Thursday, June 19, 2025

1) TPNPB-OPM Claims Aminggaru Airport Attack in Central Papua


2) Pro-independence advocates urge Melanesian Spearhead Group to elevate ULMWP membership
3) ULMWP membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group: IPWP/ILWP statement



---------------------------------

1) TPNPB-OPM Claims Aminggaru Airport Attack in Central Papua 
 Reporter Andi Adam Faturahman 
June 19, 2025 | 01:15 pm  

TEMPO.CO, Papua - The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM) attacked Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police (Polri) personnel at Aminggaru Airport in Ilaga, Omukia District, Puncak Regency, Central Papua, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.

According to Sebby Sambom, spokesperson for the TPNPB headquarters, the attack was carried out by the TPNPB Kodap XVIII Ilaga militia, led by Peni Murib. The goal was to target planes operating at the Class III domestic airport. "Because civilian planes are used for military drops in the Papua region," Sebby said in a brief message on Thursday, June 19, 2025.


Sebby reported no casualties on either side during yesterday's gun battle. However, he accused the TNI-Polri of committing "brutal acts" in residential areas, specifically alleging the burning of houses in Tabanggi Village and several areas in North Gome District. These locations had previously been battlefields between the TPNPB and TNI-Polri.

"We urge the TNI Commander and President Prabowo Subianto not to target civilians. Combatants should engage with combatants," he added.

TNI-Polri Denies Arson Allegations

Contacted separately, Commissioner Yusuf Sutejo, Head of Public Relations for the Cartenz Peace Task Force, denied the TPNPB's allegations of burning residents' houses. He clarified that the pursuit of TPNPB militia, conducted by Cartenz Peace Task Force personnel and Indonesian Air Force Rapid Response Command (Kopasgat) soldiers near Aminggaru Airport, did not enter residential areas.

"Sweeps were conducted around the forests near the airport. No one entered the village and set fire to houses," Yusuf asserted.

He explained that during the sweep, three TPNPB militia members were seen fleeing into the forest after being pressured by TNI-Polri counterattacks. Surveillance via unmanned aerial vehicles showed them carrying two M16 rifles, an AK-47, and a pistol. "Currently, the airport situation is deemed safe," he confirmed.

Separately, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani, Head of the Cartenz Peace Task Force, described the attack on vital public areas, including the airport, as a serious crime.

He assured that Cartenz Peace Task Force personnel would not allow the TPNPB to disrupt security, especially in ways that threaten civilian safety. "Legal actions will be enforced in a measured and professional manner," Faizal stated.

Regarding the accusations of burning houses in North Gome District, Faizal dismissed the claims as propaganda often used by the TPNPB to discredit security efforts by the TNI-Polri. "If there is evidence, then present it. Stop making baseless accusations," Faizal challenged.

The gun battle at Aminggaru Airport lasted approximately 90 minutes, temporarily halting flight activities. "The situation is currently safe and conducive. No military planes have landed here," Faizal concluded.

Editor's Choice: TPNPB-OPM Claims 3 Dead, 2 Injured in Intan Jaya Shootout with TNI


-------------------------------------


2) Pro-independence advocates urge Melanesian Spearhead Group to elevate ULMWP membership
9:33 am on 19 June 2025  

Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent 

Two international organisations are leading a call for the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to elevate the membership status of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) at their upcoming summit in Honiara in September.
The collective led by International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) and International Lawyers for West Papua (ILWP) has again highlighted the urgent need for greater international oversight and diplomatic engagement in the West Papua Region.
This influential group includes PNG's National Capital District governor Powes Parkop, UK's former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and New Zealand's former Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty.
The ULMWP currently holds observer status within the MSG, a regional body comprising Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia.
A statement by the organisations said upgrading the ULMWP's membership is "within the remit of the MSG" and requires a consensus among member states.
They appeal to the Agreement Establishing the MSG, which undertakes to "promote, coordinate and strengthen…exchange of Melanesian cultures, traditions and values, sovereign equality…to further MSG members' shared goals of economic growth, sustainable development, good governance, peace, and security," considering that all these ambitions would be advanced by upgrading ULMWP membership.

