‘Pig Feast’: a test case for alternative media, Papua, and Indonesian democracy

https://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/pig-feast-a-test-case-for-alternative-media-papua-and-indonesian-democracy/

‘Pig Feast’: a test case for alternative media, Papua, and Indonesian democracy 

BY HELLENA SOUISA

11 JUNE 2026 

This may be the most controversial film in Indonesia right now.

After being screened offline at nearly 2,000 locations across Indonesia and abroad, the documentary Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time (Pesta Babi: Kolonialisme di Zaman Kita) was officially released online on May 22.

Within just 14 days of release, Pig Feast had already been viewed more than 13 million times on the YouTube channel JubiTV.

Jubi is a West Papua-based media outlet and one of the documentary’s production collaborators, alongside Greenpeace Indonesia, Watchdoc, Koperasi Indonesia Baru, Pusaka Bentala Rakyat, and LBH Papua Merauke.

The title Pig Feast (Pesta Babi) is taken from a tradition of the Muyu people in West Papua known as Awon Atatbon. This is a customary ritual involving pigs as social and cultural symbols used to mark the continuity and preservation of Papua’s forests and natural environment.

The 90-minute film, directed by Dandhy Dwi Laksono and Cypri Jehan Paju Dale, is set in South Papua. It follows Indigenous communities resisting the loss of their land and livelihoods due to a government-backed National Strategic Project (Proyek Strategis Nasional, or PSN).

The documentary argues that Indonesia’s food estate project is merely a cover for a large-scale bioethanol venture benefiting particular groups, while exposing the broader web of political and economic interests behind it, including alleged military involvement.

Filling the information drought on Papua

There are several reasons that may explain the widespread public enthusiasm for independently organised community screenings and discussions of Pig Feast at thousands of locations across Indonesia and abroad, as well as its millions of YouTube views.

First and foremost is the information and content the film offers about what is happening in Papua. It describes it as the world’s largest ongoing deforestation project carried out in the name of a PSN, the clearing of 2.5 million hectares of tropical rainforest, and the displacement of 107,000 people, all taking place amid continuing armed conflict in the region.

Second, it is no secret that the ownership structure of Indonesia’s mainstream media, particularly broadcast media, which is controlled by a small group of conglomerates, has affected the diversity of its content.

Because of this ownership structure and the entanglement of political and economic interests behind it, the content of Indonesia’s mainstream television media, as I have previously written, tends to be uniform, elite-centric, Jakarta-centric, Java-centric, and urban-centric.

As a result, there is little or no space for the voices of marginalised groups, communities outside Java, or critical issues that do not generate significant advertising revenue, such as environmental conservation, human rights abuses, and attacks on environmental defenders.

This means that information from and about Papua is rarely seen on mainstream national broadcast media screens. Meanwhile, in the digital sphere, we also know there have previously been attempts to shut down internet access in Papua.

Against this backdrop, Pig Feast, which offers in-depth and comprehensive information about the issues faced by Papuans, emerges to fill the void and address the drought of crucial information about Papua.

Even in an era when media consumption and distribution patterns are increasingly governed by algorithms, Pig Feast’s grassroots community screening model has managed to overcome the dominance of those algorithms.

It is therefore important to view Pig Feast as a success story for alternative media, which Downing, and Hackett and Carroll, define as media that are ‘progressive, explicitly opposed to particular axes of domination (corporate capitalism, heterosexism, racism, state authoritarianism) and openly assume a stance of advocacy rather than pseudo-objectivity, experiment with new aesthetic styles, and address issues marginalised in hegemonic media.’

Pig Feast, like most of Laksono’s documentaries, rarely includes interviews with authorities.

The aim is to balance narratives in the public sphere by giving a platform to communities whose voices are nearly absent from mainstream media.

By doing so, the filmmaker rejects the notion of giving equal voice to those who perpetuate injustice, and critiques the idea of journalistic ‘objectivity,’ which is often seen as serving entrenched commercial or political interests that maintain relations of domination.

This is both a reminder and a reaffirmation of the role and principles of alternative media.

Screenings disrupted, branded ‘foreign agents,’ and reported to police

Because of the issues raised in Pig Feast, including the names and institutions mentioned in the film, the documentary has been met with intense backlash.

Ekspedisi Indonesia Baru, one of the documentary’s production collaborators, reported that of more than 2,000 screenings held so far, at least 50 had been dispersed, cancelled, or subjected to intimidation.

The reasons varied, ranging from claims that the ‘title is provocative,’ and the need to ‘maintain public order’ and ‘anticipate security concerns,’ to allegations of ‘failure to coordinate permits.’

