1) 109 people affected by violence and armed conflict in Papua in 2026

2) Melanesian countries look to ban Indonesia's regional status over delay of UN visit to West Papua

3) Police name two wanted suspects in deadly Jayawijaya shooting

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https://en.jubi.id/109-people-affected-by-violence-and-armed-conflict-in-papua-in-2026/?_gl=1*1cdlihx*_ga*MTU0NTkyNDAxLjE3NzM5NjI3MDk.*_ga_ZZTT8RG182*czE3ODk0MjExOTMkbzIxNiRnMCR0MTc4OTQyMTE5MyRqNjAkbDAkaDA.*_ga_CNWVJ6KFKD*czE3ODk0MjExOTckbzIwNyRnMCR0MTc4OTQyMTE5NyRqNjAkbDAkaDA.

1) 109 people affected by violence and armed conflict in Papua in 2026

News Desk September 14, 2026

Jayapura, Jubi – Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says 109 people have been killed or injured in violence and armed conflict across Papua in 2026.

According to records compiled by Komnas HAM’s Papua team, 42 incidents of violence and armed conflict were recorded across Papua in the first half of 2026. The incidents left 59 people dead and 50 others injured.

In 2025, there were 97 recorded incidents of violence and armed conflict, resulting in 119 deaths and 43 injuries.

“The violence and armed conflict have also displaced thousands of people across several areas of Papua, including Jayapura, Nabire, Mimika, Wamena, Sorong and Teluk Bintuni,” Papua Komnas HAM team leader Atnike Nova Sigiro said in a written statement on Saturday, 12 September 2026.

Ms Sigiro said the situation in Papua was becoming increasingly critical, with growing implications for human rights.

She said this was reflected in the increasing intensity of violence and armed conflict, which has resulted in civilian deaths and increased numbers of internally displaced people.

In response, Komnas HAM met with Indonesia’s Presidential Chief of Staff, Dudung Abdurachman, at the Bina Graha building of the Presidential Staff Office in Jakarta on Thursday, 10 September.

The meeting was attended by Komnas HAM commissioners Atnike Nova Sigiro and Amiruddin Al Rahab.

Ms Sigiro said Komnas HAM had specifically raised concerns about the armed conflict in Papua, where violence remained at a high level and continued to result in civilian deaths and internal displacement.

Komnas HAM asked Mr Dudung to raise the issue with President Prabowo Subianto and push for policies aimed at reducing violence and armed conflict, as well as ensuring the basic rights of internally displaced people.

“This includes the right to adequate housing, healthcare, education for children and other basic needs,” she said.

Komnas HAM also proposed directly involving relevant government agencies in addressing the issue, including the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas.

“In response to Komnas HAM’s request, the Presidential Chief of Staff, Dudung Abdurachman, said he would hold a coordination meeting at the Presidential Staff Office, inviting relevant ministries and agencies, provincial governments and the governments of several regencies,” Ms Sigiro said. (*)

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https://nit.com.au/14-09-2026/26449/melanesian-countries-look-to-ban-indonesias-regional-status-over-un-permission-to-visit-west-papua

2) Melanesian countries look to ban Indonesia's regional status over delay of UN visit to West Papua

Andrew Mathieson 

Published September 14, 2026 at 7.40am (AWST)

Melanesian leaders are stepping up pressure on Jakarta to facilitate a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights visit to West Papua.

There has also been a call to consider scrapping Indonesia's associate membership in the regional bloc of the Melanesian Spearhead Group entirely.

Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Indigenous Kanak movement of New Caledonia are behind the push.

The Pacific Islands Forum first appealed to the UN in 2019. Indonesian authorities have long denied the UN access to the occupied Papuan territory.

Frustration has built up among Melanesian countries in the years since amid growing concerns over human rights violations in West Papua.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group issued a statement from the recent Pacific Islands Forum summit, saying Melanesian leaders have "urged continued engagement with Indonesia to facilitate access by the end of Indonesia's term as President of the Human Rights Council".