However, Indonesia's associate membership in the MSG, granted in 2015, has become a significant point of contention, particularly for West Papuan self-determination advocates.
This inclusion is widely seen as a strategic maneuver by Jakarta to counter growing regional support for West Papuan independence.
The ULMWP and its supporters consistently question why Indonesia, as the administering power over West Papua, should hold any status within a forum intended to champion Melanesian interests, arguing that Indonesia's presence effectively stifles critical discussions about West Papua's self-determination, creating a diplomatic barrier to genuine dialogue and accountability within the very body meant to serve Melanesian peoples.
Given Papua New Guinea's historical record within the MSG, its likely response at the upcoming summit in Honiara will be characterised by a delicate balancing act.
While PNG has expressed concerns regarding human rights in West Papua and supported calls for a UN Human Rights mission, it has consistently maintained respect for Indonesia's sovereignty over the region.
Past statements from PNG leaders, including Prime Minister James Marape, have emphasised Indonesia's responsibility for addressing internal issues in West Papua and have noted that the ULMWP has not met the MSG's criteria for full membership.
Further complicating the situation, the IPWP and ILWP report that West Papua remains largely cut off from international scrutiny.
A strict ban on journalists entering the region means accounts of severe and ongoing human rights abuses often go unreported.
The joint statement highlights a critical lack of transparency, noting that "very little international oversight" exists.
A key point of contention is Indonesia's failure to honour its commitments; despite the 2023 MSG leaders' summit urging the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a human rights mission to West Papua before the 2024 summit, Indonesia has yet to facilitate this visit.
The IPWP/ILWP statement says the continued refusal is a violation of its obligations as a UN member state.

——————————————————————
International Parliamentarians for West Papua 
JUN 17, 2025
3) ULMWP membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group: IPWP/ILWP statement

As Parliamentarians, lawyers, and supporters of West Papua, we urge the leaders of the five Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) member groups to upgrade the membership status of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) at the upcoming MSG leaders’ summit. 

West Papua is a place of ongoing and severe human rights abuses, which occur with very little international oversight due to a strict ban on journalists entering West Papua.

We note that the ULMWP is already an Observer member of the MSG; that upgrading their membership status is within the remit of the MSG; and that a consensus must be formed in order to approve it. We appeal to the Agreement Establishing the MSG, which undertakes to “promote, coordinate and strengthen… exchange of Melanesian cultures, traditions and values, sovereign equality… to further MSG members’ shared goals of economic growth, sustainable development, good governance, peace, and security.” We consider that all these ambitions would be advanced by upgrading ULMWP membership.

We welcomed the statement delivered at the most recent MSG leaders’ summit in 2023, which urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a human rights mission into West Papua and to look at the root causes of the conflict. Noting the severity of the human rights situation in West Papua, we also welcomed the MSG’s request that the visit take place before the next leaders’ summit, then scheduled for 2024. Two years on, Indonesia has failed to honour their promise and facilitate a UN visit. As we stated in the 2024 Brussels Declaration, Indonesia’s continued refusal is a violation of its obligations as a UN member state.

The importance of upgraded MSG membership for the ULMWP is emphasized by the deteriorating human rights situation in West Papua. According to human rights defenders on the ground, over 97,000 West Papuans are currently internally displaced by Indonesian military operations. Meanwhile, arbitrary arrest, torture, and killing continue with impunity, with more than ten Papuan civilians killed by Indonesian soldiers in the last month alone. Indonesia is also destroying the unique West Papuan landscape on an unprecedented scale. We note with particular concern the construction of the Merauke rice and sugarcane project – described as the largest deforestation project ever launched – which is set to clear 3-million-acres of West Papuan forest, wetland, and savannah. 

In light of Indonesia’s continued refusal to honour its obligations to the international community, it is incumbent upon all countries to use other diplomatic means to highlight human rights violations in West Papua. MSG leaders have a unique opportunity to do this.

From a political standpoint, we believe that upgrading the ULMWP’s membership of the MSG is a necessary first step towards resolving the six-decade-long West Papuan conflict. There can be no just or lasting peace in West Papua until the West Papuan people are allowed to voice their desire for self-determination. 

We urge MSG leaders to upgrade the ULMWP’s existing membership status.

IPWP Chair: Alex Sobel MP, Labour Party, UK
IPWP Vice-Chair: Gorka Elejabarrieta, Basque Country, Spanish State
IPWP Vice-Chair: President Carles Puigdemont MEP Catalonia, Spanish State
ILWP Chair: Tim Hansen


--------------------------
Posted by at No comments:

Photos-Rally to Defend the right to protest.

19 June 2025

Rally to Defend the right to protest.

The Minns NSW Government cynically exploited the "criminal con-job" caravan hoax to rush through a series of anti-democratic laws, based on lies, designed to attack our right to protest.
One of these changes means that police are empowered to ban and "move-on" protests near places of worship, even if the protest is not targeting or has nothing to do with that place of worship! This could include Town Hall Square, Hyde Park, and many other important and historical sites of democratic protest.
On Thursday 19 June we're taking the Government to court to challenge these laws and have them struck down!
The challenge is being led by the Palestine Action Group, in conjunction with a range of civil liberties, human rights and other activist organisations.
These laws could be used against anyone who wants to stand up and protest about anything.






































































________________________________________________________






Posted by at No comments:

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

1) West Papua’s Forever War



2) TPNPB-OPM Claims 3 Dead, 2 Injured in Intan Jaya Shootout with TNI 

3) Military raid in Intan Jaya results in death of three indigenous civilians

4) Legal team raises alarm over criminalisation and unfair trial at Wamena Court



--------------------------------


06.18.2025

1) West Papua’s Forever War 
BY KLAS LUNDSTRÖM

Prabowo Subianto first made his name as an Indonesian military leader trying to crush East Timor’s push for independence. Today he is president — and his government is fighting another colonial war in West Papua.

