On 30 June 2022, the Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta passed legislation to split West Papua into three more pieces.
The Papuan people’s unifying name for their independence struggle — “West Papua” — is now being shattered by Jakarta’s draconian policies. Under this new legislation, the two existing provinces have been divided into five, which include South Papua, Central Papua, and Highland Papua.
Indonesia’s Vice-President, Ma’ruf Amin said while addressing an audience at the Special Autonomy Law Change in Jayapura, Papua’s capital, on Tuesday, 29 November 2022, “right now, we are building Papua better”, reported the Indonesian news agency Antara.
“Changes to special autonomy are a natural thing and are in the process of the national policy cycle to make things even better,” continued the Vice-President.
The day is significant and historic because it was on 19 October 1961 that the first New Guinea Council, known as Nieuw Guinea Raad, named West Papua as the name of a new modern nation-state — the Papuan Independent State was founded.
It was before Papua New Guinea (PNG) gained independence in 1975 from Australia.
Papuans were subjected to all kinds of abuse and violations due to how this island of New Guinea was named and described in colonial literature.
Foreign reinventions
Foreign powers continue to dissect West Papua, renaming it, creating new identities, and reinventing new definitions by making it merely an outpost of foreign imperialism in the periphery where abundant food and minerals are extracted and stolen, without penalty or consequence.
Papuans do not appear to give up their sacred ancestral land without a fight.
The name “West Papua”, however, remains a burning flame in the hearts of all living beings who yearn for freedom and justice. The name was chosen 61 years ago because of this reason. This is the name of a newborn nation-state.
After Indonesia invaded West Papua on May 1, 1963, the name West Papua was changed to Irian Jaya. West Papua had been called The Netherlands New Guinea up to the point of the first New Guinea Council in 1961.
The year 2000 marked another significant period in the history of West Papua. The former Indonesian president, Abdurrahman Wahid — famously known as Gusdur — renamed it from Irian Jaya to Papua, a move that etched a special place in the hearts of Papuans for Gusdur.
In 2003, not only did West Papua’s name change. But West Papua was split in half — Papua and West Papua. This fragmentation was achieved by Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of the first Indonesian president, Sukarno, the man responsible for 60 years of Papuan bloodshed.
She violated a provision of the Special Autonomy Law 2001, which was based on the idea that Papua remain a single territory. As prescribed by law, any division would need to be approved by the Papuan provincial legislature and local Papuan cultural assembly.
Tragic turning point
They were institutions set up by Jakarta itself to safeguard Papuan people, language, and culture.
One significant aspect of the first Special Autonomy Law was, any new policy introduced by the central government in relation to changing, adjusting, or creating a new identity of the region (West Papua) must be approved by the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP). But this has never happened to date.
The year 2022 marks another tragic turning point in the fate of West Papua. West Papua is being divided again this year under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, in the same manner that Jakarta did 20 years ago.
It is common for Jakarta elites to act inconsistently with their own laws when dealing with West Papua. Jakarta violated both the UN Charter and the New York Agreement, which they themselves agreed to and signed.
For example, chapters 11 (XI), 12 (XII), and 13 (XIII) of the UN Charter governing decolonisation and Papua’s right to self-determination, as specified in the New York Agreement’s Articles 18 (XVII), 19 (XIX), 20 (XX), 21 (XXI), and 22 (XXII) have not been followed. The words, texts and practices all contradict each other — demonstrating possible psychological disturbance — traumatising Papuans by being administered by such a pathological entity.
The disdain and demeaning behaviour shown by Indonesian governments towards Papuans in West Papua over the past 61 years are unforgivable and stained permanently in the soul of every living being in West Papua and New Guinea island.
“Right now, we are building Papua better,” declared Indonesia’s Vice-President, a narcissistic utterance from the highest office of the country, and this illustrates Jakarta’s complete disconnect from West Papua.
Morning Star flag-waving images from West Papua Independence Day 2022. Images: Papua Voulken
What led to this tragic situation?
West Papua has endured a lot for more than half a century, having been renamed and re-described numerous times by foreign invaders, from “IIha de papo” and “o’ Papuas” to “Isla de Oro”, or “Island of Gold”, to New Guinea, and New Guinea to Netherlands, English and German Papua and New Guinea. From this emerged Papua New Guinea, West Papua and Irian Jaya, and from Irian Jaya to Papua and West Papua.
As a result of renaming and colonial descriptions of Papuans as unintelligent pygmies, cannibals, and pagan savages; people without value, different foreign colonial intruders were able to enter West Papua and exploit and treat the Papuan people and their land, in accordance with the myth they created based on these names.
In addition to fostering a racist mindset, this depiction misrepresented reality as it was experienced and understood by Papuans over thousands of years.
The Jakarta settler colonial government continues to engage with West Papua with these profoundly misconstrued ideas. Hence the total disregard for what Papuans want or feel regarding their fate is a result of colonial renaming and accounts.
Now the eastern half remains under one name: Papua New Guinea. Jakarta’s settler colonial rulers just created five more settler provinces on the Western side of the island: South Papua Province, Central Papua Province, and Central Highlands Papua Province.
All these new settler colonial provinces are in the heart of New Guinea. Looking at West Papua’s history, we see so many marks and bruises of abuse and torture on her sacred body. In the future, West Papua is likely to suffer yet another grim fate of more torture with such dishonest words from Indonesia’s Vice-President.
Another sacred day
Today, December 1, marks yet another sacred day where we hold West Papua in our hearts and rally to her defence as her enemy marches to cut her into pieces on the settler colonial’s bed of Procrustes.
Let us remember and give glory to West Papua with the following words:
West Papua is an ancient and original particle, an atom of light and hope. It is a story about survival, resistance, betrayal, destruction, genocide, and survival against the odds. It is the last frontier where humanity’s greatness and wickedness are tested, where tragedy, aspiration, and hope are revealed. Papua is an innocent sacrificial lamb, a peace broker among the planet’s monsters, but no one knows her story — hidden deep beneath the earth – supporting sacred treaties between savages and warlords. West Papua is the home of the last original magic, the magic of nature. West Papua is the home of our original ancestors, the archaic Autochthons, the spiritual ancestors of our dream-time spiritual warriors — the pioneers of nature — the first voyageur across dangerous seas and land — the first agriculturalist — the most authentic, the original — we are the past and we are the future. West Papua is the original dream that has yet to be realised — a dream in the process of restoration to its original glory.
This is where West Papua is now. You cut me into pieces millions of times in millions of years, I will rebuild West Papua with these pieces a million times over again.
Happy West Papua Independence Day!
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Papua People’s Petition (PRP) protesters have braved brutal police blockades, forced dispersals and assaults while staging simultaneous mass actions across Papua.
The actions were held on Thursday to demonstrate the people’s opposition to revisions of the Special Autonomy Law on Papua (Otsus), the creation of new autonomous regions (DOB) and reaffirming demands for a referendum on independence.
Reports by Suara Papua have covered the following rallies:
Jayapura A PRP action in Jayapura was held under tight security by police who subsequently broke up the rally, resulting in several people being hit and punched by police.
Four students — Welinus Walianggen, Ebenius Tabuni, Nias Aso and Habel Fauk — were assaulted by police near the PT Gapura Angkasa warehouse at the Cenderawasih University (Uncen) in Waena, Jayapura when police forcibly broke up the student protest.
According to Walianggen, one of the action coordinators, scores of police officers used batons and rattan sticks to disperse them.
Meanwhile, PRP protesters arriving from different places conveyed their demands at the Papua Regional House of Representatives (DPRP) office. Although they were blocked by police, negotiations were held at the main entrance to the Parliament building.
Several DPRP members then met with the demonstrators who handed over a document stating their opposition to the creation of the three new provinces (South Papua, Central Papua and the Papua Highlands) — ratified by the House of Representatives (DPR) during a plenary meeting in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, June 31 — and and demanding that revisions to the Special Autonomy law be revoked.
Timika In Timika, a PRP action was held in front of the Mimika Indonesian Builders Association (Gapensi) offices but this was broken up by police.
Despite not having permission from police, several speakers expressed the Papuan people’s opposition to Otsus, the DOBs and demands for a referendum. The speakers also called for the closure of the PT Freeport gold and copper mine and the cancellation of planned mining activities in the Wabu Block.
Nabire In Nabire, PRP protesters held their ground against the police but many people who had gathered at Karang Tumaritis, SP 1 and Siriwini were arrested and taken away by the Nabire district police.
A short time later, demonstrators from several places headed towards the Nabire Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) office where they packed into the Parliament grounds.
While they were giving speeches, the demonstrators who had been arrested rejoined the action after being dropped off by several Nabire district police vehicles.
Meepago Speakers representing various different organisations and elements of Papuan society in the Meepago region took turns in expressing their views.
PRP liaison officer for the Meepago region Agus Tebai said that the Papuan people, including those from Meepago, rejected Otsus and the DOBs in the land of Papua. Speakers also said that Otsus and the recently enacted laws on the creation of three new provinces in Papua must be annulled.
Tebai said that the Papuan people were calling for an immediate referendum to determine the future of West Papua. These demands were handed over to the people’s representatives and accepted by three members of the Nabire DPRD.
Manokwari In Manokwari, PRP protesters gathered on the Amban main road and gave speeches.
The hundreds of demonstrators were blocked by police and prevented from holding a long march to the West Papua DPRD offices. Negotiations between police and the action coordinator achieved nothing and the demonstrators then disbanded in an orderly fashion.
Similar mass actions were also held in Yahukimo, Boven Digoel, Sorong and Kaimana in West Papua province.
Wamena In Wamena, meanwhile, the Lapago regional PRP conveyed its support for protesters who took to the streets via video. According to PRP Lapago Secretary Namene Elopere there was no action in Wamena for the Lapago region in accordance with the initial schedule because they were still coordinating with the Jayawijaya district police.
Aside from protest in Papua, simultaneous actions were also held in Bali, Ambon (Maluku), Surabaya (East Java), Yogyakarta (Central Java), Bandung (West Java) and Jakarta.
The Civil Organisations Solidarity for Papua Land has condemned Indonesia’s Papua expansion plan of forming three new provinces risks causing new social conflicts.
And the group has urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to cancel the plan, according to a statement reports Jubi.
The group — comprising the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua), JERAT Papua, KPKC GKI in Papua Land, YALI Papua, PAHAM Papua, Cenderawasih University’s Human Rights and Environment Democracy Student Unit, and AMAN Sorong — said the steps taken by the House of Representatives of making three draft bills to establish three New Autonomous Regions (DOB) in Papua had created division between the Papuan people.
As well as the existing two provinces (DOB), Papua and West Papua, the region would be carved up to create the three additional provinces of Central Papua, South Papua, and Central Highlands Papua.
The solidarity group noted that various movements with different opinions have expressed their respective aspirations through demonstrations, political lobbying, and even submitting a request for a review of Law No. 2/2021 on the Second Amendment to Law No. 21/2001 on Papua Special Autonomy (Otsus).
These seven civil organisations also noted that the controversy over Papua expansion had led to a number of human rights violations, including the breaking up of protests, as well as police brutality against protesters.
However, the central government continued to push for the Papua expansion, and the House had proposed three bills for the expansion.
Wave of demonstrations The Civil Organisations Solidarity for Papua Land said it was worried the expansion plan would raise social conflicts between parties with different opinions.
They said such potential for social conflict had been seen through a wave of demonstrations that continue to be carried out by the Papuan people — both those who rejected and supported new autonomous regions.
The potential for conflict could also be seen from the polemic on which area would be the new capital province.
In addition, rumours about the potential for clashes between groups had also been widely circulated on various messaging services and social media.
“All the facts present have only shown that the establishment of new provinces in Papua has triggered the potential for social conflicts,” the solidarity group said.
“This seems to have been noticed by the Papua police as well, as they have urged their personnel to increase vigilance ahead of the House’s plenary session to issue the new Papua provinces laws,” said the group.
The group reminded the government that the New Papua Special Autonomy Law, which is used as the legal basis for the House to propose three Papua expansion bills, was still being reviewed in the Constitutional Court.
Public opinion ignored
Furthermore, the House’s proposal of the bills did not take into account public opinion as mandated by Government Regulation No. 78/2007 on Procedures for the Establishment, Abolition, and Merger of Regions.
“It is the most reasonable path if the Central Government [would] stop the deliberation of the Papua Expansion plan, which has become the source of disagreement among Papuan people.
“We urged the Indonesian President to immediately cancel the controversial plan to avoid escalation of social conflict,” said the Civil Organisations Solidarity for Papua Land.
The solidarity group urged the House’s Speaker to nullify the Special Committee for Formulation of Papua New Autonomous Region Policy, as well as the National Police Chief and the Papuan Governor to immediately take the necessary steps to prevent social conflict in Papua, by implementing Law No. 7/2012 on Handling Social Conflicts.
The seven civil organisations also urged all Papuan leaders not to engage in activities that could trigger conflict between opposing groups over the Papua expansion.
“Papuan community leaders are prohibited from being actively involved in fuelling the polarisation of this issue,” the group said.
A flurry of peaceful rallies and protests erupted in West Papua and Indonesia on Friday, June 3.
Papuan People’s Petition (PRP), the National Committee for West Papua (Komite Nasional Papua Barat-KNPB) and civil society groups and youth from West Papua marched in protest of Jakarta’s plan to create more provinces.
Thousands of protesters marched through the major cities and towns in each of West Papua’s seven regions, including Jayapura, Wamena, Paniai, Sorong, Timika/Mimika, Yahukimo, Lanny Jaya, Nabire, and Merauke.
As part of the massive demonstration, protests were organised in Indonesia’s major cities of West Java, Central Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, and Bali.
Demonstrators said Papuans wanted an independence referendum, not new provinces or special autonomy.
3/6/22 Wamena, West Papua
“Papua: freedom!”
“Referendum: yes!”
Thousands of protestors are rejecting Jakarta’s arbitrary plan to create new provinces and Special Autonomy status. They are demanding an independence referendum. pic.twitter.com/QnxBu8egHp
— Veronica Koman 許愛茜 (@VeronicaKoman) June 3, 2022
According to Markus Haluk, one of the key coordinators of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), almost all Papuans took to the streets to show Jakarta and those who want to wipe out the Papuan people that they do not need special autonomy or new provinces.