Some screenings were also accused of ‘not possessing a Film Censorship Pass Certificate (STLS) from the Indonesian Film Censorship Board,’ even though Pig Feast, as a film with a ‘non-commercial purpose’, falls into an exempt category.

Off-screen, director Dandhy Laksono has also become the target of black campaigns on social media, where he has been labelled a ‘foreign agent’ and ‘provocateur’.

Most recently, Laksono and LBH Papua Merauke director John Teddy Wakum were reported to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police by one of the figures featured in the documentary, Yasinta Moiwend.

Before filing the report, Moiwend, who in Pig Feast firmly rejected the PSN and criticised the government, later appeared to reverse her stance and express support for the project through social media posts.

Moiwend said she objected to her face being shown in the documentary and subsequently, while also demanding that screenings of the film be stopped.

However, members of Moiwend’s family viewed her sudden change of attitude and police report as suspicious, suspecting that she acted under pressure and intimidation from certain parties.

A new chapter for Pig Feast: a test for Papua, alternative media, and democracy

Efforts to drag the film’s director and one of its collaborators into legal proceedings, following waves of intimidation, repression, screening dispersals, disinformation, and accusations of being ‘foreign agents’, amount to a test on three fronts at once.

First, this is a test for future information and reporting about Papua. What Pig Feast is experiencing recalls the case of Indonesian human rights defenders Fatia Maulidyanti and Haris Azhar in 2023 and 2024.

Both were charged after being reported for defamation by then Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan over a video in which Azhar and Maulidyanti discussed research by nine civil society organisations alleging Panjaitan’s involvement in mining businesses and military operations in Papua.

Although the court eventually acquitted Azhar and Maulidyanti, the recurring pattern of criminalising the messengers of Papua-related information, while leaving the substance of the information itself untouched, represents an attempt to obscure problems in Papua that deserve national attention.

Second, this is also a test for future collaborative work between alternative media and civil society. What Laksono and Wakum are experiencing, like Azhar and Maulidyanti, creates a chilling effect not only for those who amplify marginalised voices, but also for the marginalised voices themselves and for issues neglected by mainstream media, particularly civil society perspectives confronting elite dominance.

Third, this new chapter in the story of Pig Feast is ultimately also a test for democracy itself. Can Indonesia be a democracy where freedom of expression and opinion are guaranteed, and where diversity of information, sustained in part by alternative media, remains a crucial pillar of its society?

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1) IDP Update June’26: Government neglect drives West Papua’s spiraling displacement emergency

2) Participatory Mapping Seen as a Solution to Agrarian Conflicts in Southwest Papua

3) Puncak Legislator Calls for Justice After Civilian Deaths

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(Photos/Video in Report)

Human Rights Monitor

1) IDP Update June’26: Government neglect drives West Papua’s spiraling displacement emergency

Human Rights News, Reports / Indonesia, West Papua / 10 June 2026 

Between April and June 2026, new security force raids in the regencies Puncak, Yahukimo, Nduga, Mimika, and Intan Jaya caused new waves of internal displacement, where indigenous communities witness an increasing presence of military personnel. HRM received reports from various areas where the military (TNI) claimed customary land for the construction of new military posts without prior consent by its customary land rights holders. As of early June 2026, more than 122,931 civilians across multiple regencies remained internally displaced due to military operations and armed conflict (see table below). The most significant event marked a widespread military operation in Kembru, Pogoma and Magebume (Puncak) reportedly displaced an estimated 14,000 people. Alarmingly, HRM did not receive updated information about IDPs in other conflict affected regencies such as Pegunungan Bintang or Nduga, where IDPs continue to live in isolated camps in the jungle without humanitarian access. 

General developments point to a contested and still-deteriorating outlook. Church leaders have explicitly linked the crisis to state policy, arguing that the development-through-security approach codified in Presidential Instructions No. 9 of 2017 and No. 9 of 2020 on the acceleration of development in the Papuan provinces has legitimised militarisation and deepened the humanitarian emergency in West Papua. the DGP’s demands an immediate halt to military operations in civilian areas, concrete civilian protection, unimpeded humanitarian access, an independent investigation into alleged rights violations, and access for foreign journalists.

The Papua Council of Churches (DGP) stated on 21 April 2026 that the humanitarian crisis can be traced back to late 2018, linked to escalating violence and intensifying military operations in civilian areas. These operation had reached alarming levels pointing at various incidents involving excessive police or military violence in the regencies Lanny Jaya, Intan Jaya, Puncak and Dogiyai between March and June 2026. IDPs continue facing dire conditions, including acute shortages of food, healthcare and protection, compounded by the encroachment of military activity into villages, churches, schools and markets that should be civilian safe spaces.