In September 2024, Susi Air pilot Philip Mehrtens was released after nineteen months in captivity by the West Papuan liberation army and returned to his native New Zealand. Mehrtens’s kidnapping was a personal trauma — and an ordeal for his friends and family. Locally, the central highlands region is notorious for its vast human rights violations, its refugee crisis, and blatant colonial warfare. For the liberation movement, Mehrtens’s presence was an opportunity.

One source attached to a local refugee-aid program in Nduga Regency tells me that “when Mehrtens was still in the highlands, there was attention on the conflict.”  She adds that “a white man walked among the Papuans, in captivity, sure, but he walked on the same soil and along the same paths as the refugees, the suffering people, and the liberation movement.”  Surely, “people feel sorry for him, and rightly so; he couldn’t return to his loved ones. But in the same vein, Mehrtens’s case forced many to think about us who live here, who also wish to go somewhere — to freedom, to independence, to have our lives back.”

As Mehrtens left West Papua via a press frenzy in Jakarta, so did Western media. Their focus turned elsewhere. This is, after all, also a time of daily human rights atrocities in out-starved and aid-blockaded Gaza, the besieged and US-raided Yemen, and in Ukraine.

Mehrtens was released near Yuguru, one of numerous villages in in Nduga that have turned into last resorts for internally displaced people (IDPs), due to the armed conflict that erupted in late 2018. Then, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB-OPM) attacked a frontier site for the construction site of Trans Papua, a mega-road project that, when completed, will have brought 4,325 kilometers (2,685 miles) of paved road to West Papua. The deadly attack against Indonesian road workers opened the door for Indonesia’s largest military operation since its occupation of East Timor in 1975. Despite the alleged use of chemical warfare, massive air raids, and the installation of thousands of soldiers at remote army stations, TPNPB-OPM has continued its armed resistance.

Mehrtens’s kidnapping was also a major embarrassment for the political elite in Jakarta, and a sign of the military’s failure to “secure” and “pacify” West Papua by armed force. Shortly after his release, Indonesia’s newly elected president, Prabowo Subianto, assumed office, having been elected on a demagogic nationalist agenda. He had secured nearly 60 percent of the vote, aided by the fact that his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, happened to be the son of his predecessor, the vastly popular Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Since taking office, Prabowo has “increased the use of excessive violence and force,” according to Theo Hesegem, a human rights defender. “The violence in West Papua’s central highlands has increased greatly,” he tells me.

Even worse, he adds, the increased deployments of thousands of military personnel grew beyond the president’s control, paving the way for isolated army units to commit atrocities and human rights crimes against unarmed and unprotected civilians without any risk of legal punishment. Shortly after Mehrtens’s release, “a silent TNI [Indonesian military] operation” swept through Yuguru, and a suspected independence activist, twenty-seven-year-old Abral Wandikbo, was kidnapped, killed, mutilated, and later found dead in a community plantation area.

Reports from various isolated areas in the central highlands have proven to Hesegem that kidnappings, summary executions, and mutilations are “part of a pattern of TNI’s working methods” in West Papua, and that the tragic fate of Abral Wandikbo is merely one of many in this region. Witnesses have provided accounts and photo documentation of mutilated ears, mouths, noses, and testicles: crimes inflicted upon civilians by TNI units sweeping through refugee communities shortly after massive air raids initiated by the Jakarta government.

“The military apparatus doesn’t distinguish between civilians and the TPNPB-OPM,” says Hesegem.

West Papua remains an enclosed conflict zone, off-limits for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, international human rights groups, independent journalists, and humanitarian aid organizations. Instead, local church missions and poorly equipped regional administrations must cope with an alarming crisis of hunger, lacking health care facilities, and between 60,000 and 100,000 IDPs according tothe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. “There’s absolutely no end in sight for the IDPs,” Hesegem tells me.

Since 2018, when the ongoing armed conflict between the liberation army and Indonesian military forces broke out in earnest, countless civilians have died either due to bullets, bomb raids, hunger, or diseases. “For seven years, many refugees have died because there’s no health care for them,” he adds. A growing number of West Papuan activists and international human rights scholars label Indonesia’s ill-treatment of civilians a “slow-motion genocide.”

First, Hesegem underlines, you ought to understand the long-term impact of today’s colonialism. Neither health care nor education facilities prepare the young generation in the central highlands for the future — a tomorrow whose outlook remains unclear due to persistent Indonesian military operations in search of the ill-armed but mobile liberation movement, whose strongholds are found in the mountains and thick forests of interior West Papua.