[CW: blood]
This student protestor is the embodiment of West Papuan spirit. Indonesian forces beat him bloody but he will not be silenced.
— Veronica Koman 許愛茜 (@VeronicaKoman) June 3, 2022
Above is a text image that captures the spirit of the demonstrators. A young man is shown being beaten on the head and blood running down his face during a demonstration in Jayapura city of Papua on Friday.
The text urges Indonesia’s president Jokowi to be tagged on social media networks and calls for solidarity action.
Numerous protesters were arrested and beaten by Indonesian police during the demonstration.
Security forces brutalised demonstrators in the cities of Sorong, Jayapura, Yahukimo, Merauke, and elsewhere where demonstrations were held.
Hi Prof. Dr. MAHFUD….. where you get 82% people of West Papua supporting your government’s DOB and Otsus Jilid Il?
Even in these pictures can tell you the real fact that 99, 99% of indigenous West Papuans REJECTED your DOB and the Otonomi Jilid Il. pic.twitter.com/e9SS1QTi71
An elderly mother is seen been beaten on the head during the demonstration in Sorong. Tweet: West Papua Sun
People who are beaten and arrested are treated inhumanely and are not followed up with proper care, nor justice, in one of Asia-Pacific’s most heavily militarised areas.
Among those injured in Sorong, these people have been named Aves Susim (25), Sriyani Wanene (30), Mama Rita Tenau (50), Betty Kosamah (22), Agus Edoway (25), Kamat (27), Subi Taplo (23), Amanda Yumte (23), Jack Asmuru (20), and Sonya Korain (22).
Root of the protests in the 1960s
The protests and rallies are not merely random riots, or protests against government corruption or even pay raises. The campaign is part of decades-old protests that have been carried out against what the Papuans consider to be an Indonesian invasion since the 1960s.
The Indonesian government claims West Papua’s fate was sealed with Indonesia after a United Nations-organised 1969 referendum, known as the Pepera or Act of Free Choice, something Papuans consider a sham and an Act of No Choice.
In spite of Indonesia’s claim, the Indonesian invasion of West Papua began in 1963, long before the so-called Act of Free Choice in 1969.
It was well documented that the 1025 Papuan elders who voted for Indonesian occupancy in 1969 were handpicked at gunpoint.
In the six years between 1963 and 1969, Indonesian security forces tortured and beat these elders into submission before the vote in 1969 began.
Friday’s protesters were not merely protesting against Jakarta’s draconian policy of drawing yet another arbitrary line through Papuan ancestral territory, but also against Indonesia’s illegal occupation.
The Papuans accuse Jakarta of imposing laws, policies, and programmes that affect Papuans living in West Papua, while it is illegally occupying the territory.
Papuans will protest indefinitely until the root cause is addressed. On the other hand, the Indonesian government seems to care little about what the Papuans actually want or think.
Markus Haluk said Indonesia did not view Papuans as human beings equal to that of Indonesians, and this mades them believe that what Papuans want and think, or how Jakarta’s policy may affect Papuans, had no value.
Jakarta, he continued, will do whatever it wants, however, it wishes, and whenever it wishes in regard to West Papua.
In light of this sharp perceptual contrast, the relationship between Papuans and the Indonesian government has almost reached a dead end.
Fatal disconnect
The Lowy Institute, Australia’s leading think-tank, published an article entitled What is at stake with new provinces in West Papua? on 28 April 2022 that identifies some of the most critical terminology regarding this dead-end protracted conflict — one of which is “fatal disconnect”.
The conclusion of the article stated, “On a general level, this means that there is a fatal disconnect between how the Indonesian government view their treatment of the region, and how the people actually affected by such treatment see the arrangement.”
It is this fatal disconnect that has brought these two states — Papua and Indonesia — to a point of no return. Two states are engaged in a relationship that has been disconnected since the very beginning, which has led to so many fatalities.
The author of the article, Eduard Lazarus, a Jakarta-based journalist and editor covering media and social movements, wrote:
That so many indigenous West Papuans expressed their disdain against renewing the Special Autonomy status … is a sign that something has gone horribly wrong.
The tragedy of this irreconcilable relationship is that Jakarta does not reflect on its actions and is willfully ignorant of how its rhetoric and behaviour in dealing with West Papua has caused such human tragedy and devastation spanning generations.
The way that Jakarta’s leaders talk about their “rescue” plans for West Papua displays this fatal disconnect.
KOMPAS.com reported on June 2 that Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin had asked Indonesian security forces to use a “humanist approach” in Papua rather than violence.
Ma’ruf expressed this view also in a virtual speech made at the Declaration of Papua Peace event organised by the Papuan Indigenous Peoples Institute on June 6.
In a press release, Ma’ruf said he had instructed the combined military and police officials to use a humanist approach, prioritise dialogical efforts, and refrain from violence.
Ma’ruf believes that conducive security conditions are essential to Papua’s development, and that the government aims to promote peace and unity in Papua through various policies and regulations.
The Papua Special Autonomy Law, he continued, regulates the transfer of power from provinces to regencies and cities, as well as increasing the percentage of Papua Special Autonomy Funds transferred to 2.25 percent of the National General Allocation Fund.
Additionally, according to the Vice-President, the government is drafting a presidential regulation regarding a Papuan Development Acceleration Master Plan (RIPPP) and establishing the Papuan Special Autonomy Development Acceleration Steering Agency (BP3OKP) directly headed by Ma’ruf himself.
He also underscored the importance of a collaboration between all parties, including indigenous Papuans. Ma’ruf believes that Papua’s development will speed up soon since the traditional leaders and all members of the Indigenous Papuan Council are willing to work together and actively participate in building the Land of Papua.
Indonesia’s new military commander
General Andika Perkasa. Image: File
Recently, Indonesia’s newly appointed Commander of Armed Forces, General Andika Perkasa, proposed a novel, humanistic approach to handling political conflict in West Papua.
Instead of removing armed combatants with gunfire, he has vowed to use “territorial development operations” to resolve the conflict. In these operations, personnel will conduct medical, educational, and infrastructure-building missions to establish a rapport with Papuan communities in an effort to steer them away from the independence movement.
In order to accomplish Perkasa’s plans, the military will have to station a large number of troops in West Papua in addition to the troops currently present.
When listening to these two countries’ top leaders, they appear full of optimism in the words and new plans they describe.
But the reality behind these words is something else entirely. There is, as concluded by Eduard Lazarus, a fatal disconnect between West Papuan and Jakarta’s policymakers, but Jakarta is unable to recognise it.
Jakarta seems to suffer from cognitive dissonance or cognitive disconnect when dealing with West Papua — a lack of harmony between its heart, words, and actions.
Cognitive dissonance is, by definition, a behavioural dysfunction with inconsistency in which the personal beliefs held, what has been said, and what has been done contradict each other.
Vice-chair of Papuan People’s Representative Council Yunus Wonda. Image: File
This contradiction, according to Yunus Wonda, deputy chair of the Papuan People’s Representative Council, occurs when the government changes the law and modifies and amends it as they see fit.
What is written, what is practised, and what is in the heart do not match. Papuans suffer greatly because of this, according to Yunus Wonda.
Mismanagement of a fatalistic nature
Jakarta continues to mismanage West Papua with fatalistic inconsistent policies, which, according to the article, “might already have soured” to an irreparable degree.
The humanist approach now appears to be another code in Indonesia’s gift package, delivered to the Papuans as a Trojan horse.
The words of Indonesia’s Vice-President and the head of its Armed Forces are like a band aid with a different colour trying to cover an old wound that has barely healed.
According to Wonda, the creation of new provinces is like trying to put the smoke out while the fire is still burning.
Jakarta had already tried to bandage those old wounds with the so-called “Special Autonomy” 20 years ago. The Autonomy gift was granted not out of goodwill, but out of fear of Papuan demands for independence.
However, Jakarta ended up making a big mess of it.
The same rhetoric is also seen here in the statement of the Vice-President. Even though the semantic choices and construction themselves seem so appealing, this language does not translate into reality in the field.
This is the problem — something has gone very wrong, and Jakarta isn’t willing to find out what it is. Instead, it keeps imposing its will on West Papua.
Jakarta keeps preaching the gospel of development, prosperity, peace, and security but does not ask what Papuans want.
The 2001 Special Autonomy Law was supposed to allow Papuans to have greater power over their fate, which included 79 articles designed to protect their land and culture.
Furthermore, under this law, one important institution, the Papuan People’s Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua-MRP), together with provincial governments and the Papuan People’s Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua-DPRP), was given the authority to deal with matters that are most important to them, such as land, population control, cultural identity, and symbols.
Section B of the introduction part of the Special Autonomy law contains the following significant provisions:
That the Papua community is God’s creation and is a part of a civilised people, who hold high human rights, religious values, democracy, law and cultural values in the adat (customary) law community and who have the right to fairly enjoy the results of development.
Three weeks after these words were written into law, popular independence leader Theys H. Eluay was killed by Indonesian special forces (Kopassus). Ryamizard Ryacudu, then-army chief-of-staff, who in 2014 became Jokowi’s first Defence Minister, later called the killers “heroes” (Tempo.co, August 19, 2003).
In 2003, the Megawati Soekarnoputri government divided the province into two, violating a provision of the Special Autonomy Law, which was based on the idea that Papua remains a single territory. As prescribed by law, any division would need to be approved by the Papuan provincial legislature and MRP.
Over the 20 years since the Autonomy gift was granted, Jakarta has violated and undermined any legal and political framework it agreed to or established to engage with Papuans.
Governor Lukas Enembe … not enough resources to run the five new provinces being created in West Papua. Image: West Papua Today
Papuan Indigenous leaders reject Jakarta’s band aid
On May 27, Governor Lukas Enembe of the settler province of Papua, told Reuters there were not enough resources to run new provinces and that Papuans were not properly consulted.
As the governor, direct representative of the central government, Enembe was not even consulted about the creation of new provinces.
Yunus Wonda and Timotius Murid, two Indigenous Papuan leaders entrusted to safeguard the Papuan people and their culture and customary land under two important institutions — the Papuan People’s Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua-MRP) and People’s Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua-DPRP) — were not consulted about the plans.
Making matters worse, Jakarta stripped them of any powers they had under the previous autonomous status, which set the precedent for Jakarta to amend the previous autonomous status law in 2021.
This amendment enables Jakarta to create new provinces.
The aspirations and wishes of the Papuan people were supposed to be channelled through these two institutions and the provincial government, but Jakarta promptly shut down all avenues that would enable Papuans to have their voices heard.
Governor Enembe faces constant threats, terrorism Governor Enembe has also been terrorised and intimidated by unknown parties over the past couple of years. He said, “I am an elected governor of Indonesia, but I am facing these constant threats and terror. What about my people? They are not safe.”
This is an existential war between the state of Papua and the state of Indonesia. We need to ask not only what is at stake with the new provinces in West Papua, but also, what is at stake in West Papua under Indonesia’s settler-colonial rule?
Four critical existential issues facing West Papua
There are four main components of Papuan culture at stake in West Papua under Indonesia’s settler-colonial rule:
1. Papuan humans
2. Papuan languages
3. Papuan oral cultural knowledge system
4. Papuan ancestral land and ecology
Papua’s identity was supposed to be protected by the Special Autonomy Law 2001.
However, Jakarta has shown no interest or intention in protecting these four existential components. Indonesia continues to amend, create, and pass laws to create more settler-colonial provincial spaces that threaten Papuans.
The end goal isn’t to provide welfare to Papuans or protect them, but to create settlers’ colonial areas so that new settlers — whether it be soldiers, criminal thugs, opportunists, poor improvised Indonesian immigrants, or colonial administrators — can fill those new spaces.
Jakarta is, unfortunately, turning these newly created spaces into new battlegrounds between clans, tribes, highlanders, coastal people, Papua province, West Papua province, families, and friends, as well as between Papuans and immigrants.
Media outlets in Indonesia are manipulating public opinion by portraying one leader as a proponent of Jakarta’s plan and the other as its opponent, further fuelling tension between leaders in Papua.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Indonesian police have been accused of beating two Papuan students with rattan sticks – severely injuring them — while 20 other students have been injured and the Morning Star flag seized in a crackdown on separate protests yesterday across the two Melanesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.
The protesters were blocked by police during a long march in the provincial capital of Jayapura opposing planned new autonomous regions in Papua.
Papuan human rights activist Younes Douw said almost 3000 students and indigenous Papuans (OAP) took to the streets for the action.
“Around 650 students took to the streets today. Added to by the Papuan community of around 2000 people,” Douw told CNN Indonesia.
Douw said that the actions yesterday were held at several different points in Jayapura such as Yahukimo, Waena and Abepura.
Almost every single gathering point, however, was blockaded by police.
Police blockade
“Like this morning there was a police blockade from Waena on the way to Abepura,” he said.
Douw said that two students were injured because of the repressive actions by police.
The two were named as Jayapura Science and Technology University (USTJ) student David Goo and Cendrawasih University (Unas) student Yebet Tegei.
Both suffered serious head injuries.
“They were beaten using rattan sticks,” Douw said.
Jayapura district police chief Assistant Superintendent Victor Mackbon denied the reports from the students.
“It’s a hoax. So please, if indeed they exist, they [should] report it. But if they don’t exist, that means it’s not true,” Mackbon told CNN Indonesia.
Demonstration banned
The police had earlier banned the demonstration against new autonomous regions being organised by the Papua People’s Petition (PRP).
The Papua Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) said that by last night at least 20 people had been injured as a result of police violence in in breaking up the protests.
“In Sorong, 10 people were injured. In Jayapura, 10 were also injured,” LBH Papua chair Emanuel Gobay told Kompas.com.
“The injuries were a consequence of the repressive approach by police against demonstrators when they broke up the rallies,” he said.
Police also arrested several people during the protests.
“In Nabire, 23 people were arrested then released later in the afternoon.
“Two people were also arrested in Jayapura and released later,” Gobay said.
