doses direct the local Papuan government for distribution, Wenda said.

    “As the 2018 Asmat health crisis showed, Jakarta cannot be trusted with the health of the West Papuan people,” he said.

    “Over nearly 60 years of colonisation we have seen a chronic failure to develop health facilities in West Papua, leaving us dying on top of the natural riches Indonesia is extracting. If Jakarta is allowed to hold the reigns of vaccine development, my people will suffer further.”

    Wenda said the developments were part of a “continued genocide against my people”.

    “Our forests have been torn down, our mountains decapitated, our way of life destroyed. Indonesia restricts healthcare and enforces a colonial education whilst killing anyone who speaks out for self-determination,” Wenda said.

    “Launching military operations in the middle of a pandemic is a policy designed to further wipe out our population. We need urgent international assistance, direct to the local Papuan government, not through the colonial occupier.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The United Liberation Movement of West Papua has accused Indonesian “colonial forces” of a new massacre with the killing of three civilians, “adding to the hundreds of thousands of West Papuans killed during six decades of occupation”.

    Interim president Benny Wenda of the ULMWP has also claimed that Jakarta has put the entire population of 4.4 million “at risk of being swiped out” by Indonesian security forces by being labelled “terrorist”.

    In a statement, Wenda said a husband and wife, Patianus Kogoya, 45, and Paitena Murib, 43, had been killed at Nipuralome village, along with another Papuan man, Erialek Kogoya, 55.

    “They were shot dead by joint security services on June 4 in Ilaga, Puncak regency. Three others, including a five year old child, were wounded during the massacre,” he said.

    “Local churches have confirmed the incident, even as the colonial Indonesian police have spread hoaxes to hide their murders.”

    Wenda said cold blooded murder was becoming the culture for the security forces.

    “West Papua is the site of massacre on top of massacre, from Paniai to Nduga to Intan Jaya to Puncak. This is heart-breaking news following the killing of our religious leaders like Pastor Zanambani,” he said.

    ‘Count more of our dead’
    “We now have to count more of our dead. How much longer will this continue?”

    Wenda said Indonesia had labelled the OPM (Free Papua Moivement) “terrorist”.

    “The OPM is all West Papuans who have hopes for freedom and self-determination, all organisations that fight for justice and liberation in West Papua,” he said.

    “I am OPM, the ULMWP is OPM. If you label the OPM ‘terrorist’, you are labelling the entire population of West Papua ‘terrorist’.

    “The Indonesian state is targeting all West Papuans for elimination – the evidence is there in Ilaga last week, with unarmed civilians being gunned down.

    “How do they justify this killing? With the ‘terrorist’ label.”

    Wenda claimed these “stigmatising labels” were part of Jakarta’s systematic plan to justify its presence in West Papua and the “deployment of 21,000 troops to our land”.

    He said that the ULMWP continued its urgent call for Indonesia to allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua.

    “Intervention is needed now. What is happening in Palestine is happening in West Papua,” he said.

    Wenda appealed to solidarity groups in the Pacific and internationally to speak up for “freedom and justice”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Indonesia has cut off the internet in West Papua to conceal its crackdown on the peaceful liberation movement, says a leading Papuan campaigner.

    Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP), has condemned the internet gag while Indonesia’s leading English-language daily newspaper, The Jakarta Post, has also criticised Jakarta’s actions.

    In an editorial last Friday, the Post said that many people “suspect that the disruption to the [Papua] internet service in April was actually a deliberate move to silence anti-government critics and activists”.

    “The government has been cutting off Papua from the outside world for decades by measures that included restricting foreign visitors, especially foreign journalists,” the newspaper said.

    Jakarta remained “stubbornly insistent on maintaining its isolation policy for Papua”.

    Erik Walela, secretary of the ULMWP’s “Department of Political Affairs”, is now in hiding, and two of his relatives — Abi, 32, and Anno, 31 — were arrested by the Indonesian colonial police on June 1.

    Victor Yeimo, spokesperson of the KNPB, had already been arrested.

    Stigmatised as ‘terrorists’
    “I am concerned that all the ULMWP leaders and departments inside West Papua are now at risk after Indonesia has tried to stigmatise us as ‘terrorists’,” said Wenda.

    “The head of Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has stated that it considers the entire liberation movement, including anyone associated with me, to be terrorists.

    “Anyone who stands up to injustice in West Papua is now in danger. Indonesia is cutting off the internet to conceal its crackdown and military operations, continuing its long tradition of concealing information from the world by banning international journalists and spreading propaganda.

    “The only way anyone can currently access the internet inside is by standing near a military, police, or government building.”

    Wenda said Indonesian authorities had tried to label Papuan pro-independence groups “separatists”, “armed criminal groups”, and in 2019, “monkeys’”.

    “Now they are labelling us ‘terrorists’. This is nothing but more discrimination against the entire people of West Papua and our struggle to uphold our basic right to self-determination,” he said.

    “I want to remind the United Nations and the Pacific and Melanesian leaders that Indonesia is misusing the issue of terrorism to crush our fundamental struggle for the liberation of our land from illegal occupation and colonisation.”

    21,000 troops deployed
    More than 21,000 troops had been deployed in less than three years, including last month ‘Satan’s forces’ implicated in genocide in East Timor, said Wenda.

    Densus 88, trained by the West, were also using their skills “against my people”.

    These operations were being carried out on the direct order of the President and the head of the Parliament.

    “My people are traumatised, scared to go to their gardens, to hunt or fish. Everywhere they turn there are military posts and bases,” said Wenda.

    “How long will the world ignore my call? How long can the world watch what is happening to my people and stand by?”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    An exiled West Papuan leader has condemned Indonesian for “hypocrisy” in speaking out about Myanmar and Palestine while voting at the United Nations to ignore genocide and ethnic cleansing.

    The leading English-language daily newspaper, The Jakarta Post, has also criticised Jakarta’s UN vote.

    “We are thankful that Indonesian leaders show solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinians and Myanmarese, but Indonesia is desperately trying to cover up its own crimes against humanity in West Papua,” said interim president Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP).

    Benny Wenda
    West Papuan leader Benny Wenda … Indonesia claims to “fight for humanity”, but the truth is the opposite. Image: Del Abcede/APR

    At the UN General Assembly last week, Indonesia defied the overwhelming majority of the international community and joined North Korea, Russia and China in rejecting a resolution on “the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”.

    Voting in favour of the RP2 resolution were 115 states while 28 abstained and 15 voted against.

    The Jakarta Post said in an editorial that to find Indonesia on the “no” list was “perplexing”.

    “The country that had at one time championed for the inclusion of human rights and democratic principles in the ASEAN Charter is now seen as voting against attempts to uphold those very principles internationally,” the newspaper said.

    “Recent events in Myanmar and in the occupied Palestinian territory raise questions about the failure of the international community to intervene and stop bloodshed in these two countries.”

    ‘Real reason’ for vote
    The Jakarta Post
    said there was speculation about the “real reason” behind the no vote.

    “One is the spectre of R2P being invoked against Indonesia over the Papuan question. In spite of the recent escalation of violence in Papua, the situation on the ground is still too far to merit international intervention,” the newspaper claimed.

    However, while the Indonesian Foreign Minister claimed to “fight for humanity”, the truth was the opposite, said Wenda in a statement.

    “They are committing crimes against humanity in West Papua and trying to ensure their perpetual impunity at the UN,” he said.

    Indonesian leaders often talked about the right to self-determination and human rights, and the Indonesian constitution’s preamble called for “any form of alien occupation” to be “erased from the earth”, noted Wenda.

    “But in West Papua, the Indonesian government is carrying out the very abuses it claims to oppose. Their refusal to accept the UN resolution is clearly the consequence of ‘the Papuan question’,” he said.

    “The evidence is now overwhelming that Indonesia has committed crimes against humanity, colonialism, ethnic cleansing and genocide in West Papua.

    Women, children killed
    “The same week as the UN vote, the Indonesian military – including ‘Satan’s troops’ implicated in genocide in East Timor – were attacking Papuan villages, killing unarmed women and children and adding to the over 50,000 people displaced since December 2018.

    “The stated aim of the operations is to ‘wipe out’ all resistance to Indonesian colonialism,” Wenda said.

    “When you displace villagers, they lose their hunting ground, their home, their entire way of life.

    “This is systematic ethnic cleansing, part of a long-running strategy of Jakarta’s occupation to take over our lands and populate it with Indonesian settlers and multi-national corporations. This is the intent, and we need action before it is too late.”

    Wenda said that after Papuans declaring resistance to the illegal occupation “terrorism”, Indonesia had launched a massive crack down.

    “Victor Yeimo, one of our most popular peaceful resistance leaders, has already been arrested. Frans Wasini, a member of the ULMWP’s Department of Political Affairs, was also arrested,” he said.

    “In the city [Jayapura], students at the University of Cenderawasih are being dragged out of their dorms by the police and military and made homeless. Anyone who speaks out about West Papua, human rights abuses and genocide, is now at risk of being arrested, tortured or killed.

    Arrested ‘must be released’
    “Victor Yeimo, Frans Wasini, and all those arrested by the Indonesian colonial regime must be released immediately.”

    Wenda described the deployment of more than  21,000 troops, killing religious leaders, occupying schools, shooting children dead as “state terrorism, crimes against the people of West Papua”.

    Such developments had shown more clearly than ever the need for Indonesia to stop blocking the visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Eight-four countries have already called for the visit.

    “There can be no more delays. The troops must be withdrawn, and the UN allowed in before more catastrophe strikes.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    An exiled West Papuan leader has demanded the immediate release of arrested campaigner Victor Yeimo, saying that his detention was a “sign to the world” that the Indonesian government was using its terrorist designation as a smokescreen to further repress Papuans.

    Indonesian police arrested Yeimo, one of the most prominent leaders inside West Papua, on allegations of makar – treason.

    Yeimo is spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB), regarded as peaceful civil society disobedience organisation active within Papua.

    “Any West Papuans who speak out about injustice – church leaders, local politicians, journalists – are now at risk of being labelled a ‘criminal’ or ‘terrorist’ and arrested or killed,” said Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) in a statement.

    “What is Victor Yeimo’s crime? To resist the Indonesian occupation through peacefully mobilising the people to defend their right to self-determination,” he said.

    “He is accused of ‘masterminding’ the 2019 West Papua Uprising, which was started by Indonesian racism and violence, and ended in a bloodbath caused by Indonesian troops.

    “Indonesia constantly creates violence and uses propaganda – and the fact that international journalists continue to be barred from entering – to blame it on West Papuans.