Second, West Papua looks set to be eternally colonized by Indonesia, after Jakarta’s dismissal of the West Papuan liberation movements’ request to arrange for a UN-led referendum on the future status of the western part of New Guinea. In 1969, after Indonesia’s initial military annexation of West Papua, a blatantly corrupt UN-led referendum called the Act of Free Choice clinched Jakarta’s control over the resourceful territory. Indonesian control over West Papua has brought fortunes to investors and companies involved in oil palm production, copper and iron mining, and the forestry business. Yet, it has spelled social, cultural, and environmental disaster for civilians. The Freeport Mine, one of Indonesia’s most valuable sources of income, has polluted rivers, soils, and lakes.

The Trans Papua project is expected to seal West Papua’s fate as an Indonesian project, helping the central government to deal with concerns around overpopulation in Java, Sumatra, and Sulawesi through large-scale so-called transmigration programs. These continue to loot public and community lands in West Papua that are handed over to settlers, providing land titles to have-nots in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago, but also turning West Papuan civilians into second-class citizens in their own land.

According to regional and local policymakers, among them Indonesians born and raised in West Papua, the Trans Papua project is deemed a necessary evil to bring development, jobs, and necessary social and political infrastructure to isolated pockets of ”eastern Indonesia.” One source of mine — an Indonesian politician in the West Papuan capital Jayapura and a champion of Trans Papua — considers the project “part of a sustainable, humane, and civilizing development of Papua.”

In his view, the road isn’t merely a massive investment in physical infrastructure, it is also a long-term investment in “social defense,” where “modernity and capitalism will protect the Papuans from themselves, from their Stone Age living traditions.”

This source, however, deems Jakarta’s institutionalized “use of violence” against social upheavals as a sign of weakness and of a lack of understanding for the civilian population’s request for political and social involvement in the development of West Papua. “It’s an endless dilemma,” he says. “The government simply cannot respond to security and order issues with only a security mindset. We all need to consider ourselves as citizens of the Republic of Indonesia. If that’s not the case, it will only produce endless resistance, whatever development project is being carried out.”

However benevolent Indonesian policymakers’ intentions may be, they simply haven’t provided West Papuans with any financial stability or sense of belonging to a larger national identity.

Instead, riches of natural resources such as copper, ore, gold, timber, and fishing have made fortunes elsewhere, leaving behind a deforested and paved-over island. This economic takeover underlines the claims of an ongoing ”silent genocide,” as stated in a 2013 Sydney University report, and echoed by Benny Wenda, a West Papuan independence leader in exile in London, who links West Papua’s ordeals to Indonesia’s quarter-century-long occupation of East Timor. This illegal, US-supported occupation sprang from the large-scale invasion that followed Timorese independence from Portugal in 1975, and the occupation was led by Indonesia’s then defense minister and current president, Prabowo.

In the 1980s, he toured East Timor along with special-forces units, and various witnesses have accused him of committing atrocities while there. Aside from Prabowo’s human rights crimes in East Timor and responsibility for the ongoing atrocities in West Papua, he is deemed responsible for the deaths of various civilians in Java in 1998, during the collapse of the regime of his father-in-law, the dictator Suharto.

It may seem ironic that Prabowo — tainted by the documented bloodshed of minority groups, democracy advocates, West Papuan and Timorese independence activists — secured legal political power via the same democratic system that he fought so hard to crush as an integral player in Suharto’s “New Order” regime (1967–98). His success is rooted in the support of a young generation, “poorly informed of the country’s past under a military dictatorship,” as the BBC’s Frances Mao reported after his election victory.

Prabowo’s rise to Indonesia’s highest political office reflects a worldwide authoritarian push, directed by far-right nationalism. In the United States, Donald Trump’s return to office marks the onset of what Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor call an “end times fascism,” while in 2022, Italy marked a century since Benito Mussolini’s March on Rome by swearing in its first prime minister from a party of neofascist roots.

In Southeast Asia, Prabowo isn’t the only political blast from the past. In the Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr showed the world that being the son of a notorious dictator and kleptocrat can slam open the doors into the highest political office. Bongbong won the presidency in a landslide in 2022, and like Prabowo leaned on a vice president, Sara Duterte, who also happened to be the child of a former president, Rodrigo Duterte.

In the end, resolution to the grave human rights situation in West Papua doesn’t depend merely on a sincere and humanistic wake-up call among the political elite and financial quarters in Jakarta. It also comes down to the commitment of the international community, which ever since the 1960s has merely ignored the systematic plunder of West Papua’s natural resources at the expanse of the civilian population.

As a West Papuan civilian tells me (she wished to remain anonymous), “We’re being annihilated,” she says. “It’s clear that the Indonesians see no place for us here. They want us to vanish, die, or just leave. But where can we go? This is our land.”