When this article was published, however, local police were still denying that any protesters had been injured.
Tear gas fired at protesters as police break up a demonstration in Sorong, West Papua. Image: ILN/Kompas
Fires, flag seized in Sorong
In Sorong, police broke up a demonstration against the autonomous regions at the Sorong city Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) office, reports Kompas.com.
Earlier, the demonstrators had asked DPRD Speaker Petronela Kambuaya to meet with them but there was no response.
The demonstrators then became angry and set fire to tyres on the DPRD grounds and police fired teargas into the rally.
Sorong district police operations division head Police Commander Moch Nur Makmur said that the action taken was following procedure.
“We had already appealed to the korlap [protest field coordinator], saying that if there were fires we would break up [the rally], but they (the protesters) started it all so we took firm action and broke it up,” said commander Makmur.
Police also seized a Morning Star independence flag during the protest. The flag was grabbed when the demonstrators were holding a long march from the Remu traffic lights to the Sorong DPRD.
Makmur said that when police saw somebody carrying the Morning Star flag, they seized it.
“The flag was removed immediately, officers were quick to seize the flag,” he said.
Papua Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) director Emanuel Gobay says a participant of a demonstration in Jayapura opposing the creation of new autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua is in a critical condition after being shot by a rubber bullet allegedly fired by a police officer.
Earlier, police forcibly broke up a demonstration opposing new autonomous regions in Papua.
“Yes [the critical injury] was at an action in Waena,” said Gobay when contacted by CNN Indonesia.
Although Gobay said he did not know the exact chronology of events leading up to the shooting, he confirmed that the victim was taking part in an action in front of Mega Waena department store in Jayapura.
“So right when they arrived in front of Mega Waena [the protest] was forcibly broken up, it was at this time that police used rubber bullets and the like. When a rubber bullet was fired it hit one of the protesters,” he said.
According to Gobay, the victim was immediately taken to a Mimika boarding house for treatment by students. He did not have any further information on the victim’s condition.
Gobay added that aside from the person shot by a rubber bullet, another participant suffered injuries after being assaulted by police.
Kicked in the chest
He said the victim was kicked in the chest by a police officer.
“This person ended up unconscious, then they were picked up and taken to the boarding house. Earlier I managed to meet with them, they complained that their chest still hurt because of being kicked. There were several others who were injured,” said Gobay.
Demonstrations against the creation of new autonomous regions and Special Autonomy (Otsus) in several parts of Jayapura were forcibly broken up by police on Tuesday.
One incident, in which police forcibly broke up a peaceful action using a water cannon, was recorded on video and shared on Twitter by Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) spokesperson Jeffry Wenda.
At least seven people were arrested by police during the action, including Wenda, West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson Ones Suhuniap and Omizon Balingga.
Police have yet to provide detailed information on the person shot by the rubber bullet.
So far they have only announced that they sized a number of pieces of evidence in the form of sharp weapons and materials with the banned Morning Star independence flag motif on them, which were confiscated during a sweep of demonstrators in the Sentani area of Jayapura regency.
Carving up the Papuan provincial cake. Graphic: Image: Lugas/tirto.id
On Thursday, 10 March 2022, thousands of Papuan people in the Lapago Wamena Cultural Area took to the streets to paralyse Wamena city. They occupied Wamena City. They rejected the Indonesian colonial plan to expand Papua province.
Remember: The voice of the people is the voice of God. The Papuan people, people and leaders of Indonesia, Melanesia, Pacific, Africa, European Union. USA, Australia, listen to the voices of the two million Melanesian people in West Papua who are currently on their way to being annihilated due to Indonesia’s systemic racist politics.
The expansion of Papua provinces, Special Autonomy Volume 2 and military operations in six regencies in Papua is not a solution for West Papua. Only one order — give us the right of self-determination for the political rights of the Papuan nation in West Papua. Our greetings and prayers from Wamena, the heart of Papua.
Waaa … waaa … waaa.
SPECIAL REPORT:By Yamin Kogoya
The above text was written by Markus Haluk, director of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) on Thursday, March 10. The text encapsulates the sentiments of Papuans protesting across West Papua and Indonesia, calling for Jakarta to stop the creation of new provinces.
Haluk’s words were written amid escalating protests in various parts of West Papua’s customary lands and across Indonesia over Jakarta’s plans to create six new provinces under the unilaterally renewed — and unpopular — Special Autonomy Law 21/2001.
15/3/22 Yahukimo, West Papua
Indonesian forces shot dead Yakub Meklok (39) and Herson Wisapla (21) during forced dispersal of thousands of people protesting against Jakarta’s plan to create new provinces.
Jayapura – Mamta customary land
Tuesday, March 8: Hundreds of students and communities clashed with Indonesian security forces at university campuses in Waena and Abepura cities, protesting against the expansion. The protest coordinator, Alfa Hisage, stated that this demonstration was to reject the creation of a new province altogether.
Wamena – La Pago customary land
Thursday, March 10: Doni Tabuni, the coordinator of the demonstration in the highlands of Wamena (the location that Markus Haluk refers to in his text) warned on March 10 that the expansion would wipe out Papuans. Protesters declared: “We will stop all government office activities in the Lapago region if the central government does not stop the expansion,” reported CNN Indonesia (10 March 2022).
“The expansion will not bring prosperity to Papuans; it will only serve to benefit the elites, bring more migrants, and create more opportunities for military and human rights violations,” said Doni Tabuni.
14/3/22 Paniai, West Papua
Hundreds of West Papuans protested against Jakarta’s plan to create new provinces – which will lead to further dispossession and militarisation.
Paniai – Meepago customary land
Monday, March 14: thousands of residents of Paniai took to the streets to demonstrate against the expansion of the “New Autonomous Region”, also known as “Daerah Otonomy Baru” (DOB). The demonstrators repeatedly shouted against the new proposal and do not want to join the province of Central Papua, which would become a new autonomous region.
Petrus Yeimo, a member of the Paniai Regency Legislative Council (DPRD), said that communities are not involved in the formation of this new region.
“That’s why we Paniai people firmly reject the expansion,” said Petrus, when he was met by the mass in front of the DPRD office (innews.id).
West Papuan women against the creation of new provinces by Jakarta that will cause further dispossession and militarisation.
Manokwari – Domberai customary land
Tuesday, March 8: The same message also echoed in Manokwari city — a coastal town popularly known as a “city of the gospel” for its historical significance of the landing of the first two German missionaries (C.W. Ottow and J.G. Geissler) for the “Christianisation” project in the mid-1800s.
17/3/22 Sorong, West Papua
Another big protest against Jakarta’s plan to create new provinces.
Sorong – Domberai customary land Monday, March 21: A series of protests has also taken place in Sorong city, at the Western tip of West Papua, involving sections of Papuan society, including students and communities.
Protesters in Sorong carry a banner saying, “The expansion of the new autonomous region is oppression against the Papuan people.” Image: APR
“The expansion of new autonomous region depletes our forests, depriving us of our land rights. The goal of our meeting is to convince the mayor, who is also the head of the creation of the new Southwest Papua province that we Papuans all over Sorong Raya oppose the expansion,” said action coordinator Sepnat Yewen on Monday. But they were disappointed that they were unable to see the mayor twice (Compass.com, 21 March 2022).
11/3/22 Jakarta
102 West Papuan students were forcibly dispersed and arrested during a protest. They reject Jakarta’s plan to create new provinces in West Papua that would lead to further dispossession.
Jakarta – the heartland of the colonial powerhouse
Tuesday, March 11: Papuan students held protests in central Jakarta, calling on Jakarta to stop the colonial expansion of their homeland, during which one police officer, Ferikson Tampubolon, was injured on the head (Detiknews, 12 March 2022).
Indonesian security forces line up against Papuan protesters in Jakarta. Image: APR
South Sulawesi – an Indonesian island
In Kendari city of South Sulawesi, the Papuan Student Association declared that the newly created provinces would not benefit Papuans. Kiminma Gwijangge, the group coordinator, said that this was a game of the political elites and rulers who control the public service in Papua and ignoring the rights and wishes of Papuans. These Papuan students demanded that the Papuan elites, who eat money and expand on behalf of Papua, be stopped immediately.
15/3/22 Yahukimo, West Papua
Earlier today, speaker: “people reject expansion, people want independence”.
Yahukimo – La Pago customary land
Tuesday, March 15: Tragically, a peaceful demonstration for the same cause in the Yahukimo region did not go well. Two young men, Yakop Deal, 30, and Erson Weipsa, 22, have been martyred for this cause by the Indonesian police — the cause for which Papuan men and women courageously risked their lives to fight against fully armed, western-backed, modern security forces with advanced mechanical weapons.
Two young Papuans gunned down and a dozen wounded
Witness accounts of the Yahukimo tragedy stated that the protest initially went ahead safely and peacefully. However, provocation by police intelligence officers posing as journalists in the midst of the protest led to the shooting.
It is alleged that an unidentified Indonesian person flew a drone camera during the demonstration. Seeing that action, protesters warned the Indonesian man not to use drones to record the protest, creating fear.
The protestors also asked for his identity and whether or not he was a journalist, but he failed to respond. The crowd protested against his action. He then ran for cover towards hidden police officers who had been on standby with weapons. Immediately, members of the police fired tear gas at the crowd without asking for the person responsible for the peaceful demonstration. Soon after, police opened fire on the crowd.
Papuan Police public relations chief Kombes Pol Ahmad Musthofa Kamal confirmed that two protesters had died, and others suffered gunshot wounds (Suara.com).
Gathering evidence of the Yahukimu atrocity – alleged shootings by the Indonesian military. This Papuan man was shot in the back. Image: APR
OPM and civil society groups
The Free Papua Movement, also known as Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM), and their military wing, The West Papua National Liberation Army, which was launched in the 1960s to protest against the Indonesian invasion, are opposed to the new expansion of provinces.
Sebby Sambon, the group spokesperson released a statement that threatened to shoot Papuan elites who imposed Jakarta’s agenda onto Papuans (tribunnews.com, 12 February 2022)
More than 700,000 people have also signed the Papuan People’s Petition which represents 111 organisations opposing Special Autonomy.
These protests are not the first and they will not be the last. Papuans will continue to resist any policy introduced by Jakarta that threatens their lives, cultural identities, and lands.
This is an existential war, not a political one — it is a war of survival and resisting extinction.
The genesis of these recent protests
Those protests are not simply a reaction against the new expansion, but a part of a movement against the Indonesian invasion that began when Papuans’ independent state was seized by the Western governments and given to Indonesia by the United Nations in 1963.
This is a conflict between two states — the state of Papua and the state of Indonesia.
Having the big picture is vital to prevent misrepresentation of these protesters as just another angry mob on the street demanding equal pay in Indonesia.
However, the protests that cost those two men their lives in Yahukimo had a specific genesis. It began in 1999 when 100 Papuan delegates went to then-President Habibie and demanded independence after the collapse of Suharto’s 31-year New Order regime.
Habibie and his cabinet were shocked by this demand, as people whom they thought were members of his family suddenly told him they no longer wanted to be part of the great Indonesian family.
Having been shocked by this unexpected news, Habibie and his cabinet told the Papuan delegation to go home and think it over in case it had been a mistake. But this was not a mistake. It was the deepest desire of Papuans being communicated directly in a dignified manner to the country’s highest presidential palace.
This occurred during a time of great turmoil in Indonesia’s history. Strongman national father figure Suharto, once considered immortal, no longer was. His empire had crumbled.
Suddenly, across the archipelago, a cacophony of demonstrators unleashed more than 30 years of dormant human desires for freedom, frustrations, and fear, combined with the ravages of the Asian economic collapse.
If there was a time when the Papuans could escape the tormented house, this was it. One hundred Papuan delegates marching to Habibie indeed made their mark in that respect.
At this momentous time, the man who understood this deepest desire and would help Papuans escape was President Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur. He lives on in the memories of Papuans because of his valiant acts.
President Gus Dur – a political messianic figure
On 30 December 1999, or exactly two months and 10 days after being inaugurated as the 4th President, Gus Dur visited Irian Jaya (as it was known back then) with two purposes — to listen to Papuan people during the congress, which he funded, and to see the first millennium sunrise on January 1, 2000. On this day, a significant moment in human history, he chose to stand with Papuans and for Papuans.
During his stay, he changed the region’s name from Irian Jaya to Papua and allowed the banned Papuan Morning Star flag to be flown alongside Indonesia’s red and white flag.
Changing the name was significant for Papuans because these changes marked a significant shift in how the region would be governed. The former name symbolised Indonesia’s victory and the latter symbolized Papuan victory.
Prior to these historical occurrences, the region was known as Netherlands New Guinea during Dutch rule, then as West Papua during a short-lived, Dutch-supported Papuan rule in 1961, then from Irian Barat to Irian Jaya when Indonesia annexed it in May 1963.
Just as their island has been dissected and tortured by European and Asian colonial powers, so too have Papuans, being tortured with all manner of racism and violence in the name of the civilisation project.
The messianic Gus Dur’s spark of hope instilled in the hearts of Papuans was short-lived. In July 2001, he was forced out of office after being accused of encouraging Indonesia’s disintegration. Gus Dur’s window of opportunity for Papuans to escape the tortured house was closed. The new chapter that Gus Dur wrote in Indonesia-Papua’s tale of horror was ripped out of his hands during the most pivotal year of human history — the new millennium 2000.
The demand for independence conveyed to President Habibie a year earlier by one hundred Papuan delegates was discarded. Instead, Jakarta offered a special gift for Papuans — gift the Special Autonomy Law 21/2001.
There was a belief among foreign observers, and Papua and Jakarta elites that this would lead to something special. It reflects Jakarta’s ability in terms of its semantic structure and highly curated selection used in law.
Rod McGibbon, an analyst and writer on Southeast Asian politics in Jakarta, noted in a Wall Street Journal article on 14 August 2001 that despite the challenges Jakarta faces in its dealings with Irian Jaya (Papua), the Special Autonomy approach represents the best opportunity for Jakarta to begin meaningful dialogue with provincial leaders. He also predicted that if Jakarta fails special autonomy, the province will suffer further ethnic and regional conflicts in the future.
