1) Residents in Sugapa, Intan Jaya demand the removal of military post

2) Police blocked march of protestors in Manokwari on 1 May – demonstration remained peaceful

3) West Papua National Committee holds 6th leadership meeting in Jayapura

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https://humanrightsmonitor.org/news/residents-in-sugapa-intan-jaya-demand-the-removal-of-military-post/

1) Residents in Sugapa, Intan Jaya demand the removal of military post

Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 23 May 2024

Residents of Sugapa district in Intan Jaya Regency, Papua Tengah Province, are demanding the removal of military and police posts from their communities due to the dangers they pose to civilians caught in the crossfire of armed conflict. Intan Jaya is one of the many areas affected by armed conflict between the Indonesian National Army (TNI) and National Police (Polri), and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). This ongoing conflict has resulted in casualties among civilians, including a recent incident where a 13-year-old boy was killed by gunfire.

On 25 April 2024, the Moni-Migani Women’s Association led a protest urging the removal of three military and police posts located in residential areas of Sugapa. Residents in Sugapa claim these posts make them vulnerable to being caught in the crossfire during armed clashes. They also report living in fear and being unable to freely go to school or work due to the constant threat of violence.

Pastor Yosep Bunai, from the Deanery of Moni-Puncak Jaya, expressed his solidarity with the residents and condemned the violence that has caused fear and disrupted their lives.He urges both sides of the conflict to stop the violence and allow residents to live safely and pursue their education and livelihoods.

The Intan Jaya Police Chief, Commissioner Afrizal Asri, justifies the presence of military and police by citing security concerns and the need to protect the community from disturbances by OPM groups. He claims a lack of manpower and resources necessitates these additional security measures. The Acting Regent of Intan Jaya, Apollos Bagau, did not respond to requests for comment on the residents’ demands.

As in other conflict areas in West Papua, the deployment of military troops and the presence of additional military posts has proved to put civilians at risk and increase casualties. The Indonesian government however continues to claim that securiy forces are deployed to protect the communities and are necessary for their security. 

Watch video of peaceful action by Moni-Migani Women’s Association (link to video)

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https://humanrightsmonitor.org/news/police-blocked-march-of-protestors-in-manokwari-on-1-may-demonstration-remained-peaceful/

2) Police blocked march of protestors in Manokwari on 1 May – demonstration remained peaceful

Human Rights News / Indonesia, West Papua / 23 May 2024 

On 1 May, eight civil society organisations forming the Papuan People’s Front (FRP) indeed held a peaceful demonstration in Manokwari. The demonstration commemorated the 61st anniversary of Papua’s annexation into Indonesia and took place at three locations: in front of the Mansinam Student Dormitory, the Amban Subdistrict Office, and the entrance of the University of Papua Manokwari. The protesters carried banners, some reportedly waved red KNPB flags, and delivered speeches. Their key themes were the right of self-determination for the Papuan people and solidarity with international workers on 1 May (International Workers’ Day).

Coordinator Lotty Selak explained that the demonstrators originally planned a long march to the West Papua Provincial Parliament. However, security forces blocked their path at the Makalo Manokwari monument. Negotiations failed to reach an agreement, and the demonstrators occupied the road in protest. Eventually, security forces allowed representatives to deliver speeches and a statement outlining the FRP’s position.

The FRP’s statement rejected Indonesia’s claim to Papua, arguing it lacked historical evidence. They see West Papua as an independent nation and reject the results of the 1969 Act of Free Choice due to its flawed process. The FRP’s core demand was the right to self-determination for West Papua, along with an end to martial law in the region.

The demonstration itself remained peaceful, and the demonstrators dispersed after their statement was read. However, it is important to note that security forces prevented them from carrying out their planned long march.

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https://www.indoleft.org/news/2024-05-20/west-papua-national-committee-holds-6th-leadership-meeting-in-jayapura.html

3) West Papua National Committee holds 6th leadership meeting in Jayapura

Suara Papua – May 20, 2024

Jayapura – The West Papua National Committee (KNPB), based on its organisational mechanisms, held its 6th Leadership Meeting (Rapim) at Port Numbay in Jayapura, Papua, between May 13 and 15.

The meeting, which was attended by 32 regional KNPB administrators and consulates, discussed and decided on various internal organisational issue both in Papua and the struggle of the Papuan nation internationally.

In a statement, KNPB Central Chairperson Warpo Sampari Wetipo said that during the three-day meeting, they decided on eight positions and solutions.