    Many labels to ‘deligitimise’ resistance
    “Jakarta has used many labels to try and delegitimise resistance to its genocidal project: ‘armed criminal group’ (KKB), ‘wild terrorist gang’, ‘separatist’.

    “Indonesia has lost the political, moral and legal argument, and has nothing left but brute force and stigmatising labels.”

    Wenda said that Indonesia was trying to distract attention from the huge military operations it is launching in Nduga, Intan Jaya and Puncak Jaya.

    Around 700 people from 19 villages have already been displaced over the past two weeks.

    “Indonesia is using its ‘Satan Troops’, trained in the genocide in East Timor, to attempt to wipe out the entire Indigenous population. From the 1965 military operations to the 1977 Operasi Koteka, we carry the trauma of Indonesian military operations.

    “What is beginning now is a 21st century version of this. Jakarta has no interest in pursuing a peaceful solution to this crisis.”

    Wenda called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the Indonesian police to release Yeimo immediately.

    “International governments and organisations must put immediate pressure on the Indonesian authorities to halt this sham prosecution,” he said.

    “We have our Provisional Government, constitution, and newly formed cabinet. We must come together and show the Indonesian government and the world that we are ready to take over the administration of our country.”

    ‘Mastermind’ accusation
    The Jakarta Post reports that the police accuse Yeimo of being the “mastermind” behind the civil unrest and of committing treason, as well as inciting violence and social unrest, insulting the national flag and anthem, and carrying weapons without a permit.

    Emanuel Gobay, one of a group of Papuan lawyers representing Yeimo, said his client had not yet been officially charged. Treason can carry a sentence of life in jail.

    Protests convulsed Indonesia’s provinces of Papua and West Papua, widely collectively known as West Papua, for several weeks in August/September 2019.

    The sometimes violent unrest erupted after a mob taunted Papuan students in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second city on the island of Java, with racial epithets, calling them “monkeys”, over accusations they had desecrated a national flag.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    An exiled West Papuan leader has demanded the immediate release of arrested campaigner Victor Yeimo, saying that his detention was a “sign to the world” that the Indonesian government was using its terrorist designation as a smokescreen to further repress Papuans.

    Indonesian police arrested Yeimo, one of the most prominent leaders inside West Papua, on allegations of makar – treason.

    Yeimo is spokesperson of the West Papua National Committee (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB), regarded as peaceful civil society disobedience organisation active within Papua.

    “Any West Papuans who speak out about injustice – church leaders, local politicians, journalists – are now at risk of being labelled a ‘criminal’ or ‘terrorist’ and arrested or killed,” said Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) in a statement.

    “What is Victor Yeimo’s crime? To resist the Indonesian occupation through peacefully mobilising the people to defend their right to self-determination,” he said.

    “He is accused of ‘masterminding’ the 2019 West Papua Uprising, which was started by Indonesian racism and violence, and ended in a bloodbath caused by Indonesian troops.

    “Indonesia constantly creates violence and uses propaganda – and the fact that international journalists continue to be barred from entering – to blame it on West Papuans.

    Many labels to ‘deligitimise’ resistance
    “Jakarta has used many labels to try and delegitimise resistance to its genocidal project: ‘armed criminal group’ (KKB), ‘wild terrorist gang’, ‘separatist’.

    “Indonesia has lost the political, moral and legal argument, and has nothing left but brute force and stigmatising labels.”

    Wenda said that Indonesia was trying to distract attention from the huge military operations it is launching in Nduga, Intan Jaya and Puncak Jaya.

    Around 700 people from 19 villages have already been displaced over the past two weeks.

    “Indonesia is using its ‘Satan Troops’, trained in the genocide in East Timor, to attempt to wipe out the entire Indigenous population. From the 1965 military operations to the 1977 Operasi Koteka, we carry the trauma of Indonesian military operations.

    “What is beginning now is a 21st century version of this. Jakarta has no interest in pursuing a peaceful solution to this crisis.”

    Wenda called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the Indonesian police to release Yeimo immediately.

    “International governments and organisations must put immediate pressure on the Indonesian authorities to halt this sham prosecution,” he said.

    “We have our Provisional Government, constitution, and newly formed cabinet. We must come together and show the Indonesian government and the world that we are ready to take over the administration of our country.”

    ‘Mastermind’ accusation
    The Jakarta Post reports that the police accuse Yeimo of being the “mastermind” behind the civil unrest and of committing treason, as well as inciting violence and social unrest, insulting the national flag and anthem, and carrying weapons without a permit.

    Emanuel Gobay, one of a group of Papuan lawyers representing Yeimo, said his client had not yet been officially charged. Treason can carry a sentence of life in jail.

    Protests convulsed Indonesia’s provinces of Papua and West Papua, widely collectively known as West Papua, for several weeks in August/September 2019.

    The sometimes violent unrest erupted after a mob taunted Papuan students in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second city on the island of Java, with racial epithets, calling them “monkeys”, over accusations they had desecrated a national flag.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ANALYSIS: By Yamin Kogoya

    The Indonesian government has officially labelled the OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka) Free Papuan Movement and its military wing, the TPNPB (West Papua National Liberation Army) as a terrorist group.

    This came about at the height of a string of shootings and killings – which have been taking place in recent months in Papua’s highlands – that led to the killing of a senior Indonesian intelligence officer, General I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, last week.

    In response, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered a crackdown on the armed resistance group OPM – TPNPB.

    A few days later, Mohammad Mahfud MD, the coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, declared that those in Papua (presumably the OPM – TPNPB) who commit crimes would be classified as “terrorists”.

    The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, stressed this issue by saying, “I demand that the government deploy their security forces at full force to exterminate the armed criminal groups (KKP) in Papua which have taken lives.

    “Just eradicate them. Let’s talk about human rights later.”

    This announcement and such statements have caused a reaction among Indonesian leaders and civil society groups.

    Opportunity for resistance
    Police observer Irjen Pol Purn Sisno Adiwinoto warned that labelling Papuan independence groups as “terrorists” would not solve problems in West Papua.

    “If anything, this might just be the opportunity for resistance groups to get the United States involved,” said Adiwinoto.

    Philip Situmorang, public relations officer from the Fellowship of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), asked the government to be careful of their decision to label the armed criminal group (KKB) as a terrorist group.

    The church groups have warned that Jakarta should choose a different approach to Papua.

    Labelling Papua as a terrorist will psychologically impact on the Papuan community, which might instil fear, distrust, and hatred among communities in the land of Papua.

    West Papua is a region known for the international media blackout. This makes it challenging to allow independent media or human rights agencies to investigate the killings.

    The country’s justice system often fails to provide fair, transparent justice for the alleged perpetrators.

    Governor Enembe concerned
    The governor of Papua province, Lukas Enembe, also expressed his concern about the central government announcement.

    The statement released from the governor’s office stated that this labelling would affect the Papuan population, not just OPM – TPNPB. Papuans in West Papua and abroad will be stigmatised through the lens of the word terrorist.

    Hence, the governor asked for the central government to review its decision comprehensively.

    One of the seven points he made was that he strongly suggested the central government check with the United Nations about the decision.

    Benny Wenda, the leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, also condemned Jokowi’s announcement.

    “My questions to the president of Indonesia are: Who invaded our country in the first place? Who has killed over 500,000 men, women, and children? Who has displaced over 50,000 civilians since December 2018, leading to the deaths of hundreds of more people?

    An illegal invasion and occupation is a criminal act. Genocide is a terrorist act. Resistance to these are legitimate and necessary,” Benny Wenda said.

    Harmful policy for Papuans
    These concerns are expressed in recognition that, after 60 years, Jakarta insists on introducing a policy that will harm the Papuan people.

    Fifty-eight years ago, in May 1963, was the landing of Indonesian troops after the Western power gave them the green light during the controversial “New York Agreement” – the agreement in which Papuans were not invited.

    The real terror in Papua began from that day.

    Jakarta invents words and phrases and decides their definitions to control Papuan people.

    The Indonesian government has used many names and phrases to legitimise their military operations in the land of Papua.

    Between 1964–1966, leading up to the Act of Free Choice in 1969 (which Papuans consider a sham, or an “Act of No Choice”), army general Kartidjo Sastrodinoto led an operation called “Operasi Wisnurmurti III and IV”.

    The years between 1977-1982, a general named Imam Munandar led another operation named “Operasi Kikis”, followed by “Operasi Sapu Bersih”.

    The “Operasi Penyisiran” was another name given for 2002-2004 operations in Wamena, Papua’s highland town.

    Many military operations
    These are just a few of many, both visible and invisible, military operations in West Papua.

    These terminologies carry specific energy and command and manifest different state behaviours that target Papuan lives; they mean something like “wipe-out, clean, straighten, remove, taming the wild forest, restoring order” etc.

    They are not the languages of healing and reconciliation but of war and elimination.

    Elites in Jakarta have convinced themselves to believe that there is a monster in the land of Papua and that the beast needs to be eliminated. This paranoid way of thinking is akin to saying all non-black immigrants in the land of Papua are scary, so we should label them as demons and kill them or labelling all Muslims as terrorists because they are following the religion of Islam.

    The Papua governor and civil society groups are concerned that every Papuan will be stigmatised as a terrorist, regardless of whether they are a member of OPM – TPNPB or not.
    This labelling is not just to harm OPM – TPNPB but is a direct assault on Papuan history, language, livelihood, and aspirations for a better world, pushed by Papuan resistance groups.

    One of the main concerns that have been raised within the resistance movements is that the Indonesian government is labelling West Papua national liberation as a terrorist to criminalise the movement and depict them as radical extremists in the eyes of international communities.

    This is an old colonial game, where blaming the victims makes it difficult for them to report the crimes, allowing the perpetrators to avoid being held accountable for their actions.

    Metro TV interview
    In the media interview by Metrotvnews on April 30, Mohammad Mahfud MD stated they must contain the situation in West Papua before controlling the situation outside of Papua, inferring that influencing public opinion in the international community must begin by creating a terrorist of West Papua.

    The central government in Jakarta will use the word “terrorist” to convince the international community not to support these activist groups in West Papua. It intends to damage the integrity and reputation of the West Papua liberation movement, which has been gaining a lot of sympathy from international communities and institutions such as ACP (Africa Caribbean Pacific group of states), MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group), PIF (Pacific Islands Forum) and Human Rights Council in Geneva.

    Many described the announcement as a desperate attempt to halt the region’s independence movement. David Robie wrote that this is Jakarta’s “worst ever” policy on West Papua, as reported by Asia Pacific Report last week on April 30.