He was right, 20 years later Special Autonomy turned out to be a big mess.
The law consisted of 79 articles, most of which were designed to give Papuans greater control over their fate — to safeguard their land and culture.
Furthermore, under this law, one important institution, the Papuan People’s Assembly (Majelis Rakyat Papua-MRP), together with provincial governments and the Papuan People’s Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua-DPRP), was given the authority to deal with matters that are most important to them, such as land, population control, cultural identity, and symbols.
Section B in the introduction part of the Special Autonomy law reads as follows: “That the Papua community as God’s creation and is a part of a civilised people, who hold high human rights, religious values, democracy, law and cultural values in the adat (customary) law community and who have the right to fairly enjoy the results of development”
Assassination of prominent Papuan leader and Papuan chief
Three weeks after the law was passed, popular independence leader Theys H. Eluay was killed by Indonesian special forces (Kopassus). Ryamizard Ryacudu, then-army chief of staff, who in 2014 became Jokowi’s first Defence Minister, later called the killers “heroes” (Tempo.co, August 19, 2003).
In 2003, the Megawati Soekarnoputri government divided the province into two. She was violating a provision of the Special Autonomy Law, which was based on the idea that Papua remains a single territory. As prescribed by law, any division would need to be approved by the Papuan provincial legislature and MRP.
Governor Lukas Enembe – Melanesian chief
On August 22, 2019, Narasi (central Jakarta’s TV programme) invited Papua provincial Governor Lukas Enembe and others (both Papuans and Indonesians) to discuss mass demonstrations that erupted across West Papua and Indonesia after Papuan students were racially attacked in Surabaya.
The programme host, Najwa Shihab, was shocked to hear the governor’s response. When asked about his opinion about the situation, the governor said that Papuans already had their own concept to address problems in West Papua, but they needed an agreement/treaty under international auspices — or something of the sort — because no Jakarta-made law would work in Papua.
The host then asked, “you are a governor, but why don’t you believe the authority of Special Autonomy Law?” Governor Enembe replied, “The Special Autonomy Law 21/2001 has not worked until now.”
The governor stressed that Papuans do not have political power or free will to make any meaningful decision.
“We are supposed to make our own law under this Special Autonomy, but Jakarta refuses to allow it. Jakarta only gives money under this law, that’s all.”
The statements come from Papua’s number one man and not from someone on the street. The ruling elites in Jakarta are not fazed about breaking their own laws, showing their disrespect of the Papuan people and their integrity as a nation.
The governor is not the only official in the country’s highest office who lacks faith in the central government. Otopianus Tebai, a young Papuan senator who represents Papua in the central government said in a response to this new expansion plan that most Papuans reject the divisions (Suara.com, March 18, 2022). Divisions of which Papuans are being coerced into by the old special autonomy law renewal, which Governor Enembe declared as a total failure.
The MRP, Papua’s highest institution established under the special autonomy law to safeguard cultural identities, no longer has the power to act as intended. This institution has been stripped of its power, as well as other things, as a result of the 2021 amendment to the law which was passed two decades ago.
Timotius Murib, the chairman of this institution, said that the plan to create an autonomous region did not reflect the wishes of the people of Papua and would probably create more problems if Papuans were divided over it.
The chairman emphasised the law was designed for Papuans to have specific authority to implement local laws pertaining to our affairs, but the central government removed that authority by destroying any legal or government mechanism that materialised this authority.
Adding to these statements from the highest offices, more than 700,000 people have signed the Papuan People’s Petition, which represents 111 organisations opposing Special Autonomy.
Indonesian Brimob forces ready to move against Papuan protesters in Jakarta. Image: APR
Deep psychological war against Papuans – ‘divide and rule’ tactic
Despite overwhelming opposition from many segments of Papuan society, the Indonesian government persists in imposing its will upon Papuans. It is precisely this action that is causing protests and havoc in recent weeks.
But not all Papuans are against it. Several regents (mostly Papuans) are supporting this expansion with their cronies and supporters, in conjunction with the Indonesian government, a few Papuan elites in Jakarta, and other misfits and opportunists.
The issue has caused division among indigenous Papuans. Among the Papuans, it plays directly into identity politics, as many tribes speak different languages, live in different ancestral and customary lands, and even practise different religions.
A protracted horizontal conflict between these languages, cultural, and geographical lines was already being created by the creation of more regencies and districts in the past. Adding three new provinces would lead to more regencies, which means more districts, which means more security forces and settlers and more problems.
In the midst of this drama, Jakarta is setting traps for Papuans by forcing them to face each other and preventing them from collectively confronting the system that is tearing them apart. The creation of more provinces and regions is leading to such traps since this will divide the people — which is clearly Indonesia’s ultimate goal.
If Papuans are too busy fighting one another, then the atrocities of the elites will fly under the radar, unopposed. What West Papua needs is unity, which has been demonstrated in recent protests. Together, Papuans will always be stronger than apart in their cause, and Jakarta will stop it with all its tricks.
If you are an imperial strategist or scammer in an empirical office somewhere in London, Canberra, Washington DC, or Jakarta, you might think that this is the best way to control and destroy a nation.
But history shows that, all dead ancient empires and the current dying Anglo-American led Western empires use this little magical trick “divide and rule” over others until it collapses from its wicked pathological and hypocritical weights from within.
Imperial planners in Jakarta should be focusing on overcoming their own internal weaknesses that would eventually bring them down rather than chasing after the monster they created out of West Papua.
In this frame of mind, any vestige of hope for Papua’s restoration and unity, whether contained within or outside the law, is a threat that will be undermined at any cost.
The term autonomy is also defined differently in Papua’s affairs because Jakarta does not intend to empower Papuans to stand on their own two feet.
There is no real intention for Jakarta to give Papuans a chance to have some level of self-rule, which is exactly what being autonomous means in essence.
Papua’s autonomous status seems to be all part of the settler-colonial regime: occupation, expansion, and extermination. Papuans have been told that West Papua is special, but Jakarta is undermining and paralysing any mechanism it agrees upon to convince them that that is truly not the case.
In other words, Jakarta introduces a law, but it is Jakarta that violates it. The situation is analogous to students having a teacher who is not just negligent but hypocritical; everything the teacher believes in, they teach, not taking time to critically analyse their actions and how it all contradicts itself.
Under the whole scheme, Indonesia is presented as a self-appointed head of the class that they are holding hostage. They believe they are the only ones capable of teaching the stupid Papuans, of civilising the naked cave men, of saving the wild beasts, and developing the underdeveloped people.
But under the guise of the pathological civilisational myths, Jakarta poisons and destroy Papuans with food, alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, diseases and the ammunition which is used against them.
Rulers in Jakarta act as narcissistic sociopaths — they promise development, happiness, or even heaven while committing genocidal and homicidal acts against Papuans.
They portray themselves as the “civilised” and the Papuans as the “uncivilised” – a psychological manipulation that allows them to avoid accountability for their crimes. Jakarta makes Papuans sick, then prescribes medication to cure the very same illness it caused.
A deep psychological game is being played to convince themselves (colonisers), and the Papuans (colonised) that Indonesia exists so that West Papua can be saved, improved, and developed. This pathological game is then embedded into the psyche of Papuans through all the colonial development products Jakarta sells to Papuans through education and indoctrination.
This programming is evident in the way that a few Papuans (with Jakarta acting as the puppeteer) fool their own people by telling them that Indonesian rule will bring salvation and prosperity.
Even the mental work of most Indonesians is being reprogrammed to view West Papua with that lens – they believe that Indonesia is saving and improving West Papua. Unbeknownst to them, this entity called “Indonesia” annihilates Papuans.
Local Papuan elites legitimize their power by saying that their own people also have serious problems (backwardness, stupidity, poverty) and that they have solutions to solve these problems. However, the solution is Jakarta-made, not Papuan-made, and that is the problem.
When governor Enembe said we need an international solution rather than a national one, he was conscious of these games being played against his people in his homeland.
The Indonesian government exterminates Papuans by controlling both poison and antidote, but there is no antidote to begin with. It is all poison; the only difference is the label.
Markus Haluk’s words
Markus Haluk’s words make a desperate plea for help as they face what he terms “annihilation” due to Indonesia’s racism, responding to mass demonstration in his own homeland.
His words highlight that the only viable solution is to grant the people the right to self-determination to establish their nation-state and declare that the people’s voice is the voice of God.
As tragic and ironic as it is, it is highly unlikely that Haluk’s words “the voice of the people is the voice of God” will mean anything to the ruling class in Jakarta since in the past 20 years all the attacks, betrayals, torture, racism, and killings have been committed after these words were written on the Special Autonomy Law No 21/2001.
Section B in the Introduction part of the law reads: “That the Papua community as God’s creation and is part of a civilized people, who hold high Human Rights, religious values, democracy, law and cultural values in the adat (customary) law community and who have the right to fairly enjoy the results of development.”
It seems that these words are merely part of the theatrics — the drama of cruelty, torture and death.
Settler-colony – the logic of ‘destroy to replace’
Indonesia’s occupation in West Papua is not temporary — they are not simply taking resources and going home. The Indonesians want to make West Papua their permanent home.
This is a permanent population resettlement colonial project based on the logic of destroy to replace. Papuans are being destroyed — and even worse, they are being replaced by Indonesian settlers. They are powerless to stop the annihilation and perversion of their ancestral homelands.
To occupy and own the land is the ultimate goal of settlers. Settler states aim to eradicate Indigenous societies through what an Australian historian and scholar, Patrick Wolfe, refers to as a the “logic of elimination” in his paper, Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native (2006).
Colonialism through population resettlement is the most destructive form of colonial project underpinned by self-righteous, pathological rationality which exterminates the original inhabitants as a moral requirement to justify the process of replacing itself.
In this pathological project, genocide is not considered evil but a necessity to achieve its exterminating objective. That is why the assassination of Theys H. Eluay just three weeks after the passing of the Special Autonomy Law was perhaps seen as a necessary evil to satisfy this colonial project.
West Papua: not just another one of Indonesia’s provinces
Over the past 60 years, virtually all literature ever produced on West Papua failed to refer to it as a settler colony. The region is still treated as if it were just another province of Indonesia, and Jakarta insist on creating more provinces as if they have legal and moral rights. This is misleading and illegal considering Indonesia’s genocidal actions and the circumstances in which the region was incorporated into Indonesia in the 1960s.
Indonesia did not merely incorporate West Papua; it invaded an independent state by military force supported by Western governments by manipulating the UN’s system.
Our continued use of West Papua as a part of Indonesia has distorted our understanding of the nature of the Indonesianisation programme being carried out there.
We need to scrutinise Jakarta’s activities on West Papua’s soil with a settler-colonial lens. This will help us frame our questions and structure our languages differently regarding Indonesian activities in West Papua.
It will also help us to see how West Papua is being destroyed under settler colony, similar to how European colonisation destroyed Indigenous people in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada.
We need to frame any administration centres of any type, whether religious, political, cultural, educational, legal, social or security forces established on West Papuan soil with a settler-colonial lens.
This will allow us to see how Jakarta created these parasitic colonial spaces camouflaged as province and regency to occupy, expand, and eventually exterminate its original inhabitants.
The settler-colonial system is a structure that facilitates this whole extermination project. Replacing one landscape for another, one people for another, one language for another, one system for another.
In light of this, it would appear that any law, policy, decree, regulation, or project enacted and enforced by Jakarta serves the purpose of eradicating the Papuan population from the land and replacing them with Indonesian settlers.
This has been done in Australia, America, Canada, and New Zealand, and now these Western powers are aiding Indonesia to do the same in West Papua.
Physically and psychologically, these new provinces (whether materialised or not) have become new battlefields in the war on Papuans. Indeed, Papuans are being forced onto these battle grounds, as in Rome’s Colosseums, to fight for their lives.
The most tragic outcome for Papuans is going to be Jakarta pitting brother against brother and sister against sister in Indonesian’s controlled colosseum of vile games. The blood of these young Papuans that was shed in Yahukimo during the recent demonstration, shows how Papuans are paying the ultimate price in this theatre of killing.
A way forward
Let the same mechanism of the UN that was used to betray West Papua 60 years ago be used to deliver overdue justice for the Papuan people.
United States of America, the Netherlands, Indonesia and their allies of all kinds — thieves, criminals, thugs, militias and multinational bandits who betrayed the Papuan people and continue to drain them of their natural resources must take responsibility for their crimes against Papuans.
Countless of Resolutions on West Papuan human rights issues that have been written on paper in the offices of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (ACP), UN Human Rights Council (UNHC), and European Union (EU) must be materialised to end this tragic and unjust war Papuans are forced to face on their own.
These institutions need to unite and put their words into actions if they place any value on human life.
If no action is taken in these resolutions, their words only serve the imperial purposes, such as these meaningless words used in the Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy, providing false hope to deceive people whose lives and lands are already at stake.
Remember what Markus Haluk wrote on March 10 — reproduced in the introduction to this article — calling on the world’s humanity to listen to the voices of two million Papuans and to intervene.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Indigenous students from West Papua studying at universities across Aotearoa are defying an order from the Indonesian government to return home.
In January, more than 40 students were told that Indonesia would no longer be funding autonomous West Papuan scholarships so they had to pack up and leave.
Laurens Ikinia of the Hubula tribe and fellow student Esniel Mirin of the Kimyal tribe, both from the central highlands of West Papua, say they have been stripped of their dream for a brighter future.
“The government has terminated about 42 students here in Aotearoa New Zealand who are the recipients of Papua provincial government scholarships and I am one of the students who was terminated and this is really worrying me,” Ikinia said.
Ikinia and Mirin have both been struggling to support themselves since the scholarship decision was made. Living costs are rising and tuition fees are high for overseas students here.
“What we are trying to do just to survive is do some part-time jobs as long as we can but, unfortunately, some students cannot work because of their visa conditions. I don’t know how long it’s going to take us but that’s what we are doing just to survive,” Ikinia said.
Mirin said he found it hard to talk about the issue as he was not able to support himself and not able to work.
“I’m trying to communicate with my close friends from the campus or the churches I attend and they help me a lot,” he said.