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua as a non-sovereign organisation, which holds observer status, have endorsed the order.

The statement demands that the UN be allowed to inspect West Papua and produce a report on human rights issues ahead of the next Melanesian Spearhead Group summit.

Melanesian leaders "affirmed that if these actions are not undertaken the associate membership status shall be reviewed accordingly at the next MSG summit in 2027".

They also call for the embassies of Melanesian countries in Jakarta to "support appropriate follow-up and engagement on this matter".

The member states are looking to meet Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the UN General Assembly gathering in New York at the end of September.

Since taking office in October last year, Mr Prabowo has overseen increased Indonesian military deployments in the territory where a long-running battle with the West Papua National Liberation Army has escalated.

The conflict has caused mass displacement of many Papuan village communities around the Highland Papua province.

An Indonesian spokesperson said after the recent 62nd session of the UN's Human Rights Council that the High Commissioner assessed "that force must not be used to pursue territorial claims or political demands" from a visit.

The spokesperson insisted Indonesia supports "a cooperative and non-confrontational approach to human rights issues, based on mutual respect and national ownership".

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3) Police name two wanted suspects in deadly Jayawijaya shooting

News Desk September 14, 2026

Jayapura, Jubi – Police have identified two suspected perpetrators in the shooting that killed three civil servants in Jayawijaya, with both men already listed as wanted by authorities in connection with other cases.

The two suspects, identified by their initials PN and KT, are accused of involvement in the shooting that killed three employees of the Jayawijaya Regency Agriculture Department in Highland Papua on 9 September 2026.

The spokesperson for the 2026 Cartenz Peace Operation, Senior Commissioner Yusuf Sutejo, said the two men were identified in footage from a video call circulating on social media.

Police compared the footage with information and physical descriptions already held by investigators.

“After comparing it with the data and descriptions we have, we can confirm that the two individuals are PN and KT, who are already on our wanted list,” Mr Sutejo said in a written statement on Saturday.

Police say PN and KT are members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), specifically its Ndugama-Derakma regional command led by Egianus Kogeya. Indonesian security authorities refer to the group as an armed criminal group.

Mr Sutejo said the two men were already wanted in connection with several alleged acts of violence in Highland Papua.

Police allege PN and KT were involved in a shooting during the Baliem Valley Cultural Festival in Jayawijaya on 8 August 2026, in which two civilians were injured.

They have also been linked by police to the kidnapping of Susi Air pilot Captain Philip Mark Mehrtens in Nduga Regency in February 2023. Captain Mehrtens was released in September 2024.

“Following this identification, we are continuing our efforts to locate and pursue the perpetrators,” Mr Sutejo said.

The shooting that killed the three civil servants occurred in Muliama District, Jayawijaya Regency.

The victims were travelling back to Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya Regency, with eight colleagues after inspecting a rice field development project and providing livestock extension services.

The three victims were identified as Alvonsius Albinus Mehan, 35, Alprida Rapi, 49, and Willi Mbuik, 24.

Police said preliminary investigations indicated the attackers were carrying two long-barrelled firearms and several machetes when they left the scene.

Investigators are continuing to examine the circumstances of the shooting, including the motive and the possible involvement of other people.

Police are also investigating whether the attack was intended to disrupt public security and create fear in the community.

“Their target was to disrupt public order and create fear among the community. That is why we are continuing the search and investigation to determine everyone involved,” Mr Sutejo said.

The Cartenz Peace Operation has increased the number of personnel deployed in Wamena to maintain security and support efforts to locate PN, KT and others allegedly involved in the shooting.

Mr Sutejo said police would continue taking legal action against those responsible for threats, terror and violence against civilians, while maintaining that all operations would be carried out in accordance with legal procedures.

Meanwhile, the head of the 2026 Cartenz Peace Operation, Inspector General Faizal Ramadhani, said investigators were continuing to examine all information and evidence obtained during the investigation.