Papuan parliament members have repeatedly brought the humanitarian crisis in West Papua to the attention of the central government (see video below). On 7 June 2026, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) publicly offered to guarantee humanitarian access for neutral organisations operating under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). As of writing, Jakarta yet refuses to enter into a dialogue for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and continues to block humanitarian access to IDPs, as displacement in the conflict zones ware likely to climb so long as a security-driven approach prevails………….

Full update

https://humanrightsmonitor.org/reports/idp-update-june26-government-neglect-drives-west-papuas-spiraling-displacement-emergency/

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https://jubi.id/pacnews/2026/participatory-mapping-seen-as-a-solution-to-agrarian-conflicts-in-southwest-papua/

2) Participatory Mapping Seen as a Solution to Agrarian Conflicts in Southwest Papua

IN PACNEWS READING TIME: 4 MINS READ JUNE 10, 2026  0 Author : Arjuna Pademme Editor : Nuevaterra Mambor

Sorong, Jubi – Head of Research and Innovation at the Southwest Papua Provincial Development Planning, Research, and Innovation Agency (Bapperida), Frengky Albert R.M. Saa, said participatory mapping is a strategic approach to resolving various agrarian conflicts in Southwest Papua Province.

He said agrarian conflicts in the newly established autonomous province are closely related to natural resource management, recognition of customary territories, and development dynamics.

According to Saa, investments in plantations, forestry, mining, and infrastructure development often create disputes involving the government, companies, and Indigenous customary law communities.

In such circumstances, participatory mapping is considered an important approach to fostering dialogue, clarifying customary territorial boundaries, and creating fairer and more sustainable conflict-resolution mechanisms for local communities in Southwest Papua.

Saa said Indigenous communities in Southwest Papua maintain strong historical, spiritual, and social ties to their customary lands.

Land is not merely viewed as an economic asset but also as a cultural identity and ancestral heritage that sustains Indigenous communities across generations.

As a result, when land is taken over without the consent of Indigenous communities, conflicts that arise concern not only ownership rights but also dignity, cultural existence, and the sense of justice of Indigenous peoples.

“Therefore, participatory mapping is a strategic tool to ensure that the voices of Indigenous communities are accommodated in the regional development process,” Saa said on Wednesday.

According to Saa, participatory mapping allows Indigenous communities to be directly involved in identifying their customary territories and customary lands.

These include village boundaries, customary forests, sacred sites, and community livelihood resources such as rivers, sago groves, and hunting grounds.

The involvement of Indigenous communities in the process provides social legitimacy to the resulting maps because they are based on local knowledge and collective history.

“With participatory maps of customary territories, the potential for conflicts arising from unilateral claims can be minimized through deliberation and mutual agreements among relevant parties,” he said.

Saa explained that many agrarian conflicts in Southwest Papua have been triggered by weak formal recognition of customary territories that Indigenous communities have occupied and managed for generations.

This situation has led to social tensions, community resistance, and prolonged conflicts that hinder regional development.

Participatory mapping is therefore considered an important instrument for bridging the gap between the state’s administrative system and customary land tenure systems that have been practiced for centuries.

Participatory mapping is also viewed as a means of strengthening customary territorial governance and supporting sustainable development in Southwest Papua.

Through mapping, Indigenous communities can establish spatial zoning based on customary values and ecological functions. Areas designated for customary conservation, water-source protection, community farming areas, and settlements can be clearly identified, enabling more planned and sustainable regional development.

“This approach is in line with sustainable development principles that place local communities as the primary actors in natural resource management,” he said.

Saa added that geospatial technology offers significant opportunities to strengthen participatory mapping in Southwest Papua. The use of GPS, drones, satellite imagery, and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications can help Indigenous communities produce more accurate territorial maps that can serve as supporting documents in the recognition of customary land rights.

At the same time, involving Papuan youth in mapping technologies is an important step toward transforming customary knowledge into digital formats that are more adaptable to technological advancements.

According to Saa, the success of participatory mapping depends on support and collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including local governments, customary institutions, academics, civil society organizations, and churches.

“Local governments have a strategic role in providing policy legitimacy to community mapping results through regional regulations, recognition of customary villages, and integration of customary territorial maps into spatial planning frameworks,” he said.

Academics and research institutions can contribute by providing data, technical assistance, and capacity-building support for communities engaged in participatory mapping.

However, Saa acknowledged that several challenges remain before participatory mapping can fully function as an instrument for protecting Indigenous rights.

These challenges include limited human resources, inadequate funding, conflicts of interest among groups, and the lack of policy synchronization between central and regional governments regarding the recognition of customary territories.

In some cases, community-generated maps have yet to receive full legal recognition, making them vulnerable to being overlooked in development decision-making processes.