    President Jokowi’s welfare approach and his 12 visits to Papua turned out to be a mere trojan horse. He and his government are not delivering welfare to Papuan people at all – they are creating terrorists in West Papua to justify war against the Papuan people.

    How will they distinguish and catch this monster, which they have called “terrorist” in Papua? Or are they going to create one that looks like a terrorist?

    Is OPM a terrorist group or a legendary saviour in Papuan’s independence imagination?

    In the 1980s, when I was growing up in my highland village of Papua from the ages of 8-12, I often heard the name OPM. At the time, the name sounded like it had magical power. I still associate the name OPM with that story.

    OPM ‘has secret power’
    At that time, I was told that OPM has a secret power that controls weather patterns. My family said that if you see heavy rain or thick clouds covering the mountains, then it is a sign that OPM is near or OPM created the bad weather to confuse their enemies.

    This kind of story made me very curious about the name OPM.

    I then asked my elders, who were OPM’s enemy and whether OPM were human or forest spirits? They would say to me that OPM were not forest spirits. They were human beings just like us, but they couldn’t divulge their identities to keep their family members safe from interrogation if their true identities were revealed to Indonesian soldiers.

    According to the village story, OPM have the power of nature, and they can obscure the sight of the Indonesian soldiers and make them crazy. At the time, I was astonished by these stories.

    With these fascinations, I continued to ask if the OPM was something that I should fear.

    They would tell me, “child, you should not be afraid of the OPM, because the OPM will protect you, and they will expel the Indonesian soldiers who were roaming around here, killing and raping women”.

    I grew up with these types of stories, and I am sure that many Papuans have similar stories to tell about what the name of OPM means to them.

    Hope for a better world
    OPM carries the spirit that keeps the hope of a better world (free from Indonesia) alive. That’s how I understand it. That hope, in Papuans’ imagination, is political independence from Indonesia.

    To be OPM is to be a proud Papuan, and to be Papuan is to be proud to be OPM because, in the minds of Papuans, OPM represents hope, freedom, salvation, healing, and reconciliation.

    As legend has it in the island of Biak, during the early 1940s, before Indonesia got their Independence from the Dutch, it was the spirit of the Morning Star that healed the legends Manarmakeri and Angganitha.

    Papuan people in the Biak island were already dreaming of a new world – a world free from terror, with the spirit of the Morning Star before Indonesia gained its independence in 1945.

    OPM stands to manifest that utopian dream of a Papuan free state as sovereign people. This fear of manifesting Papuan statehood drives Jakarta’s reckless policies toward West Papua.

    If Papuans were asked, without any intimidation or bribery, which spirit do they trust and believe in, the OPM or Indonesia security forces, I am confident that they would choose the spirit and the legend of OPM because that spirit stands for freedom and salvation.

    The word “terrorist” is the deadliest weapon that Indonesia has invented to kill Papuan people

    Labelling is dangerous
    This reckless labelling is dangerous, as already expressed by Governor Lukas and other civil society groups, because all Papuan people will suffer, not just OPM. Papuan people are already suffering in every aspect of their lives, this labelling will add more under the Indonesian rule and western capitalist world order.

    It is unfortunate that Indonesia is one of the most religious places, and yet unable to uphold its own religious morals and ethical teachings, as inscribed in their constitutional pillars: Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa (Belief in the Almighty God) and Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab (Just and Civilised Humanity). Do the Indonesian ruling elites still believe in these words?

    With all the human and material resources being spent on securing West Papua, the question we need to be asking is, ‘why is Jakarta still unable to catch all the perpetrators and bring them to face justice?’

    If the elites in Jakarta believe with sincerity in promoting the slogan “wonderful Indonesia” on the world’s stage, then the way they approach Papua needs to change.

    Papua will always be like a pebble in Indonesia’s shoe – it must be resolved in a humane manner if the “wonderful Indonesia dream” is to be fully realised. Turning West Papua into a terrorist and justifying it to wage war against the Papuan people is not the way to achieve peace in the land of Papua.

    • Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
    • Other Yamin Kogoya articles
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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • ANALYSIS: By Yamin Kogoya

    The Indonesian government has officially labelled the OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka) Free Papuan Movement and its military wing, the TPNPB (West Papua National Liberation Army) as a terrorist group.

    This came about at the height of a string of shootings and killings – which have been taking place in recent months in Papua’s highlands – that led to the killing of a senior Indonesian intelligence officer, General I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, last week.

    In response, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered a crackdown on the armed resistance group OPM – TPNPB.

    A few days later, Mohammad Mahfud MD, the coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, declared that those in Papua (presumably the OPM – TPNPB) who commit crimes would be classified as “terrorists”.

    The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, stressed this issue by saying, “I demand that the government deploy their security forces at full force to exterminate the armed criminal groups (KKP) in Papua which have taken lives.

    “Just eradicate them. Let’s talk about human rights later.”

    This announcement and such statements have caused a reaction among Indonesian leaders and civil society groups.

    Opportunity for resistance
    Police observer Irjen Pol Purn Sisno Adiwinoto warned that labelling Papuan independence groups as “terrorists” would not solve problems in West Papua.

    “If anything, this might just be the opportunity for resistance groups to get the United States involved,” said Adiwinoto.

    Philip Situmorang, public relations officer from the Fellowship of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), asked the government to be careful of their decision to label the armed criminal group (KKB) as a terrorist group.

    The church groups have warned that Jakarta should choose a different approach to Papua.

    Labelling Papua as a terrorist will psychologically impact on the Papuan community, which might instil fear, distrust, and hatred among communities in the land of Papua.

    West Papua is a region known for the international media blackout. This makes it challenging to allow independent media or human rights agencies to investigate the killings.

    The country’s justice system often fails to provide fair, transparent justice for the alleged perpetrators.

    Governor Enembe concerned
    The governor of Papua province, Lukas Enembe, also expressed his concern about the central government announcement.

    The statement released from the governor’s office stated that this labelling would affect the Papuan population, not just OPM – TPNPB. Papuans in West Papua and abroad will be stigmatised through the lens of the word terrorist.

    Hence, the governor asked for the central government to review its decision comprehensively.

    One of the seven points he made was that he strongly suggested the central government check with the United Nations about the decision.

    Benny Wenda, the leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, also condemned Jokowi’s announcement.

    “My questions to the president of Indonesia are: Who invaded our country in the first place? Who has killed over 500,000 men, women, and children? Who has displaced over 50,000 civilians since December 2018, leading to the deaths of hundreds of more people?

    An illegal invasion and occupation is a criminal act. Genocide is a terrorist act. Resistance to these are legitimate and necessary,” Benny Wenda said.

    Harmful policy for Papuans
    These concerns are expressed in recognition that, after 60 years, Jakarta insists on introducing a policy that will harm the Papuan people.

    Fifty-eight years ago, in May 1963, was the landing of Indonesian troops after the Western power gave them the green light during the controversial “New York Agreement” – the agreement in which Papuans were not invited.

    The real terror in Papua began from that day.

    Jakarta invents words and phrases and decides their definitions to control Papuan people.

    The Indonesian government has used many names and phrases to legitimise their military operations in the land of Papua.

    Between 1964–1966, leading up to the Act of Free Choice in 1969 (which Papuans consider a sham, or an “Act of No Choice”), army general Kartidjo Sastrodinoto led an operation called “Operasi Wisnurmurti III and IV”.

    The years between 1977-1982, a general named Imam Munandar led another operation named “Operasi Kikis”, followed by “Operasi Sapu Bersih”.

    The “Operasi Penyisiran” was another name given for 2002-2004 operations in Wamena, Papua’s highland town.

    Many military operations
    These are just a few of many, both visible and invisible, military operations in West Papua.

    These terminologies carry specific energy and command and manifest different state behaviours that target Papuan lives; they mean something like “wipe-out, clean, straighten, remove, taming the wild forest, restoring order” etc.

    They are not the languages of healing and reconciliation but of war and elimination.

    Elites in Jakarta have convinced themselves to believe that there is a monster in the land of Papua and that the beast needs to be eliminated. This paranoid way of thinking is akin to saying all non-black immigrants in the land of Papua are scary, so we should label them as demons and kill them or labelling all Muslims as terrorists because they are following the religion of Islam.

    The Papua governor and civil society groups are concerned that every Papuan will be stigmatised as a terrorist, regardless of whether they are a member of OPM – TPNPB or not.
    This labelling is not just to harm OPM – TPNPB but is a direct assault on Papuan history, language, livelihood, and aspirations for a better world, pushed by Papuan resistance groups.

    One of the main concerns that have been raised within the resistance movements is that the Indonesian government is labelling West Papua national liberation as a terrorist to criminalise the movement and depict them as radical extremists in the eyes of international communities.

    This is an old colonial game, where blaming the victims makes it difficult for them to report the crimes, allowing the perpetrators to avoid being held accountable for their actions.

    Metro TV interview
    In the media interview by Metrotvnews on April 30, Mohammad Mahfud MD stated they must contain the situation in West Papua before controlling the situation outside of Papua, inferring that influencing public opinion in the international community must begin by creating a terrorist of West Papua.

    The central government in Jakarta will use the word “terrorist” to convince the international community not to support these activist groups in West Papua. It intends to damage the integrity and reputation of the West Papua liberation movement, which has been gaining a lot of sympathy from international communities and institutions such as ACP (Africa Caribbean Pacific group of states), MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group), PIF (Pacific Islands Forum) and Human Rights Council in Geneva.

    Many described the announcement as a desperate attempt to halt the region’s independence movement. David Robie wrote that this is Jakarta’s “worst ever” policy on West Papua, as reported by Asia Pacific Report last week on April 30.

    President Jokowi’s welfare approach and his 12 visits to Papua turned out to be a mere trojan horse. He and his government are not delivering welfare to Papuan people at all – they are creating terrorists in West Papua to justify war against the Papuan people.

    How will they distinguish and catch this monster, which they have called “terrorist” in Papua? Or are they going to create one that looks like a terrorist?

    Is OPM a terrorist group or a legendary saviour in Papuan’s independence imagination?

    In the 1980s, when I was growing up in my highland village of Papua from the ages of 8-12, I often heard the name OPM. At the time, the name sounded like it had magical power. I still associate the name OPM with that story.

    OPM ‘has secret power’
    At that time, I was told that OPM has a secret power that controls weather patterns. My family said that if you see heavy rain or thick clouds covering the mountains, then it is a sign that OPM is near or OPM created the bad weather to confuse their enemies.