“Every piece of information we receive will be examined and followed up in accordance with legal procedures. We continue to identify those involved and ensure the law enforcement process is carried out professionally,” Mr Ramadhani said.

He said police would take firm and proportionate action in accordance with the law if officers encountered resistance during attempts to apprehend the suspects.

The bodies of the three victims have since been returned to their respective hometowns.

Alprida Rapi, the head of the Animal Husbandry and Animal Health Division, was returned to Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi.

Alvonsius Albinus Mehan, a veterinarian, was returned to Sikka Regency in East Nusa Tenggara, while Willi Mbuik, a civil servant candidate, was returned to Rote Ndao Regency, also in East Nusa Tenggara. (*)

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West Papua: The Geopolitical Silence Surrounding an Indigenous People (Indonesia)

 https://moderntokyotimes.com/west-papua-the-geopolitical-silence-surrounding-an-indigenous-people-indonesia/

Modern Tokyo Times

West Papua: The Geopolitical Silence Surrounding an Indigenous People (Indonesia)

ByLee Jay  SEP 13, 2026

West Papua: The Geopolitical Silence Surrounding an Indigenous People (Indonesia)  

Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker

Oppression in West Papua continues, decade after decade, while the international community repeatedly demonstrates the limits of its commitment to human rights when strategic interests are involved. The contradiction is increasingly difficult to ignore. Australia and Japan are deeply concerned with the war in Ukraine and European security, partly through their broader strategic alignment with the United States. Yet the continuing suffering of indigenous Papuans receives considerably less political attention. For West Papuans, this creates an uncomfortable question: why does the international commitment to human rights appear so much stronger when it coincides with wider geopolitical interests?

Human Rights Monitor has previously documented the persistence of violence in West Papua, including allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. It also highlighted concerns regarding impunity, particularly when alleged perpetrators belonged to the police or military. According to its assessment, internal disciplinary mechanisms frequently lacked the transparency and independence necessary to provide genuine accountability. Such concerns matter because the issue is not simply one of isolated abuses. Rather, they point toward a prolonged political and security crisis in which civilian communities remain caught between Indonesian security forces and the armed West Papua National Liberation Army.

The humanitarian consequences are profound. Indigenous Papuans have experienced displacement in areas including Intan Jaya, Maybrat, Nduga, Pegunungan Bintang and Yahukimo amid continuing armed conflict. UN human-rights experts have previously raised grave concerns over alleged extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, inhuman treatment and the forced displacement of thousands of indigenous Papuans. They also expressed alarm over allegations that humanitarian assistance was obstructed and that church workers were prevented from reaching displaced communities. Such allegations deserve sustained international scrutiny rather than episodic attention.

The role of the churches is particularly important. Christianity forms a central component of indigenous Papuan identity in many communities, and allegations concerning interference with churches and church workers therefore carry significance beyond individual incidents. When humanitarian workers or religious personnel are prevented from reaching displaced civilians, the consequences extend into the moral and social fabric of communities already traumatised by conflict.

The deeper geopolitical problem is that Indonesia remains an important regional power. Its strategic position in Southeast Asia, enormous population, natural resources, maritime geography and growing economic significance make it an important partner for America, Australia, Japan, France, Britain, China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and others. Consequently, governments have powerful incentives to maintain constructive relations with Jakarta. This reality does not automatically make those governments complicit in human-rights abuses, but it does raise a serious question about whether economic and strategic considerations have contributed to an international reluctance to confront Indonesia more forcefully over West Papua.

Japan provides a particularly revealing example. Tokyo has expanded economic and strategic relations with Indonesia while simultaneously presenting itself internationally as a defender of a rules-based international order and human rights. Japan’s foreign policy has placed considerable emphasis on concerns surrounding China, Russia and the security architecture of the Indo-Pacific. Yet West Papua rarely occupies a comparable position in Japanese political discourse. This discrepancy deserves examination.