“We are calling the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, to respond to our request so in the future we can continue our programmes and success because this is kind of Indonesians trying to manipulate our education rights.”
The Indonesian embassy gave a written response to Māori Television’s request for comment, stating that the scholarships were wholly managed by Papua’s democratically elected provincial government. The embassy also said:
“These students are part of a total of 593 students from Papua province receiving the ‘Papua Special Autonomy Scholarship’… only those who have exceeded the allocated time of the scholarship and those who cannot meet the academic requirements are being recalled.
“The decision to repatriate certain students does not impact on those students who remain on track with regards to their studies abroad.
“The assessment is also conducted to ensure other eligible students from Papua province also obtain the same opportunity in pursuing their studies.”
The Māori Television story on the plight of West Papuan students in Aotearoa. Image: MTS screenshot APR
The embassy also said it had tried to resolve various aspects of the issue including possible outstanding tuition and living fees.
But for students such as Ikinia the suggestion he is being sent home because he has been failing, has no foundation.
“I came to New Zealand in 2016, I did my New Zealand language programme for five months and then I studied my international contemporary studies, bachelor programme, I studied in 2017 and then I finished in 2019 in three years and then I studied for my master’s programme in 2020,” he says.
“I’m just about to finish and then they put my name on the list and then they claim that I’m not making any progress, which is baseless. This is something that we have written a letter to the government to clarify — the evidence that the government used to categorise all these 42 students not making progress.”
Ikinia is reaching out to institutions, organisations and communities for their support on behalf of the Papuan Students Association of Oceania.
“We humbly request the people of Aotearoa, New Zealand to open your arms to welcome us as a Pacific family.
“It’s been a long, long time where West Papuans, indigenous peoples have not spoken about our education rights and we are calling for the sake of humanity.”
For more information, readers can visit the Papuan Students Association Oceania social media pages to learn how to offer support:
The International Coalition for Papua (ICP) says there has been an increase in the number of arbitrary arrests in its latest report on human rights violations in Papua between July and September 2021.
The ICP found that mass arrests took place during military security operations in response to attacks by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), reports Suara Papua.
The increase in arrests was also related to the spread of protests opposing the extension of Special Autonomy for Papua and calling for the release of Papua activist and human rights defender Victor Yeimo.
“The mass arrests were reported to have been accompanied by violence by security forces which resulted in a significant rise in cases of torture and abuse,” the ICP report said.
“In unison with this the number of extra-judicial killings declined to only two, which were related to excessive use of force during law enforcement operations.
“This decline, however, does not mean that the armed conflict in West Papua lessened over the last three years.”
According to the ICP, violence related to the armed conflict has now spread to the regencies of Yahukimo and Star Highlands.
Armed clashes
Prior to this, the two regencies were largely unaffected by the impact of the armed conflict.
In August 22, 2021, TPNPB members killed and set fire to the bodies of two construction workers near the Kribu village in Yahukimo regency.
On September 2, 2021, TPNPB members killed four people and injured two TNI (Indonesian military) officers at the Kisor village in Maybrat regency.
On September 13, 2021, the TPNPB also attacked a sub-district military command (Koramil) post in Kiwirok sub-district in Star Highlands regency.
It was reported that a healthcare worker fell into a ravine and died during this attack and several public facilities were burnt to the ground. A joint security force responded by conducting raids in the three regencies which resulted in arbitrary arrests and torture.
The statistical figures show that the number of armed clashes that were reported increased threefold in late 2021 compared with 2017, increasing from 24 in 2017 to 44 in 2018 and 64 in 2020.
As of September 30, 2021, the ICP documented at least 63 armed clashes in West Papua since the start of the year.
Papuan pleas rejected
On July 15, the House of Representatives (DPR) revised the Special Autonomy Law. In doing so, the government ignored calls by the Papua Regional House of Representatives (DPRD), the Papua People’s Council (MRP), the West Papua People’s Council (MRPB) and thousands of West Papuans who rejected and protested against these unilateral revisions.
The revisions made 19 amendments to the existing Special Autonomy Law related to articles which regulate the allocation of Special Autonomy funds and the establishment of new autonomous regions.
Meanwhile, the establishment of a Papua Human Rights Court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) were sidelined.
During the time that the Special Autonomy Law was being revised, security forces forcibly broke up protests by West Papuans in various parts of Indonesia on the grounds that they violated covid-19 health protocols.
A new report on freedom of expression and assembly in West Papua published by the UK based human rights group TAPOL describes how these protests were violently repressed by Indonesian security forces using the regulations on controlling the spread of covid-19.
During the period of the report, many countries declared their support for a fact-finding mission led by the United Nations to investigate allegations of human rights violations in West Papua.
Call for urgent mission
In September, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS or ACP) sent a letter to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) calling for, “an urgent mission to West Papua to provide an evidence based information report on the human rights situation”.
Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu also declared their support for a similar mission during the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
On September 17 the UN published a new report on cooperation with representatives and its mechanisms in the field of human rights.
The report was drafted by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and referred to five cases of criminalisation and intimidation against West Papua human rights activists.
A series of demonstrations in the West Papua region today have been forcibly stopped by Indonesian police.
The protests were organised by a network of 111 civil organisations behind the Papuan People’s Petition (PPP), formed to reject Jakarta’s plans to renew Special Autonomy in Papua.
Demonstrators have also been protesting against racism, and calling for the release of political prisoner Victor Yeimo, a leading figure in the West Papuan pro-independence movement.
Yeimo, the foreign spokesman for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was arrested in May and faces numerous charges, including treason and incitement, for his alleged role in anti-racism protests in 2019.
Demonstrations have been taking place today in cities and towns across the Papuan provinces including Jayapura, Wamena, Manokwari and Timika.
In Jayapura, police forces backed up by water canons dispersed demonstrators at numerous locations. Several Papuans were injured, including the KNPB’s chairman Agus Kossay.
West Papua National Committee (KNPB) chair Agus Kossay shows his head wound from a brutal Indonesian police attack. Image: AWPA
One demonstrator was shot at a rally in Dekai, Yahukimo, a remote highlands regency, while eight people were reportedly arrested.
Even a vigil march this morning in Jayapura led by the West Papua Council of Churches’ moderator Benny Giay was stopped by security forces.
As with their crackdown on Papuan demonstrations last month and in May, police have said that due to the covid-19 outbreak in Papua, they would not allow public events such as demonstrations to proceed.
The Papuan People’s Petition is reportedly supported by more than 700,000 people who have signed the petition rejecting Special Autonomy, and demanding the immediate release of Victor Yeimo without any conditions.
“Victor Yeimo is not a perpetrator of violence or a criminal. He is the victim of widespread structural racism of the Indonesian colonial state who continues to persecute Indigenous Papuans,” said PRP National Spokesperson Sam Awom.
Protestors in Abepura area shouted “bebaskan/free (Victor Yeimo)” repeatedly in defiance as they were running away from police water cannons. pic.twitter.com/b8O7cBTPM9
Indonesian security forces raise national flags on the road between Tembagapura (near Freeport mine) to Banti, Kimbeli, and Opitawak Villages in advance of Indonesia’s Independence Day. Image: Veronica Koman
Early reports according to social media and local media indicated up to 50 people had been arrested and two had been wounded, said the AWPA in a statement.
In a Twitter posting by human rights lawyer Veronica Koman, she said: Indonesia’s annual obsession to ‘Indonesianise’ West Papua in the lead-up to Independence Day tomorrow, fully armed soldiers hoisted red and white Indonesian flags along the road from Tembagapura (Freeport) to Banti, Kimbeli, and Opitawak Villages.
It is open season again for Indonesian trolls targeting Asia Pacific Report and other media with fake news and disinformation dispatches in a crude attempt to gloss over human rights violations.
Just three months ago I wrote about this issue in my “Dear editor” article exposing the disinformation campaign. There was silence for a while but now the fake letters to the editor – and other media outlets — have started again in earnest.
The latest four lengthy letters emailed to APR canvas the following topics — Jakarta’s controversial special autonomy status revised law for Papua, a brutal assault by Indonesian Air Force military policemen on a deaf Papuan man, and a shooting incident allegedly committed by pro-independence rebels – and they appear to have been written from a stock template.
And they all purport to have been written by “Papuan students” or “Papuans”. Are they their real names, and do they even exist?
The latest letter to Asia Pacific Report, dated July 30, was written by a “Paulus Ndiken” who claims:
“I’m a native Papuan currently living in Merauke, Papua, Indonesia. I would like to address your cover story about Indonesia apologises for ‘excessive force’ against deaf Papuan man.
“One day after the incident, the Indonesian Air Force had detained and punished severely 2 members … that had roughly apprehending [sic] Esebius Bapaimu in Merauke, Papua province.”
Dubious reputation
The letter linked to Yumi Toktok Stret, a website with a dubious reputation with accuracy. The report was sketchy and the correct name of the assaulted man, according to reputable news media and Papuan sources, is actually Steven Yadohamang.
“We regret that this kind of rough-housing [sic] happened on the street,” wrote correspondent “Ndiken”, “but we, as Papuans, [are] also glad to know that these perpetrators have received sound punishment …
“Responding to the unfortunate events, the Indonesian netizens had asked for the Indonesian military to immediately take action against the guilty party and were glad that the institution had addressed the people’s concern in a very fast manner.”
A more nuanced and accurate article was written for Asia Pacific Report by Brisbane-based West Papuan academic Yamin Kogoya who compared the “inhumane” assault to the tragic killing of George Floyd in the United States after a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes as he lay face down in the street on 25 May 2020.
Excerpt from one of the spate of questionable letters received by Asia Pacific Report about Papua. Image: ScreenshotHow Tabloid Jubi reported the assault on 29 July 2021.
Another letter writer, “Michel Wamebu” … “a native West Papuan living in Merauke”, said on June 29 he would like to bring our attention to West Papua, “which has been painted as if the whole island is in conflict, when actually [there are] only a few small areas [that] were invaded by the Free Papua terrorists that had been exposed to enormous violence.
“I would like to assure the world that there [is] nothing like a full-blown war.”
In the lengthy letter about an incident on June 4 when four civilians were killed in a shooting and two were wounded, “Wamebu” provided alleged details that are likely to have been provided by military sources and at variance with actual news reports at the time.
‘Spike’ over special autonomy
“Yamkon Doleon”, a “student from West Papua and currently studying in Yogyakarta, Indonesia” wrote on July 19 that there had been “a spike in the topic of Papuan special autonomy in social media and also [in] a few international media”.
Launching into a defence of the new Special Autonomy for Papua law for the governance of the two Melanesian provinces of Papua and West Papua for the next two decades – adopted by the House of Representatives in Jakarta last month without consultation with the Papuans, “Doleon” wrote:
“The Special Autonomy itself is a law that guarantees every Papuan to be the leader of their region, to have free education, free health service, and a boost I [the] economy … So which article is not in favour of the people?”
In a comment about the spate of Indonesian troll messages to some media outlets, West Papua Media Alerts said:
“Indonesian intelligence bots, go away. You are being banned and reported and deleted everytime you post, so go away.”
The engaged media advocacy and news service continued: “It is clear we are telling the truth, otherwise you wouldn’t have to spend so much money trying to counter it with a transparent influence exercise. Go home, invaders.
“Friends, there are literally over a hundred sock accounts using random Anglo names, and the same script response. These accounts all come from the BIN-run FirstMedia in Jakarta, and were all created after March 2.
West Papua Media Alerts message to “Indonesian bots”. Image: Screenshot
Report fake accounts
“If you see a comment, please click through on the account name, click the 3 dots and report them as a fake account and going against community standards. We will obviously delete and ban these fake accounts.”
Meanwhile, the London-based Indonesian human rights watchdog Tapol has strongly condemned the two Air Force military policemen who severely beat the disabled man, Steven Yadohamang, in Merauke, Papua, on 27 July 2021.
Video footage which has been widely shared on social media, shows the two personnel beating up a man and crushing his body into the ground and stamping on his head.
Tapol said in a statement: “It is clear from the footage that Yadohamang does not possess the capacity to defend himself against two individuals who appear to be unconcerned with possible consequences.”
A similar incident in Nabire took place the following day, said the statement. A West Papuan man, Nicolas Mote, was suddenly smacked on the head repeatedly during his arrest despite not resisting.
“The incident follows a spate of previous violent incidents committed by the security forces against civilians in West Papua province and is likely to raise further questions about what purpose increasing numbers of military personnel are serving in West Papua,” Tapol said.
Although the Air Force had apologised, it had suggested that the two military policemen, Second Sergeant Dimas Harjanto and Second Private Rian Febrianto, alone should bear responsibility for the incident, said the watchdog.
‘Pattern of violence’
“They, and the Indonesian media, have described the soldiers as ‘rogues’. This assessment is not consistent with a pattern of violence committed against civilians that has been allowed to go unpunished in recent months and years,” Tapol said.
“Indeed, had there not been such indisputable visual evidence of security force violence, it is entirely possible that the incident would not now be subject to further investigation by the authorities.
“But despite facing punishment, the perpetrators are likely to only to receive light sentences because they will be tried in military courts.”
Following the end of the New Order period, civilian politicians were not pushing for military personnel to be tried in civilian courts.
Since 2019, there had been a steady build-up of military and police personnel in the two provinces of Papua and West Papua, said Tapol.
“Deployments and security force operations have increased further since April 2021, when the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security, Mahfud MD, designated the armed resistance movement, TPNPB, as a ‘terrorist’ group.
“West Papuans and Indonesians have raised concerns that the designation would further stigmatise ordinary West Papuans.
“We would also highlight that in West Papua there are significant underlying problems with institutionalised racism by the authorities.”
Tapol called on President Joko Widodo and the House of Representatives of Indonesia to finish the post-Suharto agenda of reforming the military to combat a culture of impunity over human rights violations in West Papua.
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.
“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.”
EDITORIAL:By the editorial board of The Jakarta Post
The unanimous House of Representatives decision in Indonesia last week to endorse the revised Papuan Special Autonomy Law shows, yet again, the propensity of the Jakarta elite to dictate the future of the territory, despite persistent calls to honor local demands.