For that reason, he said, strong political commitment is required to ensure that participatory mapping becomes a genuine instrument for protecting Indigenous rights rather than merely an administrative formality.

Participatory mapping, he stressed, is not simply about drawing territorial boundaries but also about advancing social justice and recognition of Indigenous customary law communities in Southwest Papua.

“Amid the rapid flow of investment and development expansion in Southwest Papua, recognition of customary territories can no longer be treated as a mere administrative complement,” he said.

He emphasized that Indigenous communities must become the primary subjects in all decision-making processes concerning their customary territories.

Without clear recognition of customary territorial boundaries, the potential for social conflict will continue to recur and become a serious obstacle to sustainable development.

“Agrarian conflict across Papua demonstrate that development which ignores the rights of Indigenous communities only leads to distrust, resistance, and prolonged social tensions.”

Saa said participatory mapping should therefore be regarded both as an instrument for protecting Indigenous rights and as a crucial foundation for creating legal certainty for all stakeholders.

Local governments, he added, need to strengthen their political commitment through regulations that provide genuine recognition of participatory mapping outcomes.

Without strong policy support, community-generated maps risk becoming little more than archived documents, lacking the authority to shape development policies or resolve territorial disputes.

“Participatory mapping is an important step in ensuring that development proceeds in harmony with the protection of Indigenous Papuans’ rights, environmental sustainability, and the strengthening of peace and social stability throughout Papua,” Saa said. (*)

Nuevaterra Mambor

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https://jubi.id/pacnews/2026/puncak-legislator-calls-for-justice-after-civilian-deaths/

3) Puncak Legislator Calls for Justice After Civilian Deaths

IN PACNEWS READING TIME: 3 MINS READ JUNE 9, 2026  0 Author : Larius Kogoya Editor : Nuevaterra Mambor

Jayapura, Jubi – Melince Magai, a member of the Puncak Regency Legislative Council (DPRK) in Central Papua appointed through the Special Autonomy (Otsus) mechanism, said women endure nine months of pregnancy, the pain of childbirth, and years of raising children, only to see them killed at a young age.

Magai made the statement following a meeting between a special committee (Pansus) of the Puncak DPRK and Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

Her remarks were a response to the situation in Puncak Regency and Papua more broadly, where civilians, including children, have become victims of the armed conflict between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army/Free Papua Movement (TPNPB/OPM).

“As women, we are tired of giving birth to children only to see them killed while they are still minors. Some are teenagers, some are six or seven years old, and even those still in the womb are being killed,” Magai said.

She stressed that the children who become victims have no involvement whatsoever in the armed conflict.

“Through Komnas HAM, we ask that the Kembru tragedy be thoroughly investigated. We demand that those responsible be prosecuted and that justice be delivered for us, our families, and our communities in Puncak Regency. Papuans are living on their own land in fear and trauma,” she said.

Magai also alleged that much of the reality on the ground has not been accurately reflected in media coverage.

“Therefore, we ask Komnas HAM to protect us and bring these aspirations before the courts. Those responsible for these crimes must be prosecuted. All non-organic military personnel should be withdrawn from Puncak Regency so that we can live peacefully and prosperously like our brothers and sisters elsewhere,” she said.

Emanuel Gobay, legal counsel for victims of the alleged human rights violations in Kembru District, said he, members of the Puncak DPRK special committee, and students had come to Komnas HAM to seek clarification regarding the commission’s handling of the April 14, 2026 tragedy in Kembru.

“Twelve people were killed, more than 1,000 residents were displaced, and others were injured as a result of the incident. We have submitted the data to Komnas HAM and relevant government ministries. This shows that the incident created a humanitarian emergency,” Gobay said.

According to Gobay, the emergency situation has persisted since April 2026, yet there has been no clarity regarding follow-up action. He said witnesses and victims had provided testimony, and information from multiple sources pointed to the alleged perpetrators.

“The victims themselves have informed the Puncak Regent, Komnas HAM’s Papua office, the Governor of Central Papua, and the Deputy Governor about who they believe was responsible. This indicates that the alleged perpetrators have been clearly identified and point to security personnel deployed from outside the region. In this case, spent bullet casings have also been submitted to Komnas HAM as evidence,” he said.

Gobay explained that the special committee was established by the Puncak DPRK at the request of victims and affected communities. Its members traveled to Komnas HAM headquarters to demand progress on the victims’ calls for justice.

The victims are demanding that Komnas HAM identify those responsible for the incident and forward the case file to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution through a human rights court.