The same contradiction applies to Australia. Canberra regards Indonesia as an indispensable regional partner and has substantial strategic reasons for maintaining a stable relationship with Jakarta. Yet West Papua lies immediately beyond Australia’s northern neighbourhood. The continuing conflict therefore represents not a distant humanitarian issue but a regional question involving Melanesian identity, migration, security, maritime stability, indigenous rights and the credibility of Australia’s commitment to human rights in the Pacific.

The history is also highly contentious. Indonesia took control of West New Guinea in the 1960s, while the 1969 Act of Free Choice remains deeply disputed by West Papuan representatives and human-rights advocates. The United Nations General Assembly subsequently adopted Resolution 2504, taking note of the Secretary-General’s report concerning the process. The historical legitimacy of that process continues to be challenged because only a limited number of representatives participated under Indonesian supervision rather than through a universal one-person-one-vote referendum.

This history cannot simply be separated from the present. The controversy surrounding the political incorporation of West Papua remains part of the foundation upon which today’s conflict rests. Estimates of the number of Papuans killed since Indonesian control began vary substantially, with figures around 500,000 frequently cited by human-rights groups, West Papuan representatives and international reporting. The Guardian, for example, has reported this estimate while documenting allegations of decades of military and police abuses.

Nor can demographics and natural resources be ignored. Indigenous Papuans have long expressed fears concerning migration, land acquisition and the erosion of their political and cultural position. Critics of Indonesian policy describe these processes in terms of Javanization and Islamization, although these terms should be used carefully because Indonesia itself is religiously and ethnically diverse. The central political issue is whether indigenous Papuans are being progressively marginalised economically, politically and demographically within their ancestral homeland.

Natural resources add another layer to the equation. West Papua possesses extraordinary mineral, forest and energy wealth, including gold, copper, natural gas, timber and other resources. The region’s economic value inevitably creates competing interests between Jakarta, corporations, local communities and international investors. Consequently, the question of indigenous rights cannot be separated from the question of who controls land and who benefits from the resources beneath it.

This is where the international political economy becomes uncomfortable. Major powers can condemn human-rights violations in one part of the world while maintaining lucrative strategic, economic and military relationships with states accused of serious abuses elsewhere. America, France, Britain, Australia and Japan have extensive interests in Indonesia, while China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and other states likewise have important economic relationships with Jakarta.

Military cooperation illustrates the contradiction particularly clearly. In 2022, the United States approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Indonesia involving F-15ID aircraft and related equipment estimated at $13.9 billion. The announcement itself demonstrates the strategic importance Washington attaches to its relationship with Jakarta. Yet the strengthening of military relations also raises legitimate questions concerning how international partners should incorporate human-rights safeguards and accountability into security cooperation.

The international community therefore faces a credibility problem. Human rights cannot become a selective instrument applied primarily to states that are geopolitical competitors while being treated as a secondary consideration when a government is an important economic, diplomatic or strategic partner. If the rules-based international order means anything, its principles must possess some consistency.

This does not mean ignoring abuses committed by armed Papuan groups. Civilians must be protected regardless of who commits violence, and attacks against Indonesian personnel or civilians cannot be justified. Nor does criticism of Indonesian policy require hostility toward the Indonesian people. The issue is fundamentally political: the protection of indigenous communities, accountability for alleged abuses, humanitarian access, political freedoms and the right of Papuans to have their grievances heard.

For this reason, greater regional engagement is essential. Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and other Pacific actors have a particular historical and cultural connection to the wider Melanesian question. New Zealand also possesses an important regional role. Rather than leaving the issue primarily to Jakarta and distant Western capitals, Pacific governments should continue pressing for greater humanitarian access, independent monitoring and meaningful political dialogue.