Hesegem keeps documenting Indonesia’s vast human rights crimes in the central highlands and remains a vital source of information for the world outside of West Papua. In Nduga, near the village of Yuguru, where IDPs settled after the outbreak of the armed conflict in late 2018, TNI continues to sweep the area in search of the kidnappers and those responsible for the kidnapping of the New Zealander Mehrtens.

“TNI operates within the frame of so-called ‘silent operations,’” says Hesegem. “In Yuguru, they continue to occur. The trauma inflicted upon civilians is massive. There is no freedom for the community to live in their land, not even as IDPs.” As wars in the Middle East and Ukraine dominate global media headlines, West Papua’s attempt to muster international momentum for its quest for independence faces an ever-tougher picture.

———————————————————————


2) TPNPB-OPM Claims 3 Dead, 2 Injured in Intan Jaya Shootout with TNI 
Reporter Novali Panji Nugroho June 18, 2025 | 04:00 pm  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM), Sebby Sambom, reported a shootout between his group and the Indonesian Military (TNI) in Kampung Kulapa, Intan Jaya, Papua, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. He claimed that five civilians were shot by military personnel during the incident.

"The military opened fire on five civilians as they were attempting to flee their homes," Sebby said in a written statement on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.

According to him, three of the five civilians shot were declared dead: Isak Kobogau, Alfons Kobogau, and Johanes Tipagau. He added that two other civilians, Ones Kobogau and Aner Kobogau, sustained gunshot wounds.

Sebby also claimed that two military personnel were injured by OPM forces led by the Deputy Commander of TPNPB Kodap VIII Intan Jaya, Colonel Apeni Kobogau.

He urged the military not to attack civilians, asserting that during the shootout, the military fired upon civilians present at the scene. "Civilians who did not flee became victims of the military's brutality during the operation," he said.

The TPNPB-OPM called for an immediate halt to all civilian activities, including development projects, in Intan Jaya. This step, they stated, is intended to prevent further civilian casualties from ongoing gun battles between the OPM and TNI.

Colonel Infantry Candra Kurniawan, Head of Information for the Cenderawasih Regional Military Command, stated that he had not received any information regarding the alleged shootout incident in Intan Jaya. Meanwhile, the Chief of the Information Center (Kapuspen TNI), Major General Kristomei Sianturi, has not yet responded to Tempo's inquiries.

————————————————
Human Rights Monitor


3) Military raid in Intan Jaya results in death of three indigenous civilians

Cases, Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 18 June 2025 
In the early hours of 18 June 2025, the Indonesian military (TNI) launched a coordinated armed assault on the villages of Bulapa and Yoparu in Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency. The military forces reportedly entered through multiple routes, including the Waeabu, Mimiabu, and Bulabu rivers, and the main connecting road between Yoparu and Gamagae. According to witnesses, gunfire erupted at approximately 04:15 am and continued until 07:30 am. The raid led to the deaths of three Indigenous civilians and the mass displacement of villagers seeking safety.
At around 02:30 am, Indonesian military units infiltrated the Sugapa area in a silent formation via three key access routes. By 04:15 am, automatic gunfire was reported from the direction of Bulapa Village. As the gunfire intensified, villagers of Yoparu reportedly sought shelter at the Galunggama Catholic Church compound, while residents of Bulapa fled to nearby forests and safer areas. During this raid, three civilians were shot dead in the yard of their home in an area that the locals call Mimitapa. As of the latest update, the military remains stationed in the area with armed presence. Access to the villages is restricted for media and humanitarian workers. Civilians in the area have suffered from trauma and displacement, while further victims may still be unaccounted for.
Local communities, human rights organisations, and churches have called for the immediate withdrawal of non-organic military forces from civilian areas in Intan Jaya to prevent further escalation of violence. They also demand full and unimpeded access for humanitarian, medical, and human rights organisations to deliver emergency assistance and monitor the situation. The Indonesian government is urged to ensure the protection of civilians under international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, and to uphold its obligations under international human rights treaties.

Background

Military raids such as those recently reported from Sugapa District are no isolated incidents. Over the past months, armed violence in Puncak, Nduga, and Intan Jaya regencies has increased significantly, amid intensifying armed conflict and counterinsurgency operations against the TPNPB. Security forces, particularly the military, have increased repression against civilians, leaving residents vulnerable to arbitrary detention, torture, and unlawful executions. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) has reached a new peak in June 2025, leaving more than 97,000 indigenous Papuans internally displaced as a result of the intensifying armed conflict.
The incident constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, including the prohibition of extrajudicial killings and the principle of distinction, which requires parties to a conflict to distinguish between combatants and civilians. The use of lethal force in civilian areas without warning or the presence of active hostilities violates the right to life and security under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State party. The military presence and restriction of access further impede humanitarian relief and accountability efforts.



Table of civilian victims killed during military raid in Sugapa District on 18 June 2025  ...............