    This kind of story made me very curious about the name OPM.

    I then asked my elders, who were OPM’s enemy and whether OPM were human or forest spirits? They would say to me that OPM were not forest spirits. They were human beings just like us, but they couldn’t divulge their identities to keep their family members safe from interrogation if their true identities were revealed to Indonesian soldiers.

    According to the village story, OPM have the power of nature, and they can obscure the sight of the Indonesian soldiers and make them crazy. At the time, I was astonished by these stories.

    With these fascinations, I continued to ask if the OPM was something that I should fear.

    They would tell me, “child, you should not be afraid of the OPM, because the OPM will protect you, and they will expel the Indonesian soldiers who were roaming around here, killing and raping women”.

    I grew up with these types of stories, and I am sure that many Papuans have similar stories to tell about what the name of OPM means to them.

    Hope for a better world
    OPM carries the spirit that keeps the hope of a better world (free from Indonesia) alive. That’s how I understand it. That hope, in Papuans’ imagination, is political independence from Indonesia.

    To be OPM is to be a proud Papuan, and to be Papuan is to be proud to be OPM because, in the minds of Papuans, OPM represents hope, freedom, salvation, healing, and reconciliation.

    As legend has it in the island of Biak, during the early 1940s, before Indonesia got their Independence from the Dutch, it was the spirit of the Morning Star that healed the legends Manarmakeri and Angganitha.

    Papuan people in the Biak island were already dreaming of a new world – a world free from terror, with the spirit of the Morning Star before Indonesia gained its independence in 1945.

    OPM stands to manifest that utopian dream of a Papuan free state as sovereign people. This fear of manifesting Papuan statehood drives Jakarta’s reckless policies toward West Papua.

    If Papuans were asked, without any intimidation or bribery, which spirit do they trust and believe in, the OPM or Indonesia security forces, I am confident that they would choose the spirit and the legend of OPM because that spirit stands for freedom and salvation.

    The word “terrorist” is the deadliest weapon that Indonesia has invented to kill Papuan people

    Labelling is dangerous
    This reckless labelling is dangerous, as already expressed by Governor Lukas and other civil society groups, because all Papuan people will suffer, not just OPM. Papuan people are already suffering in every aspect of their lives, this labelling will add more under the Indonesian rule and western capitalist world order.

    It is unfortunate that Indonesia is one of the most religious places, and yet unable to uphold its own religious morals and ethical teachings, as inscribed in their constitutional pillars: Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa (Belief in the Almighty God) and Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab (Just and Civilised Humanity). Do the Indonesian ruling elites still believe in these words?

    With all the human and material resources being spent on securing West Papua, the question we need to be asking is, ‘why is Jakarta still unable to catch all the perpetrators and bring them to face justice?’

    If the elites in Jakarta believe with sincerity in promoting the slogan “wonderful Indonesia” on the world’s stage, then the way they approach Papua needs to change.

    Papua will always be like a pebble in Indonesia’s shoe – it must be resolved in a humane manner if the “wonderful Indonesia dream” is to be fully realised. Turning West Papua into a terrorist and justifying it to wage war against the Papuan people is not the way to achieve peace in the land of Papua.

    • Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
    • Other Yamin Kogoya articles

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • RNZ Saturday Mornings with Kim Hill

    Australian human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson has been described as the go-to barrister for London’s rich and famous.

    Standing by her clients WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and US actress Amber Heard in the full glare of international media, she is based at a top London law firm Doughty Street Chambers.

    Originally from the small town of Berry, NSW, Jennifer Robinson also has a long-term commitment to independence for West Papua and works with human rights activist Benny Wenda.

    Benny Wenda
    Exiled West Papuan leader Benny Wenda on a visit to New Zealand in 2013. Image: Del Abcede/APR

    Her latest mission is to improve educational opportunities for public school children. She recently founded the Acacia Awards, in association with the Public Education Foundation in Australia.

    Prominent people who were educated in the public system will sponsor a student from their former school or area, providing mentorship and a small scholarship.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • By Jasmine Chia in Bangkok

    It is an unlikely combination: the white stars of the West Papuan and Myanmar flags, side by side.

    “West Papua Stands with Myanmar,” the sign said, posted by Indonesian human rights lawyer Veronica Koman. In another poignant picture, a small group of West Papuans stand at Simora Bay at the port town of Kaimana holding a sign that reads: “We Stand With Myanmar.”

    Popular activist Twitter account @AllianceMilkTea responds: “And solidarity with you West Papua!”

    The latest member of the Milk Tea Alliance is a little-known region in ASEAN, south of the Pacific Ocean and bordered by the Halmahera, Ceram and Banda seas.

    West Papua is better known for its Raja Ampat or “Four Kings” Islands, the majestic archipelago which contains the richest marine biodiversity on earth. But, like other members of the Milk Tea Alliance, it is a region scarred by subjugation and tyranny.

    Milk Tree Alliance Tweet
    The Milk Tree Alliance tweet.

    While the brutality of Min Aung Hlaing’s army is horrifyingly public, West Papuans protest killings and an independence movement that has largely been erased from history.

    In December 2020, Benny Wenda, a political exile in Britain, declared himself head of West Papua’s first government-in-exile under the Papua Merdeka “Free West Papua” movement. That same month, the United Nations Human Rights Office called on all sides – West Papuan separatists and the Indonesian security forces – to de-escalate violence in the territory that has seen the deaths of activists, church workers and Indonesian officials.

    As the Papua Merdeka campaign picks back up, this article surveys the history and recent state violence in the region. Flickers of a “Papuan Spring” seem faint in a March that has emboldened Southeast Asian dictators. But that the voices of a region long suppressed are being heard is an achievement in and of itself.

    History of West Papuan independence claims
    History is always a fraught tool in the battle between states and their challengers. Indonesian claims to control over West Papua date back to the “restoration” of the region to the Republic of Indonesia in a pivotal 1969 referendum, the ironically named “Act of Free Choice” (AFC).

    Central to the AFC’s controversy was the musyawarah (consultation) system, agreed upon by the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Netherlands, which decreed that the vote for West Papuan “restoration” would be conducted by a select group of representatives rather than the entire West Papuan population.

    The AFC was overseen by representatives from the UN Secretary-General’s team, giving the Indonesian government its desired stamp of international legitimacy.

    Yet, as studies produced by the University of Sydney show, since 1963 President Suharto’s military government worked to deliberately quash expressions of a unique Papuan identity. Shows of Papuan culture were declared “subversion”, West Papuan nationalists were placed under detention, and representatives were carefully selected for what the musyawarah.

    The script is familiar to any observer of Thailand’s equally controversial 2016 “constitutional referendum”. As an AFP correspondent noted in 1969, “Indonesian troops and officials are waging a widespread campaign of intimidation to force the Act of Free Choice in favor of the Republic.”

    President Suharto declared that voting against the AFC was an act of treason. Eventually, 1026 voters were chosen of a population of 815,906, all of whom voted unanimously for integration.

    Detained West Papuan activists 1969
    Prominent West Papuan activists placed under detention during the 1969 “Act of Free Choice” referendum. Source: John Wing and Peter King, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Sydney

    In the aftermath of the AFC vote, West Papua was immediately declared a Military Operation Zone. West Papuan historians like John Rumbiak highlighted the military and police repression that soon followed, especially against activists protesting the appropriation of traditional land and forests by mining firms and timber estates.

    Thousands of troops were deployed in response to growing protest movements in the 1990s, with planned “black operations” against independence leaders.

    Ever since, West Papua has been caught in a cycle of violence. Indonesian armed forces accuse guerillas of inciting separatist violence, justifying their crackdowns on various villages.

    Under Indonesian law, raising the West Papuan flag carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. Separatists like the armed West Papua National Liberation Army continue to wage a low-key insurgency in their quest for self-rule.

    According to rights group Human Rights and Peace in Papua, 60,000 West Papuans have been displaced in the conflict.

    “Our independent nation was stolen in 1963 by the Indonesian government,” Wenda said in an interview with the New York Times, “We are taking another step toward reclaiming our legal and moral rights.”

    Wenda, like the authors of the University of Sydney study, argues that there is a “silent genocide” taking place in West Papua, as thousands of Indonesians are killed by Indonesian state actors in their battle against West Papuan separatists.

    A 2004 Yale Law School report similarly concluded that “the Indonesian government has committed proscribed acts with the intent to destroy the West Papuans,” including subjecting Papuan men and women to “acts of torture, disappearance, rape, and sexual violence.”

    This is compounded systematic resource exploitation, compulsory (and often unpaid) labor, as well as the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS and malnutrition.

    West Papuan claims to independence date back to 1961, according to then Papua People’s Congress leader Theys Hiyo Eluay.

    Eluay, later murdered by Indonesian Kopassus soldiers, insisted that Papua had never been culturally and politically integrated with Indonesia – a claim seemingly reinforced by the ethnic difference of the majority Papua population that inhabit the region.

    In the narrative both Eluay and Wenda have shared, West Papua declared sovereignty on 1 December 1961 as the Dutch gave up claims to Indonesia.

    “This same vision of West Papua’s history and sovereignty can be found among ordinary Papuan people,” writes academic Nino Viartasiwi.

    Papuan Spring? The 2019 Uprising
    West Papuans’ newfound alliance with the Milk Tea Alliance is part of its renewed attempt to bring international attention to the violence they have faced at the hands of Indonesian security forces for half a century.

    Last year, a #PapuanLives Matter campaign spotlighted the death of a 19-year old student at the hand of security forces as part of the global focus on police brutality. Activists highlighted the racialized elements of the West Papuan struggle.

    In the words of UK-born Indonesian actor and activist Hannah Al Rashid, quoted in The Guardian: “I stand in solidarity with Papuan Lives Matter, because…I have observed the way in which people of darker skin [in Indonesia] have been treated unfairly.”

    These 2020-2021 movements are smaller resurrections of the larger 2019 West Papua Uprising, or simply, ‘The Uprising.’ From August to September 2019, protests swept 22 towns in West Papua and 3 cities in Indonesia in response to an incident in which Indonesian soldiers shouted ‘monkey’ repeatedly at West Papuan students in Malang.

    In response, over 6000 members of the Indonesian security forces were deployed to quell the Uprising. 61 civilians – including 35 indigenous West Papuans – died in the crackdown.

    According to TAPOL, a campaigning platform for human rights, peace and democracy in Indonesia, 22,800 civilians were displaced during the Uprising.

