“The messages of peace, love, and dialogue that Pope Francis always conveys are highly relevant to a world facing division and intolerance. This visit is crucial to reaffirming every nation’s obligation to uphold the values of human dignity and social justice,” said Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia.
“Pope Francis is scheduled to meet with the President and other key officials. This is an opportunity to urge Indonesia to fulfil its commitments in the field of human rights, including providing a remedy for past gross human rights violations and protecting communities, including Indigenous Peoples, from misguided economic policies.”
“This visit also provides an important platform to advocate for an end to repressive policies in response to protests and demonstrations, call for peace in Papua, and prevent discriminatory practices against religious minority groups. The assassination of human rights activist Munir, which marks 20 years since his death, also needs attention.”
Indonesia is currently an active member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), but it has yet to implement several key recommendations related to stopping gross human rights violations resulting from development policies and protecting religious minority groups from attacks on their freedom to practice their beliefs and establish places of worship.
Amnesty International Indonesia has recorded several unresolved cases of gross human rights violations, including the 1965/66 mass killings, the 1984 Tanjung Priok incident, the 1989 Lampung incident, the July 27, 1996 attack, the 1997/98 abduction and forced disappearance of activists, the Trisakti, Semanggi I, and Semanggi II shootings, the May 1998 riots, the Munir case, and extrajudicial killings in Papua.
Amnesty has also recorded at least 123 cases of intolerance between January 2021 and July 2024, including the rejection, closure, or destruction of places of worship and physical attacks. The perpetrators are suspected to come from various backgrounds, including government officials, residents, and civil society organizations.
On 30 June 2024, a village head, along with a group of people, stopped a Sunday service at a Pentecostal church in Sidoarjo, East Java. They argued that the church did not have a building permit (IMB). According to the local pastor, the church building was registered as a prayer house on December 7, 2023, and obtaining an IMB is not easy as it takes two years. However, the village head insisted on the IMB requirement.
To build a place of worship, the 2006 Joint Decree of the Minister of Religious Affairs and the Minister of Home Affairs requires the approval of at least 60 local residents, endorsement by the village head, and a written recommendation from the Department of Religious Affairs and the Forum for Religious Harmony. This process has the potential for conflict in areas where minority religious communities face rejection from the local community.
On 5 May 2024, a group of people led by a neighbourhood head attacked a number of Catholic students who were holding a Rosary Prayer event at a house in South Tangerang. They forced the participants to worship in a church instead of at home.
On 2 July 2024, the Garut Regency government in West Java sealed off a place of worship for Ahmadiyah Muslims. Indonesia continues to record cases of restrictions on the rights and freedoms of religious communities.
Amnesty International hopes that Pope Francis’ visit will highlight these issues to ensure the protection of religious freedom in Indonesia.
“The Pope’s visit plays a crucial role in encouraging Indonesia to end intolerance and discrimination against all minority groups. Religious freedom is a right protected by Indonesia’s constitution,” said Usman Hamid.
“This guarantee must be effectively enforced through laws and regulations that are in line with international human rights standards.”
Amnesty also hopes that Pope Francis’s visit to Indonesia will draw attention to the implementation of National Strategic Projects (PSN), which are often carried out using coercive approaches without meaningful consultation with Indigenous Peoples. Many large-scale infrastructure projects under the PSN have had serious impacts on the lives of Indigenous Peoples, whose rights to land, culture, and the protection of Indigenous scientific knowledge are frequently neglected.
Many Indigenous Peoples still do not have their land rights recognized by the government, making them vulnerable to agrarian conflicts and often becoming victims of development projects, as has happened in Rempang, Wadas, and Mandalika.
Meanwhile, Indigenous Peoples who speak out critically against the government in defending their rights in agrarian conflicts often face attacks. Amnesty International Indonesia recorded at least eight cases of attacks against Indigenous Peoples from January 2019 to March 2024, with at least 84 victims, including criminalization, intimidation, and physical violence.