This “new deal” is not likely to end violence in the resource-rich provinces, which stems in large part from Jakarta’s refusal to settle past human rights abuses there.
On paper, the revision offers some of the substantial changes needed to help Papuans close the gap with the rest of the nation. For example, it extends special autonomy funding for Papua and West Papua to 2041 and increases its amount from 2 percent to 2.25 percent of the general allocation fund, with a particular focus on health and education.
The Finance Ministry estimates that over the next 20 years, the two provinces will receive Rp 234.6 trillion (US$16 billion).
The revisions also strengthen initiatives to empower native Papuans in the policy-making process by allocating one fourth of the Regional Legislative Council to native, nonpartisan Papuans by appointment. They also mandate that 30 percent of those seats go to native Papuan women.
Under the new law, a new institution will be established to “synchronize, harmonize, evaluate and coordinate” the implementation of special autonomy. Headed by the Vice President, the new body will answer to the President and will have a secretariat in Papua. The previous government formed a presidential unit to accelerate development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), but President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo dissolved it shortly after taking office in 2014.
The chairman of the special House committee deliberating the revision, Komarudin Watubun, a Papuan, described the new law as “a breakthrough” as it would require the government to consult the Papuan and West Papuan governments in the drafting of implementing regulations.
But this is where the core problem of the special autonomy law lies. In democracy, respecting the will of the public, including dissenting views, is vital to the lawmaking process, precisely because the laws will affect that public. Public scrutiny should precede rather than follow a law, but in the case of the special autonomy law, that mechanism was dropped from the House’s deliberation, which lasted seven months, under the pretext of social distancing to contain the spread of covid-19.
The Jakarta elite have clearly left the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) behind as a representation of the customs and will of the provinces’ people, as well as the Papuan Legislative Council (DPRP), not to mention civil society groups, tribes and those who mistrust special autonomy and the government. In the words of MRP chief Timotius Murib, the revisions reveal Jakarta’s lack of good intentions for Papuan development.
This is not the first time the executive and legislative powers have colluded to bypass public consultation on a highly controversial bill. The tactic worked in the passage of the Job Creation Law last year, as well as the new Mining Law, and the approach is apparently repeating in the ongoing deliberation of the Criminal Code revision.
As long as the obsolete, Jakarta-centered approach remains intact, Papuan peace and prosperity will remain elusive.
This Jakarta Post editorial was published on 21 July 2021.
As many as 714,066 Papuans and 112 organisations which are part of the Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) have rejected last week’s enactment into law of revisions to Law Number 21/2001 on Papua Special Autonomy (Otsus), reports CNN Indonesia.
They believe that special autonomy is not the answer to resolving the problems in the land of Papua.
“There’s no such thing as Otsus in the Papuan people’s dictionary. The Papuan people are asking for the right to self-determination,” said Rawarap from the group West Papua Youth and Student National Solidarity (Sonamapa) during a PRP event broadcast on the Suara Papua TV YouTube channel on Friday, July 16.
Rawarap believes that special autonomy is a product conceived out of an illicit affair between the political elite in Papua and Jakarta. According to Rawarap, the policy has not accommodated the Papuan people at all.
“Otsus is like an illegitimate child conceived during a sex party between the Papua elite and the Jakarta elite. We explicitly reject Otsus because Otsus is an illicit product. It’s the result of an illicit affair,” he added.
Rawarap said that the decision by the House of Representatives (DPR) to ratify the revisions into law would not in any way make Papuans feel proud.
More than 20 years of the implementation of special autonomy has failed to bring prosperity to the Papuan people.
‘Still many mama-mama‘
“The fact also is that many have already explained that over the 20 years Otsus has been in force in the land of Papua, there are still many mama-mama [traditional Papuan women traders] who sell on the side of the road,” he said.
“Still using cardboard, sacks as mats, sitting on the road selling areca.
“The fact also is that there are still many Papuan children who drop out of school and cannot continue their studies at tertiary institutions because education is expensive, yet there is money from Otsus.
“But, the fact is that many Papuan children drop out of study or do not continue school, and the unemployment rate is high — what is there to be proud of with Otsus?,” he asked.
Rawarap then touched on the findings of the National Statistics Agency (BPS) which says that the Human Development Index for Papua and West Papua provinces are the lowest in the country despite Otsus being in place for two decades.
“Sonamapa — along with the 112 organisations involved in the Papua People’s Petition reject Otsus — explicitly states that we reject Otsus Chapter II resulting out of secret revisions [to the Otsus Law] by the [DPR’s] special committee,” he said.
PRP spokesperson Sam Awom said that group rejected all forms of compromise with any deliberations on special autonomy which failecd to involve ordinary Papuan people.
‘Return mandate to the people’
“He also asked policy makers to return a mandate to the Papuan people to determine their own future,” he said.
“We demand the immediate return to the Papuan people [of the right] to choose and determine their own future on whether they accept Otsus or independence as a country”, said Awom, reading out a statement.
Awom declared that they would hold a national strike if the demands of the Papuan people were not followed up.
“If the petition [against Otsus] is not followed up, then we will hold a national, peaceful civil strike throughout the territory of West Papua,” he said.
Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD has stated that the government will prioritise dialogue with “separatists” seeking self-determination and independence in Papua and use law enforcement against alleged armed criminal groups (KKB).
“On the Papua issue the government will use an approach prioritising prosperity which is comprehensive and covers all aspects,” he said.
“In confronting separatism, the government will prioritise dialogue.”
Indonesia’s House of Representatives has passed a controversial bill that is expected to reshape the future administration of West Papua.
The Revision of the Special Autonomy Law for the provinces of Papua and West Papua (known as the Otsus law) was ratified by Indonesian lawmakers despite widespread opposition by Papuans who have been calling instead for an independence referendum.
The revised version of autonomy provisions first introduced 20 years ago paves the way for further division of Papua region into more administrative areas.
It includes provision for the formation of new representative institutions at regency and municipal level, replacing the Regional Legislative Councils.
Within these institutions, a quarter of seats are to be reserved for indigenous Papuans who are not members of any political parties, 30 percent of whom should be female.
However, West Papuan customary, church and community groups say they were not properly consulted over the law, the first version of which they roundly rejected as having failed to protect their rights.
Special Autonomy status was originally granted to West Papua in 2001 in response to growing Papuan demands for independence, purportedly to empower Papuans within the Indonesian republic framework.
But implementation of the law was poor, misuse of public funds was rife, and violations against basic human rights of Papuans continued, with calls for a legitimate self-determination process persisting among the region’s indigenous people.
Jayapura Harbour, Papua province, Indonesia … the revised version of autonomy provisions first introduced 20 years ago paves the way for further division of Papua region into more administrative areas. Image: RNZI/Johnny Blades
Papuan rights, development marred by conflict Indonesia’s government has described the new law, which is valid for 20 years, as a conduit for fostering economic and human development in Papua.
But development is marred in Papua by ongoing conflict related to core grievances over how Indonesia took control of West Papua in the 1960s, without free consent from Papuans themselves, and the decades of human rights violations that followed.
Since 2018, Papua province in particular has become increasingly militarised as Indonesian security forces deploy in growing numbers to respond to attacks in the highlands region by the West Papua Liberation Army’s guerilla fighters.
It has resulted in deaths on both sides, and mass displacement of Papuan villagers caught in the middle of the conflict. It also gave Jakarta a reason to designate a new categorisation of “terrorist” for Papuans who fight for independence.
Right up until Thursday, demonstrations by Papuans against the planned Special Autonomy extension were met with crackdowns by police who say such public events are forbidden while transmission of covid-19 is rampant across the country.
A demonstration by West Papuans against the Indonesian government’s plans for Special Autonomy provisions for their region at Manokwari on 15 July 2021. Image: RNZ
Dozens of Papuans were arrested for involvement in these demonstrations – it is not yet clear whether they will face treason charges like numerous Papuans involved in large anti-racism protests in 2019 are facing.
Amnesty International appeal
Amnesty International Indonesia made a last minute appeal to national lawmakers to postpone passing the Special Autonomy bill until Papuans had been properly consulted.
Its executive director Usman Hamid said the government should ensure that indigenous Papuans were given meaningful involvement in the Special Autonomy law.
“This can only happen if the government upholds the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for all Papuans and stops using the article of treason to try peaceful protesters,” he said.
The appeal was too late. Jakarta’s revised form of Special Autonomy will likely allow for Papua region to be further carved up into more political divisions, thereby diluting Papuan leadership and disempowering any party with self-determination aspirations.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Indonesia’s most troubled province of Papua is become embroiled in another mass demonstration with protesters barricading provincial government buildings and offices over a draconian and undemocratic appointment.
The latest unrest is in response to last week’s controversial appointment of Papua’s Provincial Government Secretary, Dance Yulian Flassy, as Acting Governor of Papuan province by Indonesia’s Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian.
It has been alleged that Flassy sent a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs requesting to be appointed as Acting Governor of Papua.
The letter no T.121.91/4124/OTDA dated June 24, 2021, was signed by the Ministry of Home Affairs General Director of Regional Autonomy, Akmal Malik.
This sudden appointment shocked Governor Enembe, who has been in Singapore receiving medical treatment since May. The governor said that he had not been informed nor made aware of the appointment.
He said that this was “maladministration” and an attempt to cause more trouble in Papua.
Four points
Governor Enembe wrote a letter to President Jokowi, which outlined four points:
Governor Enembe will return to Papua to perform his duty as governor as soon as he is fully recovered;
As an active governor, Governor Enembe has not been consulted, informed about, or agreed to Flassy’s appointment as Acting Governor;
Governor Enembe was elected by his people in accordance with Indonesia’s constitution to administer the province and lead his people. He stated that when he took office, he took an oath to protect the unitary state of Indonesia. He is disappointed by this kind of unlawful and unconstitutional behaviour coming from the high office; and
Governor Enembe requested President Jokowi to dismiss Flassy from office as he had misused his public portfolio in trying to take office without consulting Governor Enembe.
“In addition to these [points], Mr Flassy has already done many things that contradict my policies as Governor,” said Governor Enembe (Fajar Papua.com, June 25).
Governor Lukas Enembe … receiving medical treatment in Singapore. Image: West Papua Today
The Governor said he was surprised by the fact that Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian was the one who granted permission for him to go to Singapore for medical treatment in April. Governor Enembe asked: “Why, then, is Mr. Tinto trying to replace me, knowing that I am still alive and recovering?”
Muhammad Rifai Darus, Governor Enembe’s spokesperson, said Enembe was still active as the head of Papua’s regional, provincial government and criticised the appointment in its breach of proper procedure and mechanism (as reported by Papua Today online news, June 25).
Discriminatory move
Ricky Ham Pagawak, the vice-chairman of the Democrat party in Papua, said that this appointment was discriminatory and a civil coup d’état against Governor Lukas’ office (Papua Post, June 26).
Papuan provincial office name board for the official named to “replace” Governor Enembe as “Acting Governor”. Image: APR
Pagawak continues to criticise the appointment by saying the letter was issued in the morning and in the afternoon on the same day Flassy was appointed.
“Is this fair?” he asked.
In response, Papuans have already blocked several government buildings, including the office of the Democrat Party.
“If there is no withdrawal of this appointment from the central government, Papuan people will continue to galvanize mass rallies and occupy provincial office until the matter is fully resolved,” said Pagawak (Suara Papua, June 26).
A barrier erected by protesters on the Papuan provincial office. Image: APR
A member of the Papuan Provincial Parliament, Nason Utty, also expressed his disappointment at Flassy’s move, sending a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs, requesting to be appointed as Acting Governor of Papua.
“It is inappropriate for the provincial secretary to do this. Mr. Enembe remains the legitimate Governor of the Papuan Province, so this is an important decision that should be consulted first with him,” said Nason Utty (SindoNews.com, June 26).
Severe criticism
Despite the severe criticism by Governor Enembe and Papuans, Luqman Hakim, Vice-Chairman of Commission II of the House of Representatives in Jakarta, said that this appointment was appropriate and proper procedures and mechanisms had been followed.
“The decision of the Minister of Home Affairs to appoint Papua Provincial Secretary, Dance Yulian Flassy, as acting Governor was needed and legitimate. In the principles of constitutional law, it is not permissible for a government to have a power vacuum,” Hakim told DetikNews reporters (June 26).
There is an element of common sense in Hakim’s statement –- such high office should not be left as a power vacuum infinitely. Especially in Papua, one of the most conflict-ravaged regions of Indonesia and the world.
But even simple rules that govern such as common sense differ significantly between Jakarta and Papua.
In Papua, strong local leadership is needed to respond to never ending impending crises.
However, Jakarta is also notoriously known for introducing harmful policies, opposite to the wishes of Papuan people, which aggravate these conflicts and crises.
One such failed policy is the infamous Papuan Special Autonomy Law No. 21 of 2001, introduced 20 years ago to deflect the ever-growing demand for Papuan independence, following the fall of Suharto’s 32-year iron fist rule in 1998.
Autonomy law opposed
This law will expire in November 2021. Jakarta’s insistence to extend what Papuans regard as a “failed and dead special autonomy” policy have already been met with severe criticism and massive rejection by Papuan society.
Exacerbating these situations further, controversial labelling of any Papuans who opposed Jakarta as “terrorists” in recent months, following the killing of a senior Indonesian intelligence officer, General I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, also sparked outrage among Papuans and Indonesians alike.
Papuan civil society groups and churches strongly rejected this “terrorist” label and asked Jakarta to revoke the decision. This harmful label will give the green light for security forces to shoot any Papuan regarded as a West Papua National Liberation Army member.
Local media Suara Papua (Papua Voice) has recorded rare shocking footage on the current devastating humanitarian crisis in Papua’s highlands, as security forces continue to terrorise the locals in their pursuit for Papua’s liberation army.
Jakarta’s unsympathetic approach in not respecting Papuan’s customary practice of 40 days of national mourning for the May 21 passing of their Vice-Governor, Klemen Tinal, rubs salt in Papua’s deep wounds.
These are among many of Jakarta’s top-down, draconian policies that fan the burning flames in the hearts of Papuans in this decade-old-conflict-stricken region of the world.