    The cycle of resistance and crackdown is not new to Southeast Asia. West Papuans face the additional struggle of opposing a security force that they do not claim as their own, but it is an experience the Karen, Kachin, Chin or Wa peoples in Myanmar currently share.

    Their solidarity with the Milk Tea Alliance is fitting, drawing on a movement that has built regional solidarity and momentum for other struggles against authoritarianism.

    With any luck, the unlikely solidarity across the two starred flags may bring the West Papuan struggle back into the international spotlight. If not, the conflict will continue in the shadows, as it has done since the dawn of the 21st century.

    Jasmine Chia is a writer and contributor to the Thai Enquirer.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    A 17-year-old youth has become the latest victim of Indonesia’s six-decades-long colonisation of West Papua, alleges the United Liberation Movement of West Papua.

    “Killed on March 6, Melianus Nayagau has been murdered in Intan Jaya, where Indonesian military operations have displaced thousands of my people,” said ULMWP interim president Benny Wenda in a statement today.

    Separately, a video has shown an Indonesian police chief in Java telling demonstrating West Papuan students that they are “a legitimate target”, and giving the order to “shoot”, said the ULMWP website.

    “This is the reality of what we face in West Papua. As the people of West Papua resist Jakarta’s re-imposition of ‘Special Autonomy’, Papuan students are being beaten by Indonesian nationalist gangs and arrested by colonial police,” Wenda said.

    The cold-blooded killing and viral video came just after the Indonesian military killed a 36-year-old deaf disabled man, Donatus Mirip, on February 27.

    “As I previously stated, three West Papuan men were tortured and murdered in a West Papuan hospital by Indonesian soldiers on February 15,” Wenda said.

    Late last year, West Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani, Catholic catechist Rufinus Tigau and other religious figures were tortured, shot and killed by troops, and three school children were executed by an Indonesian state death squad on November 20, 2020, reports the ULMWP website.

    Burning bodies
    Several soldiers were recently found to have killed two other family members of Pastor Zanambani last year, burning the bodies and throwing their ashes into a local river.

    Tens of thousands of West Papuans have been displaced by these military operations since December 2018.

    Hundreds have died from lack of water, food and medicine, in the middle of a global pandemic, said Wenda.

    “As the largest religious organisation in our nation, the West Papua Council of Churches, has stated, ‘The Land of Papua has become a Military Operation Area’.

    “No one can deny that this is an absolute humanitarian catastrophe, a pattern of systematic human rights abuses targeted at the Indigenous population of West Papua by the Indonesian colonial regime.

    “This is serial, repeated murder of the young, of religious figures, of displaced women and children. We are treated with inhumanity on our own land.”

    The ULMWP website said Indonesia’s response to this undeniable disaster had been to deploy 1350 more highly armed troops to West Papua yesterday, joining the thousands of additional security personnel deployed since 2019.

    ‘Concealing the blood’
    “The Indonesian state is trying to conceal the blood that is dripping from its hands,” said Wenda.

    At the UN Human Rights Council last month, the Indonesian Foreign Minister denounced “double standards” and “politicisation” of the council, something Indonesia had done more to promote than any other state, Wenda said.

    “While they take a noble stand on the Palestinian and Myanmar struggles, they lie to the world about what they are doing to their own neighbours in West Papua,” he said.

    “I’m calling on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to pay urgent attention to the situation in West Papua. This is not one-off killings and human rights violations.

    “This is a systematic attempt to subjugate the Indigenous population, to destroy our will to resist, to eliminate our culture and way of life. But we will not give up until we win back our right to self-determination, stolen from us in the 1960s.

    “We need regional leaders in Melanesia and the Pacific to listen to our cry. All 83 countries that support the visit of the UN High Commissioner to West Papua must redouble efforts to ensure the visit takes place as a matter of extreme urgency, before more of my people are murdered.

    “As I have stated since 2019, I am ready to sit down with the Indonesian President to find a just solution to live in peace and harmony in West Papua.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • A Catholic priest from Bilogai parish, Father Yustinus Rahangiar, and several civil servants in Intan Jaya, accompany local residents to take wounded Janus Bagau (lying on the stretcher) to the community health center. Image: Suara Papua.

    Asia Pacific Report

    The Indonesian state is causing a renewed humanitarian crisis in West Papua. Three young West Papuan men have been murdered by the Indonesian military in Intan Jaya Regency, and hundreds of residents have now fled the area in fear.

    Indonesia must urgently allow the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua, says the leader of a “provisional” Papuan government.

    The authorities in Jakarta have been blamed for “causing a renewed humanitarian crisis”.

    Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua provisional government, said in a statement that three young Papuan men had been murdered by the Indonesian military in Intan Jaya regency.

    Hundreds of residents had now “fled the area in fear”.

    Wenda also called on Pacific nations to pay close attention to what was happening in West Papua.

    The three men, Janius Bagau were, Justinus Bagau and Soni Bagau, were alleged to have been tortured and killed on February 15 in a health centre where one of them was receiving treatment after being shot in the arm by a soldier.

    Amnesty statement of concern
    Amnesty Indonesia has issued an urgent statement of concern over the killings.

    “Fearing more acts of violence, at least 600 men, women and children have been displaced by the military’s actions, seeking shelter in a Catholic compound,” said the statement.

    “They join over 50,000 West Papuans internally displaced by Indonesian operations since December 2018. Over 400 have died from a lack of medical treatment and supplies. Indonesia is ethnically cleansing my people.”

    Wenda said that people displaced by the operations would have no access to healthcare.

    “They cannot tend to their crops. The children cannot go to school. In the middle of a pandemic, Indonesia continues to kill us West Papuans and force us from our homes by our thousands.

    “The Indonesian state has imposed martial law, using the covid-19 crisis as a cover to conduct military operations.

    “As the West Papua Council of Churches, the four Protestant denominations in our nation, put it in a statement on February 5, ‘The Land of Papua has become a military operation area’.

    International monitoring
    The ULMWP provisional government demanded that Indonesia immediately allow the international community into West Papua to assist civilians affected by military operations. It said:

    • Indonesia must allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua to conduct an investigation into the human rights situation, in accordance with the call of 83 international states; and
    • Indonesia must invite the International Committee of the Red Cross into West Papua. The Red Cross was banned from entering in 2009.

    “Regional leaders must pay attention to what is taking place in West Papua,” said Wenda.

    “Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands Forum: Indonesia is hiding behind claims of ‘sovereignty’ to crush my people.

    “This is not an ‘internal matter’, this is a question of military occupation and colonialism.

    “Our right to self-determination under international law is bullet-proof. Indonesia has lost the moral, political and legal argument, and has turned to the last thing it has left: brute violence.

    “We need urgent action to protect my people.”

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Asia Pacific Report

    The Indonesian state is causing a renewed humanitarian crisis in West Papua. Three young West Papuan men have been murdered by the Indonesian military in Intan Jaya Regency, and hundreds of residents have now fled the area in fear.

    Indonesia must urgently allow the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua, says the leader of a “provisional” Papuan government.

    The authorities in Jakarta have been blamed for “causing a renewed humanitarian crisis”.

    Benny Wenda, interim president of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua provisional government, said in a statement that three young Papuan men had been murdered by the Indonesian military in Intan Jaya regency.

    Hundreds of residents had now “fled the area in fear”.

    Wenda also called on Pacific nations to pay close attention to what was happening in West Papua.

    The three men, Janius Bagau were, Justinus Bagau and Soni Bagau, were alleged to have been tortured and killed on February 15 in a health centre where one of them was receiving treatment after being shot in the arm by a soldier.

    Amnesty statement of concern
    Amnesty Indonesia has issued an urgent statement of concern over the killings.

    “Fearing more acts of violence, at least 600 men, women and children have been displaced by the military’s actions, seeking shelter in a Catholic compound,” said the statement.

    “They join over 50,000 West Papuans internally displaced by Indonesian operations since December 2018. Over 400 have died from a lack of medical treatment and supplies. Indonesia is ethnically cleansing my people.”

    Wenda said that people displaced by the operations would have no access to healthcare.

    “They cannot tend to their crops. The children cannot go to school. In the middle of a pandemic, Indonesia continues to kill us West Papuans and force us from our homes by our thousands.

    “The Indonesian state has imposed martial law, using the covid-19 crisis as a cover to conduct military operations.

    “As the West Papua Council of Churches, the four Protestant denominations in our nation, put it in a statement on February 5, ‘The Land of Papua has become a military operation area’.

    International monitoring
    The ULMWP provisional government demanded that Indonesia immediately allow the international community into West Papua to assist civilians affected by military operations. It said:

    • Indonesia must allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua to conduct an investigation into the human rights situation, in accordance with the call of 83 international states; and
    • Indonesia must invite the International Committee of the Red Cross into West Papua. The Red Cross was banned from entering in 2009.

    “Regional leaders must pay attention to what is taking place in West Papua,” said Wenda.

    “Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands Forum: Indonesia is hiding behind claims of ‘sovereignty’ to crush my people.

    “This is not an ‘internal matter’, this is a question of military occupation and colonialism.

    “Our right to self-determination under international law is bullet-proof. Indonesia has lost the moral, political and legal argument, and has turned to the last thing it has left: brute violence.

    “We need urgent action to protect my people.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Get well wishes for Sir Michael Somare from Jayapura … Sir Michael (centre) is pictured in Port Moresby in February 2018 with the United Liberation Movement of West Papua chairman Benny Wenda and secretary-general Rex Rumakiek along with MSG leaders. Image: Markus Haluk/Tabloid Jubi

    By Benny Mawel in Jayapura

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has sent prayers for the recovery of the former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, who is critically ill with pancreatic cancer.

    Sir Michael, who is also the founder of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), is a figure who has played an important role in supporting ULMWP to become a member of the group.

    Now 84, Sir Michael is being treated at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby, as reported by Asia Pacific Report.

    PNG’s The National newspaper said that Cardinal Sir John Ribat had celebrated a special Eucharist with Sir Michael and his wife, Lady Veronica, at his hospital bed.

    The executive director of ULMWP in West Papua, Markus Haluk, said the movement and the people of West Papua also sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “The people of West Papua [send] healing prayers for Sir Michael Somare,” Haluk told Jubi yesterday.

    Haluk said that the news of Sir Michael Somare’s health condition reminded him of the meeting between ULMWP leaders and Sir Michael Somare at the MSG forum in Port Moresby in February 2018.

    ‘Look to the future’
    “I remember a message from Sir Somare, ‘West Papua don’t look at the past, but look to the future. I have opened my heart, you [ULMWP] are not alone anymore,” said Haluk.

