Police in Makassar, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, seized Morning Star flags from a Papuan student dormitory on 5 July 2024. The Morning Star flag is a symbol of cultural identity in West Papua, also often associated with the Free Papua Movement (OPM). The seizure came after a video of students raising the flags went viral on social media.
The incident sparked tension in Makassar, with a nationalist group surrounding the dormitory and demanding the removal of the flags. The group, the Nusantara National Defense Guard (GBNN), left the location after police secured the area.
Makassar Police Chief Senior Commissioner Mokhamad Ngajib said that police had asked Papuan students living in Makassar to refrain from flying the OPM flag. Ngajib said the request was made “to maintain a conducive situation in Makassar”.
The incident highlights the ongoing political tensions in Indonesia’s Papuan provinces. The authorities continue to repress and criminalise people in West Papua for crimes against state security, when they exercise their right to freedom of expression, including those who call for Papuan independence.
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At 11:15 p.m., a group of more than eight members of a nationalist mass organisation, along with about eight uniformed police officers – some of whom were armed with guns – and 15 more plain-clothed individuals, arrived on motorcycles. The exact number of nationalist organisation members, police officers, and plain-clothed individuals could not be determined due to the darkness.
The mass organisation acted in front of the Papuan dormitory. The police allowed them to proceed even though it was 11:00 p.m., which was past the curfew for residents in the surrounding dormitories. After midnight, they were still in front of the Papuan dormitories.
