News on the human rights and conflict situation in the Indo-Pacific region.
On 27 May 2023, excavators cleared a vast area of customary land secured by dozens of armed military members and Police mobile brigade (Brimob) special unit officers.
The West Papuan Council of Churches (WPCC) is calling on Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to cease military operations in West Papua and seek dialogue with TPNPB. The WPCC considers that Mehrtens’ life is in danger if negotiations with the TPNPB do not take place.
Over the past years, there have been several reports of such abuses and Human Rights Monitor (HRM) has compiled a list of victims of enforced disappearance and extra-judicial killings in West Papua between January and December 2022.
Judges at the Jayapura District Court sentenced Papuan activist and human rights defender Victor Yeimo to eight months imprisonment on 5 May 2023.
Almost three months after West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) members captured New Zealand pilot, Captain Phillip Mark Mehrtens, TPNPB spokesperson Mr Sebby Sambom circulated a press release and new …
Indonesian security forces have intensified operations in various conflict areas in West Papua. According to information received, security force members raided villages and set residential houses on fire. The raids reportedly occurred in the conflict hotspots in West Papua, predominantly in the regencies, Puncak, Nduga, and Intan Jaya,
Police officers arbitrarily arrested 54 members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) and supporters in the city of Jayapura and the neighbouring town of Sentani, Jayapura District, between 8 and 11 April 2023
In early April 2023, three Papuan students were tried under treason charges at the Jayapura Ditrict Court for participating in the peaceful assembly and raising the Morning Star flag at the USTJ campus in Jayapura. Police officers forcefully dispersed a peaceful protest by Papuan university students at the Jayapura University of Science and Technology (USTJ) and arrested fifteen students on 10 November 2022. One detainee was reportedly torture on 8 December during detention.
Thirteen Papuan students have sustained bruises and injuries after being attacked by Garuda Nusantara Patriots (PGN) members during a peaceful assembly on 1 April 2023 in the city of Denpasar, Bali Province. The PGN is one of many nationalist groups in Indonesia promoting pro-government values and state ideologies.
The armed conflict in West Papua has significantly intensified throughout March 2023, causing new internal displacements in the region. The military is proceeding with the central government’s plan to increase social interaction with indigenous Papuans in remote parts of West Papua. Military personnel are targeting schools in particular, where they can make contact with the Papuan youth.
The panel of judges at the Jayapura District Court postponed the trial on charges of treason against the international spokesman for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Victor Yeimo on 20 March 2023. At the hearing on 20 March was scheduled an expert testimony to be presented by the Papua Law Enforcement and Human Rights Coalition as Victor Yeimo’s legal counsel.
Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat recorded that by the end of 2022, there was deforestation covering an area of 19,426 hectares in Papua, which occurred as a result of logging and palm oil plantation business activities. “According to our year-end records in 2022, deforestation in Papua was observed at 19,426 hectares.
Hendrikus ‘Franky’ Woro, an environmental defender from the Awyu tribe, accompanied by the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH) filed a lawsuit at the Jayapura State Administrative Court (PTUN) concerning an environmental permit issued for palm oil company PT Indo Asiana Lestari (PT IAL) by the Papuan Investment and One-Stop Integrated Service Office (DPMPTSP).
Joint Security forces shot dead Enius Tabuni during a firefight with members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in the Yenggernok Village, Puncak Regency, Papua Tengah Province, on 22 March 2023.
On 6 March 2023, the case file for alleged defamation charges faced by woman human rights defenders Fatia Maulidiyanti and Haris Azhar was declared complete and handed over to the Attorney’s Office.
The West Papua Council of Churches (WPCC) published an open letter to the Indonesian Government and the West Papua National Liberation Army in February 2023.
Joint security forces dispersed civil unrest in the Sinakma Village, Wamena Town, Jayawijaya Regency, on 23 February 2023. Video material and the high number of civilian fatalities strongly indicate that security forces used unnecessary disproportional force to disperse the crowd.
Judges at the Sorong District Court handed down two more long-term prison sentences in relation to the alleged involvement in the attack against the Kisor Military Post in the Maybrat Regency on 2 September 2021.
On 15 February 2023, judges at the Military Court III-19 in Jayapura have found the four military members, Private Rahmat Amin Sese, Private Risky Oktav Muliawan, Private Robertus Putra Clinsman, and Private Pargo Rumbouw guilty of killing four indigenous Papuans and subsequently mutilating their bodies in the town of Timika on 22 August 2022.
Members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) captured New Zealand pilot, Captain Phillip Mark Mehrtens, in the Paro District of Nduga Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province, on 7 February 2023.