    Haluk also remembered that a few minutes later the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea at the time, Peter O’Neill, came to the MSG meeting venue.

    ULMWP leaders were standing and chatting with Sir Michael Somare.

    Haluk, realising O’Neill had arrived, wanted to turn around and greet the prime minister, but Somare prevented him.

    “Sir Somare grabbed my shoulder, winked at me, telling me, ‘Don’t turn to face PM O’Neill. Later he will come in your midst ‘. I also followed Sir Somare’s body language,” said Haluk.

    What Sir Michael Somare said came to pass. After Peter O’Neill greeted all invited guests, ambassadors and MSG delegates, O’Neill went to Somare’s circle with the ULMWP delegates.

    “I spontaneously greeted PM O’Neill. ‘Nopase waaa… waaa… waaa…’ (Papuan greetings to an honourable figure). Sir Somare gasped at my greeting. O’Neill greeted, ‘waa… waa… waa… Thanks Bro ‘.

    “Then we shook hands with PM O’Neill,” said Haluk.

    ‘That’s Papuan politics’
    Haluk said he was very impressed with the meeting.

    “That’s Papuan politics, Melanesian politics. Everything flows from our hearts. [We] understand each other, acknowledge each other. You are important to me. We both need each other. Continue to keep the fellowship alive,” said Haluk.

    Haluk said the West Papuan people remember the stories and services of great figures such as Sir Michael Somare.

    According to Haluk, the people from Sorong to Samarai sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “Commemorating all the great services and sacrifices for the Papuan people, from Jayapura, West Papua, we send sincere prayers for healing to Sir Somare. I hope you get better soon,” said Haluk.

    This article has been translated by an Asia Pacific Report correspondent from Tabloid Jubi and published with permission.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • By Benny Mawel in Jayapura

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has sent prayers for the recovery of the former Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, who is critically ill with pancreatic cancer.

    Sir Michael, who is also the founder of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), is a figure who has played an important role in supporting ULMWP to become a member of the group.

    Now 84, Sir Michael is being treated at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby, as reported by Asia Pacific Report.

    PNG’s The National newspaper said that Cardinal Sir John Ribat had celebrated a special Eucharist with Sir Michael and his wife, Lady Veronica, at his hospital bed.

    The executive director of ULMWP in West Papua, Markus Haluk, said the movement and the people of West Papua also sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “The people of West Papua [send] healing prayers for Sir Michael Somare,” Haluk told Jubi yesterday.

    Haluk said that the news of Sir Michael Somare’s health condition reminded him of the meeting between ULMWP leaders and Sir Michael Somare at the MSG forum in Port Moresby in February 2018.

    ‘Look to the future’
    “I remember a message from Sir Somare, ‘West Papua don’t look at the past, but look to the future. I have opened my heart, you [ULMWP] are not alone anymore,” said Haluk.

    The National 230221
    “Get well, Sir Michael” – today’s front page banner headline in The National. Image: The National screenshot APR

    Haluk also remembers that a few minutes later the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea at the time, Peter O’Neill, came to the MSG meeting venue.

    ULMWP leaders were standing and chatting with Sir Michael Somare.

    Haluk, realising O’Neill had arrived, wanted to turn around and greet the prime minister, but Somare prevented him.

    “Sir Somare grabbed my shoulder, winked at me, telling me, ‘Don’t turn to face PM O’Neill. Later he will come in your midst ‘. I also followed Sir Somare’s body language,” said Haluk.

    What Sir Michael Somare said came to pass. After Peter O’Neill greeted all invited guests, ambassadors and MSG delegates, O’Neill went to Somare’s circle with the ULMWP delegates.

    “I spontaneously greeted PM O’Neill. ‘Nopase waaa… waaa… waaa…’ (Papuan greetings to an honourable figure). Sir Somare gasped at my greeting. O’Neill greeted, ‘waa… waa… waa… Thanks Bro ‘.

    “Then we shook hands with PM O’Neill,” said Haluk.

    ‘That’s Papuan politics’
    Haluk said he was very impressed with the meeting.

    “That’s Papuan politics, Melanesian politics. Everything flows from our hearts. [We] understand each other, acknowledge each other. You are important to me. We both need each other. Continue to keep the fellowship alive,” said Haluk.

    Haluk said the West Papuan people remember the stories and services of great figures such as Sir Michael Somare.

    According to Haluk, the people from Sorong to Samarai sent prayers for the recovery of Sir Michael Somare.

    “Commemorating all the great services and sacrifices for the Papuan people, from Jayapura, West Papua, we send sincere prayers for healing to Sir Somare. I hope you get better soon,” said Haluk.

    This article has been translated by an Asia Pacific Report correspondent from Tabloid Jubi and published with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Exiled Papuan leader Benny Wenda … “we are going to peacefully continue our long struggle for freedom until the world finally hears our cry”. Image: Office of Benny Wenda

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Indonesia is trying again to “divide and rule my people” by further carving Papua into three new provinces, warns interim president Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP).

    And he says that Jakarta is bringing in another 450 troops in to “violently enforce” its policies.

    “Indonesian troops torture and stab our bodies, international corporations slice down our forests and mountains, and now the Indonesian government is trying to divide our unity,” Wenda said in a statement.

    “We are not three separate regions – we are West Papuans, one people with one soul and one mission: freedom.

    “The people of West Papua have rejected these proposals, part of the renewal of the 2001 ‘Special Autonomy’ legislation.

    “Over 600,000 of us have signed a petition rejecting ‘Special Autonomy’. Even the head of the Papuan People’s Assembly, an institution set up by Jakarta, has rejected the sham programme.

    Wenda said ‘Special Autonomy’ was “a dead end”.

    ‘Indonesia has failed the world’
    “It is Jakarta’s wish. A referendum and full independence is our wish. Indonesia has failed the world, and failed the people of West Papua,” he said.

    To enforce this renewal of Special Autonomy, even more Indonesian troops were flooding into West Papua – 450 in the last month alone.

    At least 6000 new troops were sent in 2019 and more than 1000 more in 2020.

    “Indonesia is turning our land into a war zone, a martial law colony with military check points on every street corner,” Wenda said.

    “Civilian rule in Indonesia is a myth: the military still holds power. Retired generals experienced in genocide in East Timor continue to call the shots.

    “Indonesia has done this to us many times before. In 1963, they invaded our land. They held the fraudulent Act of No Choice in 1969, against the desires of all West Papuans.

    “At every turn, they have treated us like a colonised people, less than human. We are called monkeys, spat at, forced off our land.”

    Papuans rejected Indonesian law
    From 1 December 2020, Papuans had rejected all Indonesian law and formed the ULMWP Provisional Government.

    “We are no longer bowing down to Jakarta’s rule. I call on all my people to unite and refuse all Indonesian law. We are establishing our own sovereign government,” said Wenda.

    “As the legitimate representative of the people of West Papua, the provisional government is peacefully demanding the following:

    1.The withdrawal of all Indonesian troops from West Papua;
    2. An end to all forms of racism and discrimination against Melanesian West Papuans;
    3. Immediate access to West Papua for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in accordance with the call of 83 international states;
    4. Cancellation of ‘Special Autonomy’ and an immediate referendum on independence; and
    5. For all international states and multinational corporations to cease any and all funding for Jakarta’s ‘Special Autonomy’.”

    Wenda saidf the international community must help to force Indonesia to negotiate by withdrawing all support for the “failed ‘Special Autonomy’ project”.

    “The world may be banned from seeing what is happening in West Papua. But we can see it,” Wenda said.

    And we are going to peacefully continue our long struggle for freedom until the world finally hears our cry.

    Print Friendly, PDF & Email

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    Indonesia is trying again to “divide and rule my people” by further carving Papua into three new provinces, warns interim president Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP).

    And he says that Jakarta is bringing in another 450 troops in to “violently enforce” its policies.

    “Indonesian troops torture and stab our bodies, international corporations slice down our forests and mountains, and now the Indonesian government is trying to divide our unity,” Wenda said in a statement.

    “We are not three separate regions – we are West Papuans, one people with one soul and one mission: freedom.

    “The people of West Papua have rejected these proposals, part of the renewal of the 2001 ‘Special Autonomy’ legislation.

    “Over 600,000 of us have signed a petition rejecting ‘Special Autonomy’. Even the head of the Papuan People’s Assembly, an institution set up by Jakarta, has rejected the sham programme.

    Wenda said ‘Special Autonomy’ was “a dead end”.

    ‘Indonesia has failed the world’
    “It is Jakarta’s wish. A referendum and full independence is our wish. Indonesia has failed the world, and failed the people of West Papua,” he said.

    To enforce this renewal of Special Autonomy, even more Indonesian troops were flooding into West Papua – 450 in the last month alone.

    At least 6000 new troops were sent in 2019 and more than 1000 more in 2020.

    “Indonesia is turning our land into a war zone, a martial law colony with military check points on every street corner,” Wenda said.

    “Civilian rule in Indonesia is a myth: the military still holds power. Retired generals experienced in genocide in East Timor continue to call the shots.

    “Indonesia has done this to us many times before. In 1963, they invaded our land. They held the fraudulent Act of No Choice in 1969, against the desires of all West Papuans.

    “At every turn, they have treated us like a colonised people, less than human. We are called monkeys, spat at, forced off our land.”

    Papuans rejected Indonesian law
    From 1 December 2020, Papuans had rejected all Indonesian law and formed the ULMWP Provisional Government.

    “We are no longer bowing down to Jakarta’s rule. I call on all my people to unite and refuse all Indonesian law. We are establishing our own sovereign government,” said Wenda.

    “As the legitimate representative of the people of West Papua, the provisional government is peacefully demanding the following:

    1.The withdrawal of all Indonesian troops from West Papua;
    2. An end to all forms of racism and discrimination against Melanesian West Papuans;
    3. Immediate access to West Papua for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in accordance with the call of 83 international states;
    4. Cancellation of ‘Special Autonomy’ and an immediate referendum on independence; and
    5. For all international states and multinational corporations to cease any and all funding for Jakarta’s ‘Special Autonomy’.”

    Wenda saidf the international community must help to force Indonesia to negotiate by withdrawing all support for the “failed ‘Special Autonomy’ project”.

    “The world may be banned from seeing what is happening in West Papua. But we can see it,” Wenda said.

    And we are going to peacefully continue our long struggle for freedom until the world finally hears our cry.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    More leading Indonesian figures have made racial slurs against Natalius Pigai, former chair of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) – and all West Papuans, says United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny Wenda.