“They are also calling for the withdrawal of all non-organic security forces from Puncak Regency. Those are the two main demands. We hope these concerns are heard by the President of Indonesia, so that Komnas HAM can receive the support necessary to conduct a professional investigation into the alleged human rights violations,” Gobay said. (*)

Nuevaterra Mambor

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1) Editorial Colonialism in Papua

2) TAPOL's 2nd Quarterly Update 2026

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https://en.tempo.co/read/2107624/colonialism-in-papua

1)  Editorial 

Colonialism in Papua 

Reporter  Tempo  June 9, 2026 | 03:59 pm

The attempt to pit an actor and the filmmakers of the Pesta Babi against each other only proves that there is colonialism in Papua. It is a brazen divide-and-rule tactic.

THE police report filed against the filmmakers of Pesta Babi (Pig Feast) by Yasinta Moiwend validates the main thesis that forms the subtitle of this documentary: colonialism in our time. A primary characteristic of colonialism is the pitting of native people against each other, as was done by its most popular figures, Snouck Hurgronje in Aceh and C.C. Berg di Java.

Both were scholars dispatched by the Dutch colonial government to study the Nusantara (archipelago) in order to subdue it. Hurgronje was an anthropologist and Islamic scholar, while Berg was a philologist. Hurgronje’s research in Aceh birthed the divide et impera strategy that fractured the ulee balang (secular nobility) from the ulema. Meanwhile, Berg engineered the myth of historical enmity between the Sundanese and Javanese traditions through his analysis of the Bubat War.

The result of their “work” was a never-ending cycle of internal friction across the archipelago. Yet, what is happening in Papua today is far more barefaced than the divisive tactics of the Dutch colonial administration. In Papua, Mama Yasinta is being “used” to delegitimize the main message of Pesta Babi: how military operations and food estate projects are ravaging the region’s ecosystem.

A person who from the very beginning opposed the food estate project, a mother who fought to defend the customary lands as a living space, a woman who spoke out loudly about the critical importance of Papua’s forests for Indonesia, has suddenly turned around to dismantle everything she stood for. It is too vulgar to call the sequence of activities from when she lost contact with her family on May 24, 2026, visited an Indonesian Military (TNI) post, and then was flown on a private jet to Jakarta to report the activities of civil activists to the police a coincidence.

Mama Yasinta’s U-turn goes to show even more clearly that the food estate project in Papua is no trivial project. As well as being run by a company belonging to Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, a tycoon close to President Prabowo Subianto, the project is being backed by the military and the police. This boundless state power is suppressing the voices of indigenous Papuans. Mama Yasinta is simply a devious tool to silence them.

Consequently, expecting the police to investigate allegations of intimidation against Mama Yasinta is a fool’s errand. The police are inherently part of the script to delegitimize the message of Pesta Babi. As both an actor in the documentary and an indigenous figurehead who symbolized resistance against the 2.7-million-hectare mega-project, Mama Yasinta is the perfect weapon to dismantle the barriers threatening President Prabowo’s flagship project.

Food and energy self-sufficiency are Prabowo’s main programs. After the failure of a similar project in Central Kalimantan while he was Defense Minister, Prabowo shifted his attention to Papua. He has ordered his ministers to transform the wetlands of South Papua into paddy fields and convert forests into oil palm plantations to feed his biodiesel ambitions. The film Pesta Babi could become a stumbling block to achieving these goals.

In truth, Pesta Babi is neither the first nor the only journalistic work to expose the exploitation of Papua to the global community. A series of investigative reports by Tempo and the documentary films Dines Lingkungan (The Environmental Patrol) on YouTube had repeatedly brought these issues. Mama Yasinta even first came to public attention through an interview in this documentary.

Therefore, trying to shut down Pesta Babi by delegitimizing its key figures is like building castles in the air. Whatever lies behind Mama Yasinta’s motives only hardens civil resistance. Indonesia has a long history of fighting colonialism.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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2) TAPOL's 2nd Quarterly Update 2026

09 June 2026

Indonesia has not been immune to the currents affecting the world’s politics so far this year. It seems to be increasingly jumping on to the bandwagon with the US, eroding years of carefully-cultivated neutrality in the process. Meanwhile, the intimidation of activists has reached a new shocking milestone, with prominent human rights activist Andrie Yunus being attacked with acid, after protesting against increased military power in Indonesia. Yet, despite these moves by authorities, a coalition of human rights organisations, churches and sections of the national parliament are making increasingly loud calls for urgent action against abuses in West Papua. These efforts show that despite an atmosphere of pessimism felt across civil society, new actors are now adding their voices to a chorus crying out against injustice, showing that hope against abuses by those in power remains possible……………

https://tapol.org/news/tapols-2nd-quarterly-update-2026

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1) Sorong Residents Protest Palm Oil Company’s Harvesting on Disputed Land

2) Indonesia. Militarism on the rise amid censorship over West Papua

3) West Papuan 'Pig Feast' documentary subject files police complaint against director

4) 18-year-old Papuan girl killed in suspected military drone strike in Lanny Jaya Regency

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https://jubi.id/pacnews/2026/sorong-residents-protest-palm-oil-companys-harvesting-on-disputed-land/

1) Sorong Residents Protest Palm Oil Company’s Harvesting on Disputed Land

IN PACNEWS READING TIME: 3 MINS READ JUNE 8, 2026  0 Author : Gamaliel Kaliele Editor : Nuevaterra Mambor

Sorong, Jubi – Residents in Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua, have protested against palm oil company PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera (IKS) for continuing to harvest palm fruit on land that remains under dispute in Klalik Village, Klaso District.