Bodies of civilian victims killed during military raid in Sugapa, Intan Jaya, on 18 June 2025

Date: 18 June 2025
Time: 02:30 WIT – 07:30 WIT
Location: Kampung Gamagae/Bulapa and Kampung Yoparu, Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency, Central Papua
Victims: Isak Kobogau (43), Alphon Kobogau (20), Yohanes Tipagau (40)
Type of Violation: Extrajudicial Killings, Military Operation in Civilian Area, Forced Displacement


——————————————

Human Rights Monitor

4) Legal team raises alarm over criminalisation and unfair trial at Wamena Court

Cases, Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 18 June 2025 
Human rights organisations have condemned the trial process against Mr Rife Kerebea (see photo on top, source: Suara Papua) as unfair. Mr Kerebea was arbitrarily arrested and processed for the alleged murder of 13 gold miners in Seradala District, Yahukimo Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province. His lawyers criticised various procedural breaches in the legal process, saying that the case is emblematic of a broader pattern of criminalisation targeting indigenous Papuans. On 12 June 2025, Mr Kerebea was found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Five expert witnesses called by the prosecution failed to produce autopsy reports. Additionally, several items presented as evidence, such as bullet shells, a burnt mobile phone, feathers, and cigarette packages, turned out to have no direct connection to Kerebea. Legal experts also criticised the application of Article 340 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (premeditated murder) in this case, asserting that the charges are excessive and unsupported by the evidence.
On 10 June 2025, two days before the verdict, Mr Rife Kerebea was interrogated by unidentified individuals and without the presence of his legal counsel. They showed him a series of photographs and questioned him regarding them. The correctional facility’s security unit later confirmed that they had no prior knowledge of the external visit and interrogation underscoring the irregularity of the incident. This recent development further illustrates what his defence team describes as a deeply flawed and unjust legal process. Mr Kerebea was arrested on 17 August 2024 in Kenyam, Nduga, in a heavily militarised operation without a valid arrest warrant. According to consistent statements from his family and legal counsel, he was forcefully arrested, blindfolded, beaten, threatened with death, shot in the leg, and subjected to coercive interrogation while in custody.
Mr Kerebea, formerly a village secretary and small-scale miner, says he is innocent. Witnesses called during the trial did not place him at the scene of the murders, and no forensic or testimonial evidence links him directly to the killings. His legal counsel argues that the prosecution has failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and instead relied on a narrative that unfairly associated Mr Kerebea with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) based solely on his place of origin and presence in a volatile area.
From a human rights perspective, Mr Kerebea’s case is emblematic of the broader pattern of criminalisation faced by indigenous Papuans accused of political or security-related offences. His arbitrary arrest, torture, prolonged pre-trial detention, and lack of access to timely legal assistance constitute violations of Indonesia’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including the right to liberty, fair trial guarantees, and protection from torture. The judiciary must resist political pressure and base its ruling solely on the facts and principles of justice to uphold the fundamental democratic principle of separation between the judiciary, legislative, and executive powers.

----------------------------------
Posted by at No comments:

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

1) TPNPB OPM Threatens to Shoot Road and Bridge Workers in Intan Jaya


2) Chronology of OPM Attack: TNI Soldier Killed in Yahukimo, Papua  

3) Police accused of shooting Papuan teenager in Dogiyai

4) Ministry, Papuan provinces tie up to end malaria by 2030  

5) Govt picks Papuan regions for mass malaria medication pilot  



---------------------------------------------------------

1) TPNPB OPM Threatens to Shoot Road and Bridge Workers in Intan Jaya  
Reporter Hanin Marwah 
June 17, 2025 | 12:44 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organization (TPNPB OPM) Kodap VIII Intan Jaya threatened to launch a military operation if the Indonesian government continues the construction of roads from Nabire to Ilaga and from Sugapa to Ugimba. The threats were conveyed by the Deputy Commander of TPNPB Kodap VIII Intan Jaya, Colonel Apeni Kobogau, through the Management of the TPNPB Central Headquarters.

"We are prepared to shoot the road workers because all the workers are part of the Indonesian military apparatus," said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambom in a statement on Monday, June 16, 2025.

They also demanded the cessation of civil aircraft flights to Intan Jaya. They accused the aircraft of transporting Indonesian military personnel from Nabire and Timika to Intan Jaya.

Threats of execution were also directed at the West Papua Army (WPA) by TPNPB Kodap VIII Intan Jaya. They were asked to stop monitoring the construction of the road from Magataga to Ugimba. If the road construction continues, TPNPB Intan Jaya will burn all the heavy equipment used for construction and shoot the road workers. "The Regent of Intan Jaya, Head of the Village Community Empowerment Agency (BPMK) Yoakim Mujizau, is ready to take responsibility," he said.

Sebby added that the TPNPB Central Headquarters management urged all road workers in Intan Jaya to immediately cease construction activities. TPNPB OPM will not hesitate to shoot if road construction continues.