“Pope Francis, who is known for his commitment to social justice, environmental preservation, and the protection of Indigenous rights, is expected to voice his concerns over these violations during his visit to Indonesia,” said Usman.
Call to End Human Rights Violations in Papua
Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia is also expected to highlight the situation in Papua, where conflict continues, and the rights of Indigenous Papuans and other civilians are under constant threat.
“Papua, which has experienced violence for decades, must be addressed. The escalation of violence, militarization, and suppression of dissent in Papua has resulted in many civilian casualties, displacement, and a humanitarian crisis that requires urgent attention,” said Usman.
Civilians in Papua, including Indigenous Peoples, have suffered due to large-scale military operations resulting in extrajudicial killings by state and non-state armed groups, torture, internal displacement, and other violations.
From 3 February 2018 to 20 August 2024, Amnesty recorded 132 cases of extrajudicial killings resulting in at least 242 civilian deaths. Some of these cases were carried out by security forces (83 cases with 135 victims), while others were by pro-independence armed groups (49 cases with 107 victims).
In addition to local civilians, victims also included a New Zealand helicopter pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, who was killed while transporting four civilians in Alama District, Mimika Regency, Central Papua, on 5 August 2024. It is still unclear who was responsible for the killing, prompting Amnesty to call for a full investigation.
Another New Zealand citizen, Phillip Mehrtens, has been held hostage since 7 February 2023, by a faction of the pro-independence armed group in Papua. Between January 2019 and February 2024, there were at least 17 cases of torture involving 50 victims, allegedly committed by security personnel and state officials in Papua.
“Therefore, Pope Francis must also emphasize the importance of peaceful dialogue and resolutions that respect human rights and the aspirations of the Papuan people,” said Usman. (*)
Members of the Indonesian mobile police (Brimob) fatally shot Tobias Silak, a 24-year-old Papuan employed by the local election supervisory agency (Bawaslu) and seriously injured 17-year-old Papuan, Naro Dapla, in Dekai, Yahukimo District, West Papua, on August 20.
These Papuans were shot on the same day that Indonesian Defence Minister and President-elect, Prabowo Subianto — notorious for his human rights abuses — was in Canberra to seal a security agreement with the Australian government. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described it as a “historic treaty".
For some Western leaders in Canberra who welcomed this versatile, enigmatic and notorious 72-year-old military figure, Prabowo represents an essential component of the West’s confrontation with China.
The fate of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other nations caught up in the power dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region is inextricably linked to the influence of the West — which seeks to preserve its regional hegemony — and China and its emerging allies, which seek to challenge the status quo.
Prabowo embodies the modern face of geopolitics — a decisive player in between two superpowers. As long as he continues to serve the interests of both, he will remain in their favour.
In this geopolitical game, there is one nation whose history — although central to the reshaping of the West, the East and Indonesia — has been relegated to insignificance: West Papua.
More Papuan lives will be sacrificed, like those of millions of people caught between the competing interests of powerful nations, such as the Ukrainians, Palestinians, and many others.
Without a significant re-configuration of the current geopolitical landscape soon, the sovereignty and fate of those entangled in the current world’s order appear quite grim.
As long as the sovereignty of the Papuan land, nation and state remains suppressed within Indonesia, all agreements and treaties signed between Indonesia and foreign powers will inevitably spell disaster for the Papuan people. This was illustrated by the shootings on August 20, which happened under Prabowo’s leadership as defence minister and president-elect.
Human rights abuses under Prabowo’s watch
There have been a number of human rights violations and shootings throughout West Papua this year.
New Zealand pilot Glen Malcolm Conning was shot and killed after landing his helicopter in the remote Alama district of West Papua, on August 5. Indonesian authorities initially blamed the West Papuan National Liberation Army (TPNPB). However, the TPNPB denied any involvement and accused the Indonesian military of being