One resident, Roy, said the community was disappointed that the company had continued its operations despite ongoing objections from landowners.
“Since January, we have maintained a blockade on the area as a form of protest because our concerns and rights have never been properly addressed. Yet the company continues to enter the disputed land and harvest palm fruit as if there were no problem,” Roy said on Sunday.

According to Roy, the community initially agreed to allow the company to use the land for a nursery. However, residents later alleged that the company expanded its activities and converted the area into a palm oil plantation without obtaining consent from the customary landowners.

He said the dispute dates back to 2006, when the company began clearing land in several plots that formed part of community-owned plasma plantation areas. The clearing, he claimed, was carried out without prior notification to local residents who held rights to the land.

Roy said residents sought compensation of Rp150 million during mediation efforts held in February 2026. The figure was calculated based on the company’s use of the land from 2006 to 2025.

During negotiations, the community later reduced its demand to Rp250,000 per hectare per month for an agreed period.

“We have tried to find a compromise. Initially, we requested Rp150 million based on nearly two decades of land use. We later reduced our demand to Rp250,000 per hectare per month and even agreed to limit compensation calculations to the company’s operations between 2020 and 2025. However, our demands have yet to be addressed,” Roy said.

In addition to compensation issues, residents have questioned the lack of clarity regarding land boundaries, arguing that a transparent verification process involving Indonesia’s National Land Agency (BPN) is necessary.

Community members have repeatedly requested a new land survey to verify the legal boundaries between community-owned land and areas claimed by the company. According to residents, that request has not been fulfilled.

“People are asking why an area that 400 hectares was once around, is now shown on maps as only about 260 hectares. What happened to the rest of the land? The company must explain what happened to that land,” Roy said.

The disputed land is located within a former transmigration settlement area established in 1988, where approximately 200 transmigrant households were allocated land by the government.

Roy said each household originally received about two hectares, bringing the total distributed area to roughly 400 hectares.

“Today, much of that land is under dispute, and some of it has been reclaimed by Indigenous communities,” he said.

He added that residents have pursued various avenues to resolve the conflict, including dialogue and mediation, but no definitive solution has been offered by the company.

Residents are now urging both the Sorong Regency administration and the central government to intervene in what they describe as a long-running agrarian conflict.

They argue that government involvement is essential to prevent the dispute from escalating further and to ensure that the company ceases operations on the contested land until community grievances have been resolved in accordance with the law.

“We are not opposed to investment. However, investment should not come at the expense of people’s rights,” Roy said.

“We remind PT Inti Kebun Sejahtera not to continue harvesting on land whose legal status remains disputed. We will continue defending our rights until there is clarity and justice.”

Meanwhile, Ambrosius Klagilit of the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua Pos) in Sorong said the issue should not be treated as an ordinary land dispute but as a matter involving the fundamental land rights of local communities.

“The state must not allow a company to continue profiting from land whose ownership and status are still being challenged by the community,” Klagilit said.

He argued that the company should suspend all activities in the disputed area until a fair and transparent resolution is reached.

“If there are still unresolved objections and demands from the community, company operations should be temporarily halted until a lawful and transparent settlement is achieved,” he said.

Klagilit added that both regional and national governments have a legal obligation to ensure that business activities do not undermine community rights.

According to him, allowing the conflict to continue unchecked would reflect weak state oversight of problematic investment practices.

He further warned that if residents’ demands continue to be ignored, LBH Papua Pos Sorong will pursue legal action and advocacy efforts measures to safeguard community rights. (*)

Nuevaterra Mambor

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https://michaelwest.com.au/indonesia-militarism-on-the-rise-amid-censorship-over-west-papua/

2) Indonesia. Militarism on the rise amid censorship over West Papua

by Duncan Graham | Jun 8, 2026 | Comment & Analysis, Latest Posts

  Listen to this story 7 min  

Australians are rightly concerned with violent abuses of powerless people far away in the Middle East. Yet next door, similar evils thrive. Duncan Graham reports from Indonesia.

