- International Women’s Day accompanied by repressive acts against Papuans – Malang police chief accused of racism
- Indonesia offers Elon Musk Papuan Island Biak for SpaceX launchpad causing rage among its residents
- Police investigates 13 palm oil investors in Papua Barat Province
- Jakarta deploys new troops to West Papua whilst turning a blind eye on IDPs
- Indius Sambom sentenced to 20 months imprisonment – Lawyers say verdict not based on facts
- Two Papuan students arrested and detained in Jakarta
- Bloodshed in Intan Jaya continues - Military members kill high school student
- Military members shoot dead disabled Papuan in Intan Jaya
- KNPB activist Kristian Yandum dies during police detention
- Papuan couple arbitrarily arrested, beaten and detained – both victims demand strict sanctions against police and public prosecutor
- Protests against formation of Papua Tengah Province continue – Thousands of people in Dogiyai go to the streets
- Deforestation cause floods in the Keerom Regency
- Government plans to establish Papua Tengah Province - Military members create manipulated video to promote administrative partition
- IDPs from Mimika face challenges after return to their villages
- Police violence in Jayapura - Internal police investigation body accused of negligence
In December 2020, the Indonesian government offered SpaceX CEO Elon Musk a rocket launch site on Biak in Papua Province. But Papuans on Biak are fiercely opposed, arguing a space launchpad will drive deforestation, increase Indonesian military presence, and threaten their future on the island, The Guardian reported. Residents of Biak Island in Papua are worried that a new SpaceX launchpad on their land will cost them their traditional hunting grounds, damaging the nature their way of life depends on. A tribal chief on the island, Manfun Sroyer, said he feared Papuans would be forced from their homes. But, if they protest, they will be arrested immediately. This isn't the only rocket launch site that may be built on Biak. Russia's aerospace agency, Roscosmos, wants to develop a launchpad on the island by 2024. "In 2002, Russians wanted our land for satellite launches. We protested, and many were arrested and interrogated ... now they've brought it back, and this harassment and intimidation is still going on," Sroyer told The Guardian.
Jakarta holds on to its approach resolving the political conflict through deployment of additional security forces to West Papua, unwilling to enter into negotiations with Papuan independence groups. According to media sources, an Indonesian battleship brought 1,350 new military personnel to Jayapura on 9 March (see right photo). The non-organic troops will be deployed to armed conflict hotspots, such as the regencies Intan Jaya, Nduga, Puncak and Mimika. Human rights observers say that the non-organic troops do not understand Papuan indigenous culture and are a main driver of violence against civilians in West Papua. The Papuan Parliament's vice-chairperson (DPRP), Yunus Wonda, expressed concern over the growing number of non-organic troops in the Papua Province.
Indius Sambom sentenced to 20 months imprisonment – Lawyers say verdict not based on facts
Judges at the North Jakarta District Court have sentenced the Papuan defendant Indius Sambom to 20 months imprisonment for violating Article 1 of Emergency Law No 12/1951 on the illegal possession of firearms and explosives on 10 March 2021. They argued that Ivan Sambom allowed members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) to stay overnight inside his house. Previously, the public prosecutor had sought a sentence of three years for Sambom. According to Indius Sambom’s lawyer, facts at court showed that the police had neither found TPN PB members nor ammunition inside Sambom’s house during the arrest.
Bloodshed in Intan Jaya continues - Military members kill high school student
Military members shoot dead disabled Papuan in Intan Jaya
Kristian Yandum, one of 13ÂÂÂÂ members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) who had been arrestedÂÂÂÂ in December 2020, has passed away at the Bunda Pengharapan Hospital in Merauke on 27 February 2021. The news about his death came only three weeks after his lawyers had expressed concerns regarding police officers’ negligent behaviour. They didn’t process Kristian Yandum’s request for medical attention during detention at the Merauke District Police Headquarters for almost one month. The ICP has not yet received any verified information about the cause of death.
Protests against formation of Papua Tengah Province continue – Thousands of people in Dogiyai go to the streets
The Indonesian government is planning to establish a new province in West Papua. The plan has triggered rejection among many civil society groups and the Papuan Peoples’ Assembly (MRP). Many Papuans argue that the formation of the new province only serves the interests of a small political elite and ignores the aspirations of the majority of the Papuan people who do not support the administrative partition. In January 2021, people in Biak, Jayapura, Sorong and other cities across West Papua protested peacefully against the government’s plan to push through amendments to the Law No 21/2001 on the Special Autonomy for the Province of Papua (UU Otsus Papua) to path the way for the establishment of a new ‘Papua Tengah Province’. Article 76 of the law stipulates that the MRP and the provincial parliament (DPRP) must approve new autonomy areas.
IDPs from Mimika face challenges after return to their villages
Police violence in Jayapura - Internal police investigation body accused of negligence
About the ICP
Human Rights and Peace for Papua is an international coalition of faith-based and civil society organisations (the Coalition) addressing the serious human rights condition in West Papua and supporting a peaceful solution to the conflict there. West Papua (Papua) refers to the western half of the New Guinea island in the Pacific and comprises the eastern most provinces of Indonesia. Indigenous Papuans are suffering from a long and ongoing history of human rights violations and security forces subject them to violence including killings, torture and arbitrary arrests. Impunity prevails. A lack of adequate access to health care and education as well as demographical and economical marginalisation and discrimination mark the living condition for Papuans. A heavy presence of Indonesian security forces, lack of access for international observers such as journalists, corruption and transmigration from other parts of Indonesia aggravate the situation. Political prisoners and the persecution of political activists shows the extent of repression with which freedom of expression and indigenous peoples’ rights are being violated. Papua’s wealth in natural resources attracts businesses and security forces resulting in exploitation through mining, logging, harmful agricultural projects, and environmental degradation. This dynamic challenges traditional indigenous culture while Papuans demand their right to self-determination.
visit our website at www.humanrightspapua.org