Because the central government doesn’t even have the courtesy of asking their own elected Governor about the appointment of another Indigenous Papuan as acting Governor, indicates that Jakarta is creating and nurturing conflicts among Papuan Indigenous people.
Governors not consulted
Jakarta also did not ask the governors of both provinces (Papua and West Papua) about the impact that the recent “terrorist” labelling of Papuans might have on the psychology of the Papuan people.
It seems that Indonesia, a country that prides itself as the world’s fourth-largest democracy with an ambition to play a role in global affairs, struggles to decide what it stands for –- democracy and freedom? Or something else?
This indecisiveness was demonstrated further when Indonesia decided to join 14 other countries (including North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia and China) in rejecting a resolution on “The Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity during the vote in the UN Assembly in May this year.
This ambivalence reflects in almost every policy Jakarta has introduced for Papua. We have the ruling elites in Jakarta making statements of removing all Indigenous Papuans from their ancestral homeland.
On the other hand, President Jokowi wants to approach Papua through welfare.
Unfortunately, the same president that talks about welfare also gives orders to his troops for a manhunt looking for “terrorists” in West Papua.
The appointment of Flassy as Acting Governor without consulting Governor Lukas Enembe and Papuan people reflects Jakarta’s tragic mishandling of West Papua.
Practising what is preached
Jakarta should pick what principles and values it wants to live by and handle its affairs with Papuans accordingly.
Otherwise, any meaningful and permanent peace cannot be installed in the land of Papua if Jakarta continues to approach Papua with self-contradictory policies. It’s a case of practising what you preach.
Both Enembe and Flassy are Papuans and should be united in resolving the many challenges that their people face, not fighting over the top jobs. But unfortunately, elites in Jakarta continue to introduce policies that encourage Papuans to be at odds with one another for all sorts of things.
That is the true colour of the old colonial strategy of “divide and conquer” at work. We learned what happened over the past 500 years of European colonisation –- they used this strategy in decimate local indigenous populations.
Because of these unfortunate tragedies, Governor Lukas Enembe has stated that people in Papua remain calm and united to protect Papua and not be easily provoked by what is happening.
He has asked if Papuan people want to express their frustrations over the appointment of Dance Yulian Flassy, to do it peacefully without causing harm to all life in the land of Papua.
Muhammad Rifai Darus, Governor Enembe’s spokesperson, said Governor Enembe was alive and recovering.
When he comes home, he will deal with Jakarta and appoint his Vice-Governor in accordance with proper procedure and mechanism.
In the meantime, he asks the people in Papua to remain calm and not to provide any unnecessary opportunity for the enemy of Papua to use this moment to create more conflict and devastation.
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 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
A joint unit of Indonesian military and police have broken up a West Papuan rally against the extension of special autonomy and at least 140 demonstrators were arrested – but later released.
The detainees were taken to the West Papua regional police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) command headquarters after the rally by the Papuan People’s Solidarity (SRP) was disbanded on Tuesday.
Action coordinator Arnold Halitopo said that the arrests took place about 7.15 am when the demonstrators were forced into police tactical vehicles under tight security.
“Our action was held at five points in Manokwari, first in front of the University of Papua campus, second at the AMD Amban, third at Reremi Puncak, fourth at Fanindi and fifth at the Wosi traffic light intersection,” he said.
“This is our second demonstration to deliver our demands to the West Papua People’s Council (MRPB). The protest was broken up by police.
“Hundreds of fully armed soldiers and police were closely guarding all points. One hundred and forty six of us were taken to the Mako Brimob. [We were] held there all day then released at 5 pm,” he told Suara Papua newspaper.
The demands of the follow up action, said Halitopo, were expressing their opposition to special autonomy (Otsus) and for the right to self-determination to be given to the Papuan nation.
Several people injured
Halitopo said that several people were reportedly injured when police forced them into the vehicles.
“Comrades were injured when getting into the vehicles. Several people had bruised faces because of the police violence,” he said.
Halitopo also claimed that when they arrived at the Mako Brimob, the police asked the demonstrators for their fingerprints.
“I asked, ‘why must we get our fingerprints taken?’ What we were doing is in accordance with the prevailing regulations on demonstrations.
“But we were asked for our identities, full name, parents and employment. I don’t know what for,” said Halitopo.
According to Halitopo, the action was a follow up to an earlier protest on Friday, May 21. They already had a permit for the demonstration and calls for a peaceful action had been circulated.
But Halitopo said he was surprised that the police had blocked them from protesting for reasons which were unclear. It was said that they did not comply with covid-19 health protocols.
Police intimidation
Runi Seleng, one of the speakers at the action, said that after being transported to the Mako Brimob they were intimidated by police.
“We were intimidated, including being interrogated about the field coordinator and who was responsible for the action, then they asked us to testify about Papuan activists who were said to be the key actors.
“But we said that it was purely an action by the Papuan People’s Solidarity who are aware that Otsus has failed”, explained Seleng.
After negotiations with police, four MRPB members met with the detained demonstrators. They wanted to hear their demands at the Mako Brimob, but the protesters insisted that it must be at the MRPB offices in accordance with an agreement with the MRPB speaker and demonstrators on Friday (May 21).
“In addition to this, the protesters were determined to hold a follow up demonstration.
“The people’s aspirations have not yet been received [by the MRPB]. Despite being intimidated and terrorised, we will come back again until our aspirations are heard,” said Seleng.
Following the arrest a number of sympathisers occupied the MRPB offices until late afternoon asking the MRPB to immediately secure the detainees’ release. At 5.30 pm, the MRPB confirmed that they had been released and had returned home.
Speaking separately, Manokwari regional police chief Assistant Superintendent Dadang Kurniawan confirmed that a group of people holding a demonstration without following covid-19 health protocols had been arrested and later released.
Activists from the Papua People’s Solidarity (Sorak) have protested against Indonesia’s policies in the Papuan region, militarism and Israel’s war on Palestine, likening it to the West Papuan struggle against colonialism.
The protest against Special Autonomy (Otsus) was held in front of the Merdeka building in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung on Friday, reports CNN Indonesia.
The action by Papuan activists was staged to respond to the crisis in Indonesia’s eastern-most provinces Papua and West Papua which has become tense over a military crackdown.
Based on CNN Indonesia’s observations at the rally, scores of people brought banners and gave speeches in front of the Merdeka building.
In addition to this, there were several banners with messages such as “We reject Special Autonomy Chapter II, the creation of new autonomous regions and the terrorist label”, “Immediately release all Papuan political prisoners” and “Withdraw all organic and non-organic troops from West Papua”.
Throughout the action, the demonstrators wore masks and maintained social distancing.
Action coordinator Pilamo said there were a number of demands being articulated during the action. First, rejecting the planned extension of Special Autonomy status in Papua, and then rejecting militarism and the deployment of troops which would further harm the Papuan people.
‘Forced on’ Papuan people
According to Pilamo, the Special Autonomy given to Papua by the government was just a policy which had been forced on the Papuan people by the central government.
Yet, he said, since July 2020 the Papua People’s Petition (PRP) had declared opposition to continuation of Special Autonomy and it has offered as a solution for the Papuan people the right to self-determination.
He claimed that as of May 2021 as many as 110 Papuan people’s organisations had joined the PRP and that some 714,066 people had declared their opposition to and the continuation of the Special Autonomy political package in Papua.
“Because of this, we, representing the Papua people, are conveying this aspiration to Indonesia and the state that today in Papua things are not okay,” Pilamo told journalists.
According to Pilamo, almost all components and layers of society had said that Special Autonomy had failed to side with, empower or protect the land and people of Papua.
In addition to this, over the 20 years of implementing Special Autonomy it had impacted badly on the Papuan people, including causing environmental damage, Pilamo said.
The education and healthcare system had worsened and the construction of roads were not in the interest of the people, but rather, in the interests of investors.
Pacific Islanders for Palestine and West Papua at a rally in Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday. Growing numbers of Pacific islanders are linking up the West Papuan and Palestinians struggles as a common one – against colonialism. Image: David Robie /APR
Palestine issue raised
Aside from highlighting issues in Papua, the demonstrators also took up the issue of Palestine. In a written call to action, it demanded an end to the war in Palestine – a ceasefire was declared by Israel and Hamas the same day.
They also highlighted a number of recent cases including the government’s branding of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) as terrorists, a label which they reject.
Pilamo believes that the label will only give authority to security forces to commit violence, including against civilians. He claimed that civilians often fall victim as a consequence of violence committed by the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police).
“We call on the state and Pak Jokowi [Joko Widodo] as the president, we demand an immediate end to military operations and to stop [using] the terrorist label against the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). The TPNPB are not terrorists, they are part of the movement fighting for Papua national liberation,” said Pilamo.
Similar protests were also held on Friday in Jakarta and the Central Java city of Yogyakarta.
A Papuan demonstration held near the Gajayana stadium in Malang city, East Java, ended in chaos with protesters accused of smashing a police truck window after they were ordered to disperse for violating health protocols.
Glass fragments hit the police officer who was behind the wheel. The protest began as a peaceful demonstration to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) that was being held by the Women’s Movement with the People (GEMPUR).
The protesters had earlier gathered on Jalan Semeru in preparation for a long-march to the Malang city hall. At the same time, protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Papuan High-School and University Student Association (IPMAPA) also began gathering at the Gajayana stadium.
When the GEMPUR protesters decided to disband and cancelled the long-march, the demonstrators from the AMP and the IPMAPA began protesting and held speeches.
Police along with Malang City Covid-19 Task Force members ordered the demonstrators to disperse because they were violating health protocols.
Three trucks were on standby to evacuate the protesters and take them to their respective locations. Negotiations became protracted with protesters refusing to be evacuated and instead smashing a police truck window.
Malang municipal police chief Senior Commissioner Leonardus Simarmata claimed that the protest action commemorating IWD was just “a cover” and the objective was opposition to the controversial Special Autonomy extension plan (Otsus) and calls for Papuan independence.
West Papua independence banners
Aside from violating health protocols because the protest was held during the covid-19 pandemic and the Micro Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM), the demonstrators also unfurled banners with messages rejecting Special Autonomy and proclaiming demands for West Papua independence.
“The intent was actually noble, but during the pandemic and Micro PPKM crowds are prohibited. And also the action was only used as a cover by the AMP and the IPMAPA to call for West Papua independence,” Simarmata told journalists.
While there were efforts at negotiations to take the protesters back to their respective locations, said Simarmata, “provocative actions” continued when they asked demonstrators to get into the trucks provided.
Because the demonstrators resisted and refused to get in the trucks, police then forcibly broke up the protest. Protesters were then taken to the Malang municipal police headquarters for questioning.
“The Satreskrim [criminal and detectives unit] is questioning them, who was involved and pushed the officers. We also confiscated the shoe used to kick out the truck window,” said Simarmata.
A Papuan demonstration held near the Gajayana stadium in Malang city, East Java, ended in chaos with protesters accused of smashing a police truck window after they were ordered to disperse for violating health protocols.
Glass fragments hit the police officer who was behind the wheel. The protest began as a peaceful demonstration to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) that was being held by the Women’s Movement with the People (GEMPUR).
The protesters had earlier gathered on Jalan Semeru in preparation for a long-march to the Malang city hall. At the same time, protesters from the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) and the Papuan High-School and University Student Association (IPMAPA) also began gathering at the Gajayana stadium.
When the GEMPUR protesters decided to disband and cancelled the long-march, the demonstrators from the AMP and the IPMAPA began protesting and held speeches.
Police along with Malang City Covid-19 Task Force members ordered the demonstrators to disperse because they were violating health protocols.
Three trucks were on standby to evacuate the protesters and take them to their respective locations. Negotiations became protracted with protesters refusing to be evacuated and instead smashing a police truck window.
Malang municipal police chief Senior Commissioner Leonardus Simarmata claimed that the protest action commemorating IWD was just “a cover” and the objective was opposition to the controversial Special Autonomy extension plan (Otsus) and calls for Papuan independence.
West Papua independence banners
Aside from violating health protocols because the protest was held during the covid-19 pandemic and the Micro Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM), the demonstrators also unfurled banners with messages rejecting Special Autonomy and proclaiming demands for West Papua independence.
“The intent was actually noble, but during the pandemic and Micro PPKM crowds are prohibited. And also the action was only used as a cover by the AMP and the IPMAPA to call for West Papua independence,” Simarmata told journalists.
While there were efforts at negotiations to take the protesters back to their respective locations, said Simarmata, “provocative actions” continued when they asked demonstrators to get into the trucks provided.
Because the demonstrators resisted and refused to get in the trucks, police then forcibly broke up the protest. Protesters were then taken to the Malang municipal police headquarters for questioning.
“The Satreskrim [criminal and detectives unit] is questioning them, who was involved and pushed the officers. We also confiscated the shoe used to kick out the truck window,” said Simarmata.
Indonesian police have broken up a protest action against the extension of Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Papua that took place on Jalan Imam Barjo in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang – and they blamed covid health protocols.
Before being broken up, the protesters from the Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) were repeatedly warned by police not to continue the action on the grounds that the crowds of protesters were violating health protocols during the covid-19 pandemic, reports CNN Indonesia.
“We ask that you obey the law and comply with the rules. Please disperse voluntarily because there is still a pandemic and we must be disciplined about health protocols, don’t gather and create crowds,” Semarang metropolitan district deputy police chief Assistant Superintendent Iga Nugraha told the protesters at the demonstration on Friday.
Despite being asked to negotiate, police continued to ask the demonstrators to disperse immediately.
Earlier, the protesters had tied themselves together in a barricade using ropes to prevent police from breaking up the action.
Because the demonstrators insisted on going ahead with the action, police finally took action and tried to disperse them. A clash was unavoidable and the protesters fought back resulting in police arresting several people who were alleged to be the provocateurs.
The action rejecting the extension of Special Autonomy for Papua was held as a reaction to protests by sections of Papuan society which are part of the PRP who feel that they have not gained any benefits from the Special Autonomy status which has had no impact on the Papuan people’s welfare.
Indonesian police have broken up a protest action against the extension of Special Autonomy (Otsus) in Papua that took place on Jalan Imam Barjo in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang – and they blamed covid health protocols.