The Indonesian military’s interference in high school and university education is threatening the next generation’s knowledge of the world and how issues affecting their lives are being erased.

The documentary Pesta Babi (Pig Feast) has been banned by civic authorities and soldiers from three locations: the public Mataram University (Lombok Island, alongside Bali), North Maluku, and Yogyakarta in Central Java.

Intimidating discussions of the film are pushing students away from inquiry, the core of all learning.  They’re turning into sheep.

The Indonesian producers say their film “chronicles the struggle of indigenous Papuans to defend their ancestral lands and forests from the threat of food security projects or food estates. “The documentary also exposes the involvement of business circles, palm oil conglomerates and the Indonesian Military in government-backed national strategic projects.”

A news account of the Mataram Uni banning read: “Efforts at negotiations between the committee and several student organisation officials yielded no results, and an argument ensued. The campus authorities were unwilling to compromise and remained firm.

The event was then forcibly broken up without any justification.

Last month, another screening of the film by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) and the Society of Indonesian Environmental Journalists in Ternate City, North Maluku, was closed by Lieutenant Colonel Jani Setiadi, claiming social media rejections of Pesta Babi.

(Ternate is 1,660 km northeast of Mataram. West Papua is a further 500 km east of Ternate, a volcanic island in the Maluku group. There are about 17,500 islands in the Indonesian archipelago.)

“There’s been a lot of opposition to this film screening on social media because many people think it’s provocative,” Jani reportedly said. He was formerly a deputy commander of an infantry battalion.

“… the joint screening [should] not go ahead considering that issues of ethnicity, religion, race and intergroup relations issues in North Maluku are highly sensitive and easily politicised.”

AJI Ternate Chairperson Yunita Kaunar alleged Jani’s orders were “an act of intimidation against legitimate civilian activities.

“If every critical work is considered a threat and then silenced, then democracy is in a dangerous situation. The state must not be afraid of discussions and documentaries.”

In late April in Yogyakarta, a scheduled showing at a Catholic venue was cancelled without reason. The Central Java city is Indonesia’s cultural HQ.

Army influence

These episodes amplify concerns that Indonesia is being run by the army,

freed from the barracks by their boss, disgraced former general now President Prabowo Subianto.

Now he’s back in the top job and militarising the Republic of 285 million – that’s 11 to one Aussie. There are just three other nations with more people – India, China and the US.

Though trained to kill, be-medalled officers in the Tentara (military) Nasional Indonesia have been taking over the jobs of peaceful civilian bureaucrats. No appropriate experience or qualifications? No worries, it’s the discipline that’s needed.

Now the men in khaki have turned censors, shutting down screenings of the 57-minute Pesta Babi.

The soldiers from Java watching out for spears and jungle-track ambushes in West Papua tend to be Muslims; pig products are haram (forbidden), so meals aren’t shared with the Christian locals.

That ensures convivial sit-downs to talk peace are rare.

West Papua suppression

West Papua has been shut to foreign journalists for decades. Twelve years ago, activists in London claimed:

“Dozens of demonstrators dressed in black gathered outside the Indonesian Embassy today to lead the global protest against West Papua’s 50-year-long isolation. The demonstration was organised by TAPOL (an international organisation for Indonesian political prisoners) and Survival International, supported by Amnesty UK and the Free West Papua Campaign.

“The rally was one of 22 protests around the world calling for free and open access to Indonesia’s most secretive region.”

More than 83,000 soldiers on rotation and carrying modern weapons have been trying to put down bow-and-arrow guerrillas protesting possession of West Papua and its enormous mineral riches.

The Grasberg mine has one of the world’s largest reserves of gold and copper. It’s a joint venture among the governments of Indonesia, Central Papua, and the US company Freeport-McMoRan.

In colonial times West Papua was the Netherlands New Guinea. It was taken over by Indonesia in 1969 after a referendum of 1,025 hand-picked ‘leaders’ claimed they wanted Jakarta’s control. It was called the Act of Free Choice, retitled by cynics as the Act Free of Choice.

The population is now an estimated 5.6 million. About two-thirds are Christian.

Pig Feast

Scenes in the Pesta Babi film show villagers opposing the destruction of the jungle, erecting large crucifixes. The most impactful vision has a colossal barge laden with scores of new yellow front-end loaders crawling off the deck, rolling onto land and bashing into the green bush.

Indonesian journalist Made Supriatma, a Visiting Fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, was due to comment:

“Once a Papuan speaks, even through film, it’s banned. And this ban occurs in a place owned by the Catholic Church … that should give those silenced by the authorities a chance to speak.”

Antipodean support for the Papuans has mainly come from NZ where activism thrives, though there are some supporters across the Ditch. Parramatta’s Catholic Outlook newsletter commented:

“The Papuan Church, which has long been dominated by Indonesian clergy, has done little to protest the state’s exploitation of this resource-rich region’s forests and minerals, disregarding the fundamental rights of Papuans to live on their land.”