    “Since the illegal Indonesian invasion in 1963, Indonesian elites have made clear their racist plans to destroy Melanesian West Papuans as a distinct people,” said Wenda in a statement.

    Last month retired General Hendropriyono, former head of the Indonesian intelligence agency (BIN) and special forces (Kopassus) general, claimed that two million West Papuans should be separated from their Melanesian brothers and sisters in the Pacific and moved to the island of Manado in Indonesia.

    “This is racial ethnic cleansing, a genocidal fantasy at the highest levels of the Indonesian state,” Wenda said.

    Last week, one of President Jokowi’s most prominent supporters called a leading West Papuan human rights defender a “monkey”, the same racial slur that sparked the 2019 West Papua Uprising.

    Ambronicus Nababan, chair of the Pro Jokowi-Amin Volunteers (Projamin), made the racial comment about Natalius Pigai, former head of Indonesia’s leading human rights group.

    “These remarks stand in a long tradition. When Indonesia invaded our land, General Ali Moertopo said the Papuan people should be transferred to the moon,” Wenda said in the statement.

    ‘Obstacle to development’
    “In 2016, General Luhut Panjaitan said the Papuans should be transferred to the Pacific. Indonesia’s rulers have always seen us as sub-human, as an obstacle to ‘development’ that needs to be ethnically cleansed and killed.

    “My people rose up against this racism and colonisation in 2019. Thousands of students returned from the rest of Indonesia in an exodus from racism, dozens were killed by Indonesia, and hundreds arrested.

    “The Indonesian state punished those who spoke out with over 100 years of collective prison time. The killers and racists in the army, police and state-backed militias were allowed to go free.”

    These are not just statements from Indonesian officials, Wenda’s statement said.

    They were linked to the military operations that had displaced more than 60,000 people since December 2018. The racist attitudes “justify treating us as second-class citizens, torturing and imprisoning us for exercising our rights to free expression under international law”.

    Indonesia’s settler colonial project in West Papua had been built on racism.

    Wenda said this was why the ULMWP provisional government was formed on December 1 last year.

    ‘We are no longer accepting Indonesian law’
    “We are no longer accepting any Indonesian law, policy or proposal. We will not bow down to Indonesian rule any more. The provisional government is issuing the following four points:

    1. We reject all forms of Indonesian law enforced in West Papua;
    2. We support the 83 countries demanding Indonesia allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights into West Papua;
    3. The solution to West Papuan suffering is an independence referendum; and
    4. All West Papuans must unite behind the provisional government.

    “It is time to end this: no more torture, no more displacement, no more killing, no more discrimination. To all my people, those who are working in the Indonesian government, in the civil service, professionals, exiles, lawyers, those inside, in the highlands, coasts, islands and towns – we are no longer Indonesian citizens.

    “We are forming our own Melanesian nation. Come behind the provisional government, and we will peacefully reclaim our country and refuse Indonesia’s illegal occupation of our territory.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    Indonesia has pursued a strategy of aggressive arrests and violence against peaceful demonstrations for independence since the announcement of a provisional government of West Papua and rejection of Jakarta’s “Special Autonomy” renewal last month, reports the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

    ULMWP chair Benny Wenda was named interim President of the provisional government on 1 December 2020 as the Papuan people roundly rejected renewal of the failed 2001 Special Autonomy law.

    Highlighting the vast resources the Indonesian state is dedicating to crushing dissent over  renewal of Special Autonomy status across West Papua, a large convoy of heavily-armed police vehicles was photographed heading toward demonstrations in Manokwari last week on January 11.

    On January 7, West Papuan activist Alvarez Kapisa was arrested by Indonesian security forces.

    Kapisa helped organise meetings where West Papuan’s overwhelmingly asserted their rejection of the colonial special autonomy law, calling for their legal right to self-determination, decolonisation and independence.

    Nine more Papuans were arrested in Biak and Supiori between January 4-7 by joint Indonesian military and police patrols for questioning over their support for Benny Wenda’s provisional government and rejection of special autonomy.

    In Biak, they include Yusup Daimboa, Soleman Rumayomi and Yermias Rabrageri, as well as five villagers in Supirori.

    In Serui, Frans Kapisa, Yonathan Ruwayari and Yuliana Rumbara have also been detained. The International Lawyers for West Papua has released a statement condemning their treating.

    KNPB leader abducted
    On January 4, at 5pm, popular activist and National Committee for West Papua (KNPB) leader Naftall Tipagau was abducted by police intelligence agents, alleged ULMWP.

    The husband and father was attacked and dragged into a black van in front of his family, in Intan Jaya, where military operations have displaced over 13,000 people.

    He is yet to be released and no charges have been made by police.

    Tipagau actively reported in Intan Jaya, where the Indonesian military has recently killed Papuan priests.

    The recently discovered Wabu Bloc of gold reserves is planned for extraction by Freeport McMoran, the mining company responsible for decades of environmental destruction and human rights abuses at the Grasberg gold and copper mine in West Papua.

    Papuans and political leaders around the world were horrified on January 6 as plans for a complete “ethnic cleansing” of Papuans were revealed by Indonesian General Hendropriyono.

    Plan to remove Papuans
    The retired Kopassus general and former head of the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency (BIN) declared his proposal to forcibly remove two million Papuans from their homeland and replace them with Indonesians.

    He stated his plans for Indonesia to “transmigrate these two million people to Manado and move two million Manadonese over to Papua. What for? So that we could racially separate them from Papuans in PNG, so that they could feel more like Indonesians instead of foreigners”.

    This plan for ethnic cleansing matches the history of Indonesian population management, described as settler colonialism by a recent study.

    In 1985, the head of the Indonesian “Transmigration” policy of population resettlement described the aim of the programme thus: “The different ethnic groups will in the long run disappear because of integration, and there will be one kind of man.”

    That same day, on January 6, Indonesian forces tortured and killed Mispo Gwijangge, a Papuan who was only 14 years old when he was first arrested in 2018. The 16-year-old boy was falsely charged with the killing of 17 Indonesian soldiers in Nduga, and was imprisoned and tortured for 333 days.

    In Serui, Papuan elder and chairman of West Papua National Authority (WPNA) Waropen regency, Jeremias Rabrageri, was arrested by colonial Indonesian forces on December 30 along with his son, Reiner Rabrageri, after declaring his support for Benny Wenda’s provisional West Papuan government.

    In the week before Christmas, 4850 TNI soldiers were deployed to West Papua to assist the Indonesian police. TNI soldiers were placed throughout West Papua to shut down the peaceful demonstrations marking two decades of failed special autonomy that ended on January 1 and the displays of support for Benny Wenda’s provisional government.

    Confession to torture
    This deployment comes alongside a confession on December 23 by an Indonesian military chief that TNI soldiers tortured, murdered and burned two West Papuan brothers in their custody, alleges ULMWP.

    The bodies of Luther and Apinus Zanambani were then thrown into a river in April 2020.

    This is not the only recent execution carried out. On 26 October 2020, Catholic Catechist Rufinus Tigau was also murdered by the TNI in a village raid.

    On the anniversary of Indonesia’s 1961 attempted invasion of West Papua, on December 19, Indonesian police arrested both Indonesians and Papuans who came together to peacefully protest 59 years of human rights abuses.

    Lombok was the signing place of a notorious treaty between Indonesia and Australia, in which the latter promised to avoid upsetting Indonesia’s occupation of West Papua.

    Indonesian police attacked West Papuan students peacefully protesting against Indonesian human rights abuses, arresting 18 students in Nabire on 10 December 2020.

    Fourteen members of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB) were also arrested in Merauke and accused of treason on December 12, including chairman of the Merauke branch Charles Sraun, by Indonesian police, who also destroyed the KNPB office. They remain incarcerated and their families have been denied visitation rights.

    Media investigate Indonesian propaganda
    In December, Australian and British media began investigating the Indonesian government’s use of propaganda and fake social media accounts.

    Indonesian intelligence has been running a coordinated social media campaign to discredit the West Papuan independence movement, attributing online posts supporting Indonesia’s colonisation to UK politicians and Australian officials.

    This followed a Bellingcat investigation exposing Indonesia’s creation of fake profiles to disseminate pro-occupation propaganda that have flooded Facebook and Twitter in the past 12 months.

    On 12 January 2021, the Netherlands became the 83rd international state calling for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be allowed into West Papua.

    This comes after similar calls by the UK government on November 11 following a declaration of concern over killings of Papuans by Indonesian forces by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Part of the militarised police convoy at Manokwari, West Papua. Image: ULMWP

    Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

    Indonesia has pursued a strategy of aggressive arrests and violence against peaceful demonstrations for independence since the announcement of a provisional government of West Papua and rejection of Jakarta’s “Special Autonomy” renewal last month, reports the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).

    ULMWP chair Benny Wenda was named interim President of the provisional government on 1 December 2020 as the Papuan people roundly rejected renewal of the failed 2001 Special Autonomy law.

    Highlighting the vast resources the Indonesian state is dedicating to crushing dissent over  renewal of Special Autonomy status across West Papua, a large convoy of heavily-armed police vehicles was photographed heading toward demonstrations in Manokwari last week on January 11.

    On January 7, West Papuan activist Alvarez Kapisa was arrested by Indonesian security forces.

    Kapisa helped organise meetings where West Papuan’s overwhelmingly asserted their rejection of the colonial special autonomy law, calling for their legal right to self-determination, decolonisation and independence.

    Nine more Papuans were arrested in Biak and Supiori between January 4-7 by joint Indonesian military and police patrols for questioning over their support for Benny Wenda’s provisional government and rejection of special autonomy.

    In Biak, they include Yusup Daimboa, Soleman Rumayomi and Yermias Rabrageri, as well as five villagers in Supirori.

    In Serui, Frans Kapisa, Yonathan Ruwayari and Yuliana Rumbara have also been detained. The International Lawyers for West Papua has released a statement condemning their treating.

    KNPB leader abducted
    On January 4, at 5pm, popular activist and National Committee for West Papua (KNPB) leader Naftall Tipagau was abducted by police intelligence agents, alleged ULMWP.

    The husband and father was attacked and dragged into a black van in front of his family, in Intan Jaya, where military operations have displaced over 13,000 people.

    He is yet to be released and no charges have been made by police.

    Tipagau actively reported in Intan Jaya, where the Indonesian military has recently killed Papuan priests.

    The recently discovered Wabu Bloc of gold reserves is planned for extraction by Freeport McMoran, the mining company responsible for decades of environmental destruction and human rights abuses at the Grasberg gold and copper mine in West Papua.