Before being broken up, the protesters from the Papuan People’s Petition (PRP) were repeatedly warned by police not to continue the action on the grounds that the crowds of protesters were violating health protocols during the covid-19 pandemic, reports CNN Indonesia.
“We ask that you obey the law and comply with the rules. Please disperse voluntarily because there is still a pandemic and we must be disciplined about health protocols, don’t gather and create crowds,” Semarang metropolitan district deputy police chief Assistant Superintendent Iga Nugraha told the protesters at the demonstration on Friday.
Despite being asked to negotiate, police continued to ask the demonstrators to disperse immediately.
Earlier, the protesters had tied themselves together in a barricade using ropes to prevent police from breaking up the action.
Because the demonstrators insisted on going ahead with the action, police finally took action and tried to disperse them. A clash was unavoidable and the protesters fought back resulting in police arresting several people who were alleged to be the provocateurs.
The action rejecting the extension of Special Autonomy for Papua was held as a reaction to protests by sections of Papuan society which are part of the PRP who feel that they have not gained any benefits from the Special Autonomy status which has had no impact on the Papuan people’s welfare.
The indigenous people of West Papua have rejected the extension of special autonomy and the planned expansion of new provinces announced by the central government of Indonesia.
The rejection comes from grassroots communities across West Papua and Papuan students who are studying in Indonesia and overseas.
Responding to the expansion of a new province, Mimika students demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, central Jakarta, this week.
Representing Mimika students throughout Indonesia and abroad, about 30 students who are currently studying in Jakarta, took part in the protest on Monday.
A statement received by Asia Pacific Report said that the Mimika regency students throughout Papua, Indonesia, and globally rejected the division of the Central Papua province and return the provincial division to the MRP and DPRP of Papua Province, and return the customary institutions (LEMASA & LEMASKO) to the tribal and Kamoro indigenous communities in Mimika regency.
DPRP stands for Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua (Papua People’s Representative Council) and MRP stands for Majelis Rakyat Papua (Papuan People’s Assembly). LEMASA stands for Lembaga Masyarakat Adat Suku Amungme (Indigenous Community Institution of Amungme Tribe). LEMASKO stands for Lemabaga Masyarakat Suku Komoro (Indigenous Community Institution of Komoro Tribe).
Jony Jangkup, general coordinator of students from Mimika regency said that they had previously taken action in Timika, but this was never followed up by the regional government, therefore they approached the Ministry of Home Affairs office.
‘Two major tribes’ “In Mimika, there are two major tribes, namely the Amungme and the Kamoro. However, in this area there is PT Freeport, which limits the movement of indigenous people of Papua.
“Apart from that, there were frequent repressive actions there. The Ministry of Home Affairs must communicate with the regent to encourage an open deliberation of the two institutions to regulate their customary territories and lands,” said Jangkup.
“We ask that the division of Central Papua Province not be carried out unilaterally between the central government and the regents of the Mapago customary area. We fully support the decision of the MRP and the Papuan provincial government,” said the statement.
The statement also said that if the central government in Jakarta did not follow up on their demands, the students would mobilise the masses in the region and occupy the centre of the government offices in Mimika and the head office of PT Freeport which is based in Mimika.
“We reject the declaration of the expansion of the Central Papua province, which was carried out by the regents and DPRD (Regency People’s Representative Council), LMA (Jakarta-backed indigenous people’s institutions) and stakeholders unilaterally on Thursday, February 4, 2021 in Mimika,” said the statement.
Creating new provinces Previously, Tirto.id reported that the central government wanted to create three new provinces in Papua to bring the total to five. This expansion plan has actually been public for a long time.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD refirrmed this plan after a meeting with the Chairman of the MPR (People’s Consultative Assembly) Bambang Soesatyo, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, and representatives of the TNI-Polri at the MPR / DPR Building, Jakarta, on 11 September 2020.
Mahfud said this expansion was an order of Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province.
“The affirmation of Article 76 concerning the division of Papua, which is planned to be divided into five, plus three from the current one,” he said.
Article 76 of the Special Autonomy Law states, ” The expansion of the Papua Province into provinces shall be carried out with the approval of the MRP and the DPRP giving close attention to the social-cultural unity, the readiness of the human resources, and the economic ability and development in the future.”
However, the Chairman of Papuan People’s Assembly, Timotius Murib, said the conditions in Article 76 would not be fulfilled because the plan to expand the province in Papua had been rejected.
Murib said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had never met them even though he had visited Papua several times.
Development ‘too top-down’ He said that development in Papua was too ‘top-down’. The President had not heard the aspirations of the indigenous people, in many ways, including the issue over this division.
The government had failed to develop Papua because activities were not controlled by the community or indigenous Papuans.
“It is also this ‘top-down’ development model that ultimately creates distrust from the Papuan people and makes the perception that Indonesia is gripping Papua even stronger,” he said.
He also criticised Papuans for being pro-pemekaran (expansion). He called them “a group that is indirectly committing genocide or eradicating indigenous Papuans in the Land of Papua.”
Meanwhile, Suara Papua reported that the Central Highlands of Papua Indonesia Student Alliance (AMPTPI) had issued a motion of no confidence to the chairman of the Papua DPR (Papua People’s Representative Council).
The motion was over the fact that the institution was not pro-Papuan.
AMPTPI secretary-general Ambrosius Mulait said his party gave the motion of no-confidence to the Chairman of the Papua DPRP, which ignores and contradicts the aspirations of the Papuan people.
Papuan students demonstrating in central Jakarta on Monday. Image: APR special
Discriminatory policies “The Papuan people have a “Memoria Passionist” because of Jakarta’s policies which are discriminatory and racist against Papuans. If the legislature is not true, this is the impression that will give the people,” he said.
“The good thing is that the chairperson of the Papua DPRP resigns respectfully, so as not to have a bad impact on the fate of the Papuan people in the future.”
He said that the provincial government and the chairperson of the DPRP, as branches of the central government, should not ignore the aspirations of the Papuan people.
The regional government should have acted as a bridge in following up the aspirations of the Papuan people related to the rejection of the extension of Special Autonomy and the expansion of New Autonomous Region in Papua, he said.
Mulait said that efforts to solve problems in Papua in a holistic manner but out of sync with the legislative conditions would give a bad impression to the Papuan people.
“The DPRP must accommodate the aspirations of the people, not the aspirations of certain groups that appear to be detrimental to the people. The destruction within the Papuan DPRP member fraction is a manifestation of the inability of the legislature to carry out the oversight and control function over government policies,” said Mulait.
He said that the two camps in the Papua Legislative Internal Affairs gave a bad impression about the history of the Papuan Parliament.
The chairman of the Papua DPRP is able to summarise all factions because since he was appointed as a member of the Papua DPRP, no new breakthroughs have been made. The impact of the two camps in the DPRP Papua has had a bad political effect on Papuans.
This report has been compiled by a special West Papuan correspondent drawing on Papuan media reports.
Papuan students demonstrating in central Jakarta on Monday. Image: APR special
The indigenous people of West Papua have rejected the extension of special autonomy and the planned expansion of new provinces announced by the central government of Indonesia.
The rejection comes from grassroots communities across West Papua and Papuan students who are studying in Indonesia and overseas.
Responding to the expansion of a new province, Mimika students demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, central Jakarta, this week.
Representing Mimika students throughout Indonesia and abroad, about 30 students who are currently studying in Jakarta, took part in the protest on Monday.
A statement received by Asia Pacific Report said that the Mimika regency students throughout Papua, Indonesia, and globally rejected the division of the Central Papua province and return the provincial division to the MRP and DPRP of Papua Province, and return the customary institutions (LEMASA & LEMASKO) to the tribal and Kamoro indigenous communities in Mimika regency.
DPRP stands for Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua (Papua People’s Representative Council) and MRP stands for Majelis Rakyat Papua (Papuan People’s Assembly). LEMASA stands for Lembaga Masyarakat Adat Suku Amungme (Indigenous Community Institution of Amungme Tribe). LEMASKO stands for Lemabaga Masyarakat Suku Komoro (Indigenous Community Institution of Komoro Tribe).
Jony Jangkup, general coordinator of students from Mimika regency said that they had previously taken action in Timika, but this was never followed up by the regional government, therefore they approached the Ministry of Home Affairs office.
‘Two major tribes’
“In Mimika, there are two major tribes, namely the Amungme and the Kamoro. However, in this area there is PT Freeport, which limits the movement of indigenous people of Papua.
“Apart from that, there were frequent repressive actions there. The Ministry of Home Affairs must communicate with the regent to encourage an open deliberation of the two institutions to regulate their customary territories and lands,” said Jangkup.
“We ask that the division of Central Papua Province not be carried out unilaterally between the central government and the regents of the Mapago customary area. We fully support the decision of the MRP and the Papuan provincial government,” said the statement.
The statement also said that if the central government in Jakarta did not follow up on their demands, the students would mobilise the masses in the region and occupy the centre of the government offices in Mimika and the head office of PT Freeport which is based in Mimika.
“We reject the declaration of the expansion of the Central Papua province, which was carried out by the regents and DPRD (Regency People’s Representative Council), LMA (Jakarta-backed indigenous people’s institutions) and stakeholders unilaterally on Thursday, February 4, 2021 in Mimika,” said the statement.
Creating new provinces
Previously, Tirto.id reported that the central government wanted to create three new provinces in Papua to bring the total to five. This expansion plan has actually been public for a long time.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD refirrmed this plan after a meeting with the Chairman of the MPR (People’s Consultative Assembly) Bambang Soesatyo, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, and representatives of the TNI-Polri at the MPR / DPR Building, Jakarta, on 11 September 2020.
Mahfud said this expansion was an order of Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province.
“The affirmation of Article 76 concerning the division of Papua, which is planned to be divided into five, plus three from the current one,” he said.
Article 76 of the Special Autonomy Law states, ” The expansion of the Papua Province into provinces shall be carried out with the approval of the MRP and the DPRP giving close attention to the social-cultural unity, the readiness of the human resources, and the economic ability and development in the future.”
However, the Chairman of Papuan People’s Assembly, Timotius Murib, said the conditions in Article 76 would not be fulfilled because the plan to expand the province in Papua had been rejected.
Murib said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had never met them even though he had visited Papua several times.
Development ‘too top-down’
He said that development in Papua was too ‘top-down’. The President had not heard the aspirations of the indigenous people, in many ways, including the issue over this division.
The government had failed to develop Papua because activities were not controlled by the community or indigenous Papuans.
“It is also this ‘top-down’ development model that ultimately creates distrust from the Papuan people and makes the perception that Indonesia is gripping Papua even stronger,” he said.
He also criticised Papuans for being pro-pemekaran (expansion). He called them “a group that is indirectly committing genocide or eradicating indigenous Papuans in the Land of Papua.”
Meanwhile, Suara Papua reported that the Central Highlands of Papua Indonesia Student Alliance (AMPTPI) had issued a motion of no confidence to the chairman of the Papua DPR (Papua People’s Representative Council).
The motion was over the fact that the institution was not pro-Papuan.
AMPTPI secretary-general Ambrosius Mulait said his party gave the motion of no-confidence to the Chairman of the Papua DPRP, which ignores and contradicts the aspirations of the Papuan people.
Papuan students demonstrating in central Jakarta on Monday. Image: APR special
Discriminatory policies
“The Papuan people have a “Memoria Passionist” because of Jakarta’s policies which are discriminatory and racist against Papuans. If the legislature is not true, this is the impression that will give the people,” he said.
“The good thing is that the chairperson of the Papua DPRP resigns respectfully, so as not to have a bad impact on the fate of the Papuan people in the future.”
He said that the provincial government and the chairperson of the DPRP, as branches of the central government, should not ignore the aspirations of the Papuan people.
The regional government should have acted as a bridge in following up the aspirations of the Papuan people related to the rejection of the extension of Special Autonomy and the expansion of New Autonomous Region in Papua, he said.
Mulait said that efforts to solve problems in Papua in a holistic manner but out of sync with the legislative conditions would give a bad impression to the Papuan people.
“The DPRP must accommodate the aspirations of the people, not the aspirations of certain groups that appear to be detrimental to the people. The destruction within the Papuan DPRP member fraction is a manifestation of the inability of the legislature to carry out the oversight and control function over government policies,” said Mulait.
He said that the two camps in the Papua Legislative Internal Affairs gave a bad impression about the history of the Papuan Parliament.
The chairman of the Papua DPRP is able to summarise all factions because since he was appointed as a member of the Papua DPRP, no new breakthroughs have been made. The impact of the two camps in the DPRP Papua has had a bad political effect on Papuans.
This report has been compiled by a special West Papuan correspondent drawing on Papuan media reports.
Papuan students demonstrating in central Jakarta on Monday. Image: APR special
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
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.
‘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.
“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.”
“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.
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.
‘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.
“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.”
“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.
A group of Papuan students in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta, who were planning to hold a protest action opposing the extension of Papuan Special Autonomy (Otsus), have been arrested and taken to the Metro Jaya regional police headquarters.
“Around 15 people were taken away and put into a police crowd control vehicle”, one of the participants, Ambrosius Mulait, told Tirto.
Mulait said he did not know the reason for the arrest yesterday because the group had not yet arrived at the rally location when the arrests took place.
Two days ago, said Mulait, the group sent a written notification of the action to police, but the police did not issue a permit for the demonstration.
He suspects that this was the reason for the arrest – as well as the pretext of Covid-19 health protocols which prohibit crowds from gathering.
Although they tried to negotiate with the police to be allowed to demonstrate, this did not succeed.
Mulait and the other participants who were not arrested are still being held in front of the parliament under police guard.
“How can Papuans convey their right to an opinion opposing Otsus, but are always silenced. Today we were silenced,” he said.
A similar incident occurred on 27 October 2020 when demonstrators near the Cenderawasih University in Jayapura, Papua, were dispersed and 13 were arrested.
Action coordinator Mani Iyaba said that based on directives issued by the Jayapura district police, “Any protesters can be beaten, trampled underfoot”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Papuan students demonstrating in central Jakarta on Monday. Image: APR special