Australia’s position deserves particular scrutiny. East Timor — now Timor-Leste — demonstrated that regional political realities can eventually change when international pressure, local resistance and geopolitical circumstances converge. West Papua is obviously a different historical and legal situation, and the comparison should not be treated as identical. Nevertheless, the Timor-Leste experience demonstrates that questions once considered too sensitive for international diplomacy can eventually become unavoidable.

Ultimately, West Papua is not simply a story about Indonesia. It is a test of the international system itself.

If powerful governments genuinely believe that indigenous rights, humanitarian protection, political accountability and self-determination matter, those principles cannot be confined to conflicts where they serve immediate strategic interests. The people of West Papua should not have to compete with great-power rivalries for international attention.

Papuan civilization, culture, history, identity and religious traditions deserve protection. So too do the forests, mountains and natural resources upon which generations of indigenous communities have depended.

The choice confronting the international community is therefore increasingly stark: continue treating West Papua as a peripheral issue because Indonesia is strategically important, or acknowledge that a rules-based international order must also apply when defending human rights is politically inconvenient.

Overall, the Papuan people are overwhelmingly Christian and ethnically Melanesian — distinct from the Javanese elite that dominates Indonesia’s largely Muslim state. Yet for decades the international community has looked away while Papuans are massacred, their villages militarised, their culture marginalised, and their ancestral lands handed over to corporations. This is colonialism in plain sight.

For decades, the world has heard the concerns of West Papuans. The greater question now is whether it is finally prepared to listen.

Paradise Bombed – Video documenting the hidden West Papua (Important video to watch about West Papua)

https://www.ipwp.org The International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP)

https://moderntokyonews.com/?s=west+papua  Past articles about WEST PAPAU via MODERN TOKYO NEWS

MODERN TOKYO TIMES – MODERN TOKYO NEWS – please check https://moderntokyonews.com

Please check Modern Tokyo News at https://moderntokyonews.com for articles going back over 12 years. Sadly, Modern Tokyo Times got hacked and lost 14 years of articles…

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1) Papua human rights commission: Violence will not solve Papua’s problems

2) Police identify suspects in deadly Jayawijaya shooting

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https://en.jubi.id/papua-human-rights-commission-violence-will-not-solve-papuas-problems/?_gl=1*1ama8co*_ga*MTU0NTkyNDAxLjE3NzM5NjI3MDk.*_ga_ZZTT8RG182*czE3ODkyNTIzMTkkbzIxNCRnMSR0MTc4OTI1MjY1MSRqNjAkbDAkaDA.*_ga_CNWVJ6KFKD*czE3ODkyNTIzMjUkbzIwNSRnMSR0MTc4OTI1MjY1MSRqNjAkbDAkaDA.

1) Papua human rights commission: Violence will not solve Papua’s problems

Jayapura, Jubi – Violence will not solve the problems facing Papua, Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Papua office has said following the shooting deaths of three civil servants in Jayawijaya.

The head of the Komnas HAM Papua office, Frits Ramandey, made the comments after three employees of the Jayawijaya Regency Agriculture Department were shot dead on Wednesday afternoon.

The victims were identified as Alvonsius Albinus Mehan, 35, Alprida Rapi, 49, and Willi Mbuik, 24.

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), through its Ndugama-Derakma regional command led by Egianus Kogeya, has claimed responsibility for the shooting.

Mr Ramandey said violence would not provide a solution to Papua’s long-running problems.

He pointed to other prolonged conflicts around the world, arguing that violence alone had not achieved political solutions.

“It is rare for countries that use prolonged and continuous violence to achieve independence. It cannot be done that way. Achieving independence requires diplomacy, proposals and recognition,” Mr Ramandey told Jubi in Jayapura on Thursday.

Mr Ramandey expressed his deep condolences over the deaths of the three civil servants.

He said the victims were innocent people carrying out their duties serving the public. However, he said they had become victims of allegations that had not been verified or substantiated.