In early May, seven young Papuans in the Central Highlands were injured  – one seriously – when police allegedly opened fire on a parade of school graduates displaying the banned West Papuan nationalist Morning Star flag.

The National Indigenous Times reported a government spokesman claiming, “Local authorities in close relations with civic groups, including church authorities and traditional leaders, are currently trying to conduct a thorough investigation regarding the incident.”

Observers of the 60-year conflict between indigenous tribesmen and imported troops estimate more than 100,000 West Papuans have been killed since the Indonesian takeover.

Indonesian researchers have been “mapping the violence that has occurred, in part inspired by the massacre mapping project of Indigenous people in Australia by the Guardian and the University of Newcastle.”

No sign yet that Jakarta sees the ongoing hate and anger as needing attention. That will require so many deaths the world starts to notice. Whether that would include the Australian government is questionable.

Duncan Graham

Duncan Graham has a Walkley Award, two Human Rights Commission awards and other prizes for his radio, TV and print journalism in Australia. He now lives in Indonesia.

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https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/westpapuadoco/106771204

3) West Papuan 'Pig Feast' documentary subject files police complaint against director

Audio

Play   Duration: 8 minutes 57 seconds8m  

Presented by  Hellena Souisa

A documentary about the displacement of indigenous West Papuans to make way for massive state-backed agriculture projects has caused a huge stir in Indonesia.

Some public screenings of 'Pig Feast' in Indonesia have been shutdown by military but it still has more than 13 million views on YouTube since its release in March.

Now one of the West Papuans featured in the documentary, Yasinta Moiwend, has changed her story and even laid a complaint against the film's director with police.

Journalist Hellena Souisa from ABC Indonesia has spoken to Yasinta's family who say they're shocked by her behaviour.

"The family suspects she may have changed her position under pressure or intimidation," she said. "[They] also questioned how Yasinta was suddenly able to travel to Jakarta, pay for accommodation and legal representation."

Credits

 Hellena Souisa, Reporter 

Liam Fox, Producer

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https://humanrightsmonitor.org/case/papuan-civilian-killed-in-suspected-indonesian-military-drone-strike-in-lanny-jaya-regency/

4) 18-year-old Papuan girl killed in suspected military drone strike in Lanny Jaya Regency

8 June 2026 / 2 minutes of reading

An 18-year-old Papuan girl named Mrs Penti Weya was reportedly killed by a suspected drone-delivered explosive in Wunapunggu Village, Melagi District, Lanny Jaya Regency, on the morning of Sunday, 7 June 2026. According to various sources, the explosion occurred in a civilian residential area. Mrs Weya sustained lethal injuries as a result of shrapnel during the attack, including extensive wounds to her left and right arm, face and chest. Following the incident, relatives cremated the body in accordance with local customs (see photo below, source: independent HRD).

According to reports received from local sources, Indonesian military personnel (TNI) allegedly conducted an aerial operation using an unmanned drone over Wunapunggu Village on the morning of 7 June 2026. The drone reportedly dropped an explosive which exploded right next to Mr Penti Weya, causing fatal injuries. The explosion also left a crater at the scene (see photo on top, source: independent HRD) and triggered panic amongst local residents, many of whom reportedly fled the area fearing further attacks. At the time of writing, no official statement has been issued by the TNI regarding the incident.

Local sources reported that further reported that aerial operations in the Melagi District area remained ongoing following the incident.

Human rights analysis

If confirmed, the deliberate or indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in or near civilian-populated areas raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL). Parties to an armed conflict are required to distinguish at all times between civilians and military objectives and to take all feasible precautions to minimise civilian harm. Attacks directed against civilians or carried out without adequate precautions may constitute serious violations of IHL. The reported killing of Mrs Penti Weya also engages Indonesia’s obligations under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects the right to life. The use of lethal force resulting in civilian deaths must be subject to a prompt, effective, independent and impartial investigation capable of establishing the facts, identifying those responsible and providing accountability and remedies to victims’ families

Following the deadly attack on 7 June 2026, relatives cremated Mrs Penti Weya’s body in accordance with local customs

Detailed Case Data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-075-2026
Region: Indonesia > Highland Papua > Lanny Jaya > Melagi
Total number of victims: 1

#	Number of Victims	Name, Details	Gender	Age	Group Affiliation	Violations
1.	1	Penti Weya	female	18	Indigenous Peoples	execution, right to life, unlawful killing

Period of incident: 07/06/2026 – 07/06/2026
Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Military (TNI)
Issues: security force violence, women and children

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