    Papuans and political leaders around the world were horrified on January 6 as plans for a complete “ethnic cleansing” of Papuans were revealed by Indonesian General Hendropriyono.

    Plan to remove Papuans
    The retired Kopassus general and former head of the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency (BIN) declared his proposal to forcibly remove two million Papuans from their homeland and replace them with Indonesians.

    He stated his plans for Indonesia to “transmigrate these two million people to Manado and move two million Manadonese over to Papua. What for? So that we could racially separate them from Papuans in PNG, so that they could feel more like Indonesians instead of foreigners”.

    This plan for ethnic cleansing matches the history of Indonesian population management, described as settler colonialism by a recent study.

    In 1985, the head of the Indonesian “Transmigration” policy of population resettlement described the aim of the programme thus: “The different ethnic groups will in the long run disappear because of integration, and there will be one kind of man.”

    That same day, on January 6, Indonesian forces tortured and killed Mispo Gwijangge, a Papuan who was only 14 years old when he was first arrested in 2018. The 16-year-old boy was falsely charged with the killing of 17 Indonesian soldiers in Nduga, and was imprisoned and tortured for 333 days.

    In Serui, Papuan elder and chairman of West Papua National Authority (WPNA) Waropen regency, Jeremias Rabrageri, was arrested by colonial Indonesian forces on December 30 along with his son, Reiner Rabrageri, after declaring his support for Benny Wenda’s provisional West Papuan government.

    In the week before Christmas, 4850 TNI soldiers were deployed to West Papua to assist the Indonesian police. TNI soldiers were placed throughout West Papua to shut down the peaceful demonstrations marking two decades of failed special autonomy that ended on January 1 and the displays of support for Benny Wenda’s provisional government.

    Confession to torture
    This deployment comes alongside a confession on December 23 by an Indonesian military chief that TNI soldiers tortured, murdered and burned two West Papuan brothers in their custody, alleges ULMWP.

    The bodies of Luther and Apinus Zanambani were then thrown into a river in April 2020.

    This is not the only recent execution carried out. On 26 October 2020, Catholic Catechist Rufinus Tigau was also murdered by the TNI in a village raid.

    On the anniversary of Indonesia’s 1961 attempted invasion of West Papua, on December 19, Indonesian police arrested both Indonesians and Papuans who came together to peacefully protest 59 years of human rights abuses.

    Lombok was the signing place of a notorious treaty between Indonesia and Australia, in which the latter promised to avoid upsetting Indonesia’s occupation of West Papua.

    Indonesian police attacked West Papuan students peacefully protesting against Indonesian human rights abuses, arresting 18 students in Nabire on 10 December 2020.

    Fourteen members of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB) were also arrested in Merauke and accused of treason on December 12, including chairman of the Merauke branch Charles Sraun, by Indonesian police, who also destroyed the KNPB office. They remain incarcerated and their families have been denied visitation rights.

    Media investigate Indonesian propaganda
    In December, Australian and British media began investigating the Indonesian government’s use of propaganda and fake social media accounts.

    Indonesian intelligence has been running a coordinated social media campaign to discredit the West Papuan independence movement, attributing online posts supporting Indonesia’s colonisation to UK politicians and Australian officials.

    This followed a Bellingcat investigation exposing Indonesia’s creation of fake profiles to disseminate pro-occupation propaganda that have flooded Facebook and Twitter in the past 12 months.

    On 12 January 2021, the Netherlands became the 83rd international state calling for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to be allowed into West Papua.

    This comes after similar calls by the UK government on November 11 following a declaration of concern over killings of Papuans by Indonesian forces by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

    A renewed declaration of independence by an exiled West Papuan leader has stirred a negative response from other Papuan independence fighters who are part of the West Papua liberation army force clashing with Indonesian security troops.

    The rival fighters have rejected the peaceful unilateral claim of independence and in particular the claim that Benny Wenda is Papua’s provisional president, reports CNN Indonesia.

    On December 1 – West Papua’s national flag day when protests across Indonesia and globally each year raise the banned Morning Star flag in defiance – the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) chairperson Benny Wenda declared Papuan independence.

    He did not make the declaration on Papuan soil but rather through a press release
    on the ULMWP’s official website.

    In his declaration, Wenda said that he would no longer submit to the constitution and Indonesian law and that Papua will have its own laws and constitution.

    Aside from declaring Papuan independence, Wenda also stated that he had been appointed as the interim president of the provisional administration of the republic of Papua.

    “Today, we announce the formation of the West Papua provisional administration. We are ready to take over our territory, and we will no longer submit to Jakarta’s illegal military laws,” Wenda said.

    “Starting today, December 1, 2020, we will begin to apply our own constitution and reclaim our sovereign land.”

    Hot debate in news media
    Indonesian news and current affairs programmes such as on TV One have hotly debated the diplomacy challenge raised by Wenda. Two prominent human rights advocates have spoken out in support of West Papuan right to self-determination.

    Commentators on Indonesian television hotly dispute Benny Wenda’s diplomacy challenge over West Papua’s future. Image: TV One PMC screenshot

    The declaration has been disputed by other Papuan independence fighters who are part of the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM).

    “Starting today December 2, 2020, we from the TPNPB-OPM National Committee Central Management Office declare a motion of no confidence in Benny Wanda,” said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambon in a written release.

    The OPM believes that the claim of independence announced by Wenda will actually damage the Papuan people’s unity who are in the midst of an immediate struggle.

    Sambon even accused Wenda of working in the interests of foreign capitalists from the European Union, the United States and Australia.

    This, claimed Sambon, conflicted with the revolutionary principles of the Papuan nation.

    “According to international law Benny Wenda declared and announced his state and claim in a foreign country, namely in the country of the British monarchy, this is totally wrong and cannot be accepted by any sensible person,” he said.

    ‘No significant impact’ says military
    Wenda’s declaration of Papuan independence has not had any significant impact on the situation in Papua itself, claim Indonesian military leaders.

    The spokesperson for the Indonesian military’s (TNI) Joint Defence Area Command III, Colonel Czi IGN Suriastawa who said that so far the situation in Papua was “still favourable”.

    Suriastawa said that the declaration by Wenda is a matter for law enforcement officials and the TNI could only confirm that the situation in Papua was currently under control.

    “It’s pretty smooth in Papua. Let the police deal with BW (Benny Wenda) because [his declaration] leans in the direction of makar [treason, rebellion, subversion],” he said.

    Despite this, House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I member Sukamta has asked the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo not to take Wenda’s declaration lightly.

    According to Sukamta the government must immediately deal with this protracted problem through a comprehensive approach so that Papua did not suffer the same fate as East Timor which separated from Indonesia.

    “Don’t treat this development lightly, we don’t want Papua to end up like East Timor.

    “Shootings and attacks on the security forces and civil society are still continuing, showing that the situation in Papua is not yet stable,” said Sukamta.

    Declaration of independence
    Although it is widely held that West Papua declared independence from Indonesia on 1 December 1961, this actually marks the date when the Morning Star (Bintang Kejora) flag was first raised alongside the Dutch flag in an officially sanctioned ceremony in Jayapura, then called Hollandia.

    The first declaration of independence actually took place on 1 July 1971 at the Victoria Headquarters in Jayapura where the OPM raised the Morning Star flag and unilaterally proclaimed West Papua as an independent democratic republic.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was
    “Pecah Kongsi Benny Wenda dan OPM Soal Papua Merdeka”.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

    West Papuan leaders have begun forming a “provisional government” in defiance of a crackdown by Indonesian security forces and have pledged that the Melanesian region will establish the world’s first “green state”.

    West Papuan civil society and political movements have opposed Indonesian colonisation of the region since 1962 and the announcement of this government-in-waiting yesterday – West Papua’s independence flag day – and push for a referendum has raised the stakes.

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) aims to mobilise the people of West Papua to achieve the referendum on independence.

    Following this the ULMWP intends to take control of the territory and organise democratic elections.

    “Indonesian repression currently renders elections impossible,” said the ULMWP in a statement.

    “Today, we honour and recognise all our forefathers who fought and died for us by finally establishing a united government-in-waiting,” declared Benny Wenda, named interim president of the provisional government.

    “Embodying the spirit of the people of West Papua, we are ready to run our country. As laid out in our Provisional Constitution, a future republic of West Papua will be the world’s first green state, and a beacon of human rights – the opposite of decades of bloody Indonesian colonisation.

    “Another step for ‘free West Papua’

    “Today, we take another step towards our dream of a free, independent and liberated West Papua.”

    The ULMWP statement said the rest of the cabinet would be announced in future months, and an Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) is expected “at an appropriate time”.

    The announcement is a direct rejection of Jakarta’s attempts to extend “special autonomy” provisions in West Papua.

    First imposed in 2001, the Special Autonomy status will expire at the end of the year, and is the target of a mass petition sponsored by 102 civil society organisations across West Papua.

    Thirty-six people were arrested in Manokwari and Sorong on Friday after raising the banned Morning Star flag.

    West Papua flag raising
    West Papuan flag-raising in Auckland. Image: Jim Marbrook/PMC

    Flag-raising protests were raised yesterday at several locations in New Zealand – including on the steps of Parliament and at a symposium at Auckland University of Technology – as part of a global protest.

    West Papuans worldwide mark independence day on December 1, the anniversary of the region’s declaration of independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1961 and the raising of its now-banned Morning Star flag.

    On Monday, the UN Office of Human Right spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Papua and West Papua said: “We are disturbed by escalating violence over the past weeks and months in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua and the increased risk of renewed tension and violence.”

    She said in a statement that in one incident on November 22, a 17-year-old was shot dead and another 17-year-old injured in an alleged police shootout, with the bodies found at the Limbaga Mountain, Gome District.

    Earlier, in September and October 2020 there had been “a disturbing series of killings” of at least six individuals, including activists and church workers.

    At least two members of the security forces were also killed in clashes.

    The UN office has called for an inquiry into the violence.

    “The new provisional constitution centres on environmental protections, social justice, gender equality and religious freedom, and protects the rights of Indonesian migrants living in West Papua,” said the ULMWP statement.

    “The constitution establishes a governance structure, including the form

    West Papua’s Benny Wenda (left) with a former PMC journalist, Henry Yamo, at the Pacific Media Centre on his last visit to New Zealand in 2013. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

    ation of a Congress, Senate and judicial branch.

    “The government is supported by all liberation groups inside West Papua, representing the overwhelming majority of the people.”

    The ULMWP delivered the West Papuan People’s Petition, signed by 70 percent of West Papuans, to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2019.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.