The construction of roads and bridges is considered to facilitate military operations in Intan Jaya and the entry of companies into Intan Jaya. TPNPB considers the construction to potentially lead to shooting of civilians. "Thus, shooting of mothers and small children may occur," he said.

TPNPB OPM also urged all Papuan people and TPNPB forces in 36 Defense Regional Commands to close down illegal gold mines allegedly managed by the Indonesian military. They allow the Papuan people to search for gold themselves as long as they do not collaborate with Indonesian intelligence, with the threat of execution if discovered.

Editor's Choice: Chronology of OPM Attack: TNI Soldier Killed in Yahukimo, Papua


-------------------------------------




2) Chronology of OPM Attack: TNI Soldier Killed in Yahukimo, Papua  
Reporter Novali Panji Nugroho 
June 17, 2025 | 10:56 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A soldier from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) of Kodim 1715/Yahukimo named Serka Seger Mulyana became the victim of a fatal attack carried out by the Free Papua Movement (OPM) on Monday, June 16, 2025. The military soldier was killed after being shot on the Kali Biru Bridge, Dekai District, Yahukimo Regency, Papua.

Head of the TNI Information Center or Kapuspen TNI, Major General Kristomei Sianturi, stated that the incident began when the victim was on his way home from the hospital to the headquarters of Kodim 1715/Yahukimo. At that time, according to Kristomei, the TNI soldier was assigned to pick up medications at the Dekai Regional General Hospital for the sick military personnel.

Serka Seger rode a motorcycle with three other TNI members to go to the hospital. However, when returning to the headquarters, Serka Seger was alone on his ride.

"On his way home around 10:45 WIT (Eastern Indonesian Time), he was ambushed and suddenly shot by an armed separatist group in the area of the Kali Biru Bridge," said Kristomei in his written statement on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.

He said that the victim was taken to the Dekai Regional Hospital after his body was found on the side of the road. However, Serka Seger was declared deceased at 11:10 WIT.

Kristomei stated that several gunshot and stab wounds were found on the victim's body. "Gunshot wound on the right chest, slash wounds on the neck, chin, left hand, and left wrist. As well as a stab wound in the left chest by the OPM," he said.

He expressed his strong condemnation of the OPM's actions in killing the military soldier. According to him, the actions carried out by the OPM group in Yahukimo were inhumane.

"We condemn it. TNI will continue to take measured and proportional steps against every armed violence perpetrator that disrupts stability and security in Papua," said Kristomei.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement or TPNPB-OPM, Sebby Sambom, claimed that the victim was killed after a shootout with his militia group in Yahukimo. He stated that the shooting of the military soldier was planned by their group in Kodap Yahukimo.


"We've planned it, so we are ready to take responsibility for the shooting," said Sebby in his statement on Monday, June 16, 2025.

Editor's Choice: TNI Condemns OPM Shooting That Killed Soldier in Yahukimo



——————————————————

3) Police accused of shooting Papuan teenager in Dogiyai

Cases, Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 17 June 2025 
On 12 June 2025, police officers reportedly opened fire while patrolling the Deiyapa Village, Kamu Timur District, Dogiyai Regency, Papua Tengah Province, injuring a 17-year-old Papuan, Jebulon Pigai. According to witness accounts, the police officers released shots without an obvious reason. Jebulon, who was sitting in front of his home at the time of the shooting, sustained a bullet wound in the right thigh. Following the shooting, the vehicles immediately left the scene, leaving the injured teenager behind. The incident has sparked public outrage, with community leaders demanding that the Dogiyai Police Chief disclose the identity of those responsible and ensure accountability.
At approximately 2:30 pm, a car convoy consisting of eight white Avanza cars, reportedly under the command of the Dogiyai Police Chief, was seen travelling from Ugapuga to Moanemani. During the transit, the convoy passed through Deiyapa, where Jebulon Pigai was sitting outside his home. According to multiple eyewitness testimonies, shots were fired from one of the vehicles without provocation or prior warning, striking Jebulon in the right thigh. The convoy then left the scene. The victim did not receive on-site medical attention from the authorities. Residents carried Jebulon inside the family’s house and provided first aid (see photos below, source: independent HRD).
In contrast to community accounts, the Dogiyai Police denied any involvement, calling the incident a “hoax” and alleging that no official patrols were conducted on that day. However, a subsequent statement by the Central Papua Police Chief acknowledged a police presence in the area and described an alleged confrontation with youths engaging in extortion. The police claim that warning shots were fired after officers were threatened with machetes, yet no official injury report was filed. The existence of civilian victims was downplayed or denied.
The local community has called for an independent and transparent investigation into the shooting, with demands directed at the Dogiyai Police Chief to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. There is an urgent need for forensic examination, collection of eyewitness statements, and medical documentation to verify the facts.
Militarised policing and disproportionate force against Papuan civilians have significantly increased in the Dogiyai Regency in the past weeks. The incident is already the second of this pattern within the last month. On 23 May 2025, joint security forces reportedly opened fire and shot indiscriminately at civilians, injuring five Papuan minors in the Kimupugi Village, Kamu District. The police officers were searching for an unidentified group of persons who had thrown stones at the police post in the Pasar Lama Market in Moanemani.
This incident constitutes a potential arbitrary use of lethal force by state actors. Under international human rights law, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a party, the right to life (Article 6) must be protected and respected. Law enforcement officers are required to use force only when strictly necessary and proportionate to the threat posed. The reported shooting of an unarmed person without prior warning or evident threat violates the principles of necessity and proportionality and may amount to a serious human rights violation. Furthermore, the lack of immediate medical assistance, the flight of the police from the scene, and conflicting narratives from official sources demonstrate a failure to ensure accountability and adequate investigation, which is a breach of the state’s duty to protect life and prevent impunity. The refusal to acknowledge the victim, alongside attempts to discredit community testimonies, also reflects a pattern of institutional denial and intimidation, commonly reported in other parts of West Papua