Among other things, he said that they called on the Papuan people to increase solidarity in the collective struggle, to anticipate patterns of division and to participate in organising the struggles of political and sectoral organisations.

In addition to this, he said, looking at the existing dynamics of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), the leadership meeting decided that the KNPB will leave this situation and take a permanent position as a national media outside of the results of the ULMWP official Summit (KTT) in Vanuatu and the temporary government's unilateral congress in Sentani. In taking a position as a media, the KNPB will play a role of mediation in overcoming all divisions in the struggle both at home and abroad.

"In order to coordinate the agenda of struggle internationally, both legally and politically, we ask all leaders and diplomats abroad to actively coordinate with each other in order to unite the strategy of lobbying and diplomacy", Wetipo said on Monday May 20.

The leadership meeting also agreed to push for the Nieuw Guinea Raad (the New Guinea Council, NGR) as a democratic institution to remain within the ULMWP.

The KNPB emphasised that the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) is a national liberation army, so it decided and asks that the TPNPB continue to improve its function of defending the ordinary people.

The following is the full statement of the results of the KNPB's 6th Leadership Meeting on May 13-15, 2024:

• Seeing the threat of Indonesian colonialism that is so massive in West Papua, with a pattern and strategy of divide and rule which is making the threat of genocide, ecocide and ethnocide increasingly apparent, the Rapim reiterates that national liberation is an urgent agenda for the Papuan nation. Therefore, we call in the people of Papua to increase solidarity and mutual struggle, anticipate the patterns of divide and rule by the colonisers and participate in organising themselves in the organisations of political and sectoral struggle in the land of Papua.
   
• The KNPB continues to encourage open consolidation from within and outside the country through the Papua People's Petition (PRP), the pre-KTT ULMWP, the ULMWP Summit and ULMWP Working Meeting (Raker). In its development, we view that there have been various enemy infiltrations and there is a lack of good faith from several foreign and domestic leaders to unite to coordinate the structure and agenda. In addition to the indecisive detection and strict resistance to the divisive efforts managed by the enemy, this has also been caused more by changes in the form of the ULMWP from an open democracy (coordinative) to semi-constitutional (UUDS) and the declaration of the provisional government, where factional political ambitions played a greater role than prioritising the consolidation of a greater unity of struggle.
   
• The KNPB views that both the official ULMWP results of the ULMWP Summit in Vanuatu and the unilateral government of the ULMWP maintain the same form of constitution (UUDS) even though this is only distinguished by the terms organisation and government. The KNPB Rapim views the contents of the ULMWP Constitution starting from the opening concepts that do not accommodate all the differences that shape the characteristics of the nationality of Papua, to the contents of various chapter that do not represent the interests of all groups in the struggle, as not being a rule for struggle that should be used in a period of struggle.
   
• Looking at the recent dynamics of the ULMWP, the KNPB Rapim decided that the KNPB will leave this situation and take a permanent position as a national media outside the official ULMWP Summit in Vanuatu and the results of the unilateral government congress of the provisional government in Sentani. By placing itself as a media, the KNPB will play the role of mediation in all divisions of struggle both at home and abroad, namely by actively building coordination between all parties and participating in the agenda of the joint struggle regardless of their respective factional roots.
   
• In order to coordinate the agenda of struggle internationally both legally and politically, we ask all leaders and diplomats abroad to actively coordinate with each other to unite the strategy of lobbing and its diplomacy.
   
• The Rapim agreed to push for the Nieuw Guinea Raad as a democratic institution to remain within the ULMWP in order to play its role of conveying the ideas of the unity of struggle in ULMWP.
   
• The Rapim reiterated that the TPNPB is a national liberation army, so that the KNPB Rapim decided and is asking that the TPNPB continued to improve its function of defense of the people and all organisations of struggle without political factionalism. The Rapim asks that in the TPNPB guerrilla struggle consistently prioritise humanitarian principles in accordance with humanitarian law.
   
• The KNPB Rapim is of the view that president elect Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is a symbol of the continued power of colonialism, capitalism and militarism in the land of Papua. The KNPB together with the Papuan people will not remain silent. The Papuan nation will rise up to continue the struggle in a peaceful and dignified manner. Therefore, we ask for the solidarity of the Indonesian people and the world that loves humanity and independence to participate in supporting the struggle for the national liberation of West Papua.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "KNPB Gelar Rapim VI, Ini Delapan Poin Keputusannya".]

Source: https://suarapapua.com/2024/05/20/knpb-gelar-rapim-vi-ini-delapan-poin-keputusannya/

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