“In the name of humanity, we reject violence because this is a human rights violation. If you accuse someone, why can’t you ask them properly, check their identification or give them a warning?” he said.

“It has not been verified whether they were involved in espionage. Those were unilateral accusations whose truth could not be tested.”

The Komnas HAM Papua office called on armed groups across Papua to stop using violence against civilians in all forms.

Mr Ramandey said violence should be replaced with dialogue and negotiations, noting that some armed group leaders had also expressed support for dialogue.

He said continued violence only reinforced Papua’s reputation as a conflict-prone region and warned that the Indonesian Government needed to take action to find a lasting solution.

“The President’s task now is to establish a special team directly accountable to him to formulate a way to resolve the violent conflict in Papua. That is what is urgently needed today,” Mr Ramandey said.

Meanwhile, Papuan human rights lawyer and advocate Yan Christian Warinussy also expressed his condolences over the deaths of the three civil servants.

He said law enforcement authorities needed to establish who was responsible, determine the motive and chronology of the attack, and ensure those responsible were held accountable.

Mr Warinussy said a pattern of violence against civilians had emerged in which victims were sometimes accused of being informants or intelligence agents for Indonesia’s military or police.

“Such reasons can never justify taking a human life. I am deeply concerned if accusations of being an informant or intelligence agent are being used as a reason to kill civilians. No one may be sentenced to death outside the legal process,” he said.

He said an accusation was not a conviction, suspicion was not evidence, and alleged links to state security forces could never justify killing someone. (*)

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2) Police identify suspects in deadly Jayawijaya shooting

News Desk September 12, 2026

Jayapura, Jubi – Police investigating the shooting that killed three civil servants from the Jayawijaya Agriculture Department say they have obtained descriptions of the suspected perpetrators and launched a search for them.

The three civil servants were killed in Jayawijaya Regency, in Indonesia’s Highland Papua province, on Wednesday, 9 September 2026.

The spokesperson for the 2026 Cartenz Peace Operation, Senior Commissioner Yusuf Sutejo, said investigators had recovered several pieces of evidence from the crime scene.

“We found three cartridge casings, including two 5.56-millimetre casings, which are ammunition for long-barrelled firearms. We also found one 9-millimetre casing, which is ammunition for a short-barrelled firearm,” Mr Sutejo said in a written statement received by Jubi on Thursday night.

Police also found blood traces at the scene, which are being examined as part of the investigation.

Mr Sutejo said investigators had questioned survivors of the attack and obtained information about the physical characteristics of the suspected perpetrators.

“We have questioned the surviving witnesses at Jayawijaya Police Station and obtained descriptions of the perpetrators. Our team has already begun pursuing them,” he said.

Based on preliminary witness accounts, police believe the group responsible for the shooting consisted of about eight people.

The witnesses said the group was carrying two long-barrelled firearms. Police are still investigating whether the group also had a handgun, following the discovery of the 9-millimetre cartridge casing at the scene.

“Of course, we are pursuing them. God willing, we will find them because we already have information about the perpetrators,” Mr Sutejo said.

The Cartenz Peace Operation said it was continuing to pursue those allegedly involved in the attack, describing the group as an armed criminal group.

Mr Sutejo urged people in Jayawijaya to remain calm and not be provoked by unverified information.

Police have also deployed an additional 50 personnel from Timika, in Central Papua’s Mimika Regency, to Jayawijaya to support the investigation and search for the suspects.

Mr Sutejo called on anyone with information about the whereabouts or identities of the alleged perpetrators to contact police.

“We guarantee the confidentiality of anyone who provides information, so that we can quickly solve this case and arrest those responsible,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of the 2026 Cartenz Peace Operation, Inspector General Faizal Ramadhani, said the joint police taskforce and Jayawijaya Police were continuing their investigation based on evidence recovered from the scene and witness statements.

“We will continue the investigation to establish the facts of this case and identify those responsible in accordance with the law,” Mr Ramadhani said. (*)

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