Jebulon Pigai receiving first aid at his home in Deiyapa Village, 12 June 2025


----------------------------------


4) Ministry, Papuan provinces tie up to end malaria by 2030  
June 17, 2025 17:35 GMT+700


Badung, Bali (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Health has established cooperation with the governors of all provinces in Papua to achieve the target of eliminating malaria by 2030.

"We agreed on two agreements here, namely, first, cooperation with all governors in Papua for the target of eliminating malaria in Papua by 2030," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin informed.

Second, the ministry has forged cooperation with the neighboring country of Papua New Guinea in anti-dengue efforts, the minister said at the 9th Asia Pacific Leaders' Summit on Malaria Elimination in Badung, Bali, on Tuesday.

Sadikin emphasized the importance of reducing the number of malaria cases in Papua, considering the province accounts for 90 percent of cases detected in the country.

He informed that out of the 514 districts and cities in Indonesia, only 79 percent have been declared malaria-free. The rest are mostly regions in Papua, he said.

"There are a few in Nusa Tenggara and Kalimantan, but if we can eliminate it in Papua, 90 percent (of cases) will be resolved," the minister explained.

During the summit on Tuesday, Sadikin presented awards to a number of regions in Indonesia that have reduced malaria cases. They included West Sumbawa district in West Nusa Tenggara, Aceh Jaya district in Aceh, and South Buru district in Maluku.

Those regions implemented innovative measures to reduce malaria cases, such as setting up village-level malaria posts and providing malaria education to the community.

On the same occasion, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Ribka Haluk, who was born in Papua, assured that she would take responsibility for guiding the regional heads in Papua.

She further said that the Ministry of Home Affairs needs to ensure that funds for malaria elimination are prepared by all six provinces of Papua.

Related news: RI Govt focusing on anti-malaria efforts in Papua amid case spike

Related news: Indonesia leads Asia Pacific malaria elimination by 2030

Translator: Ni Putu Putri, Raka Adji
Editor: Primayanti




---------------------------------------


5) Govt picks Papuan regions for mass malaria medication pilot  
June 17, 2025 17:47 GMT+700

Badung, Bali (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has designated Mimika district in Central Papua province and Keerom district in Papua province as pilot regions for a mass malaria medication program, according to Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

Speaking at the 9th Asia Pacific Leaders' Summit on Malaria in Badung district, Bali, on Tuesday, he said that the initiative could help bring down malaria infections significantly, but would require a substantial budget.

"We are currently assessing whether the program is economically feasible," he informed, adding that the assessment is necessary given the large size of the targeted population.

He explained that the two districts have been selected for the pilot given their high malaria prevalence, especially in forested areas. He added that Papuan regions account for 90 percent of Indonesia's total malaria cases.

The Health Ministry has been carrying out preventive measures in the regions, including malaria screening for two million people, which is conducted annually, he said.

The ministry has also received support from the Global Fund in distributing 3.3 million long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

"We are hoping for political commitments, including from regional governments, to help intensify these efforts so that we can eliminate malaria by 2030," Sadikin said.

The ministry has forged cooperation with all provincial governments across the Papuan region, as well as the government of neighboring country Papua New Guinea for malaria prevention, he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Ribka Haluk, who was born in Papua, affirmed that she would mentor the provincial governments.

Malaria is the fourth most prevalent infectious disease in Indonesia, with an average of 500 thousand cases and 150 deaths recorded per year. Notably, 407 out of 514 Indonesian districts and cities have been declared malaria-free so far.



Related news: Ministry, Papuan provinces tie up to end malaria by 2030

Related news: Indonesia leads Asia Pacific malaria elimination by 2030

Related news: Indonesia seeks collaborative boost for malaria elimination efforts



Translator: Ni Putu P, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala

-----------------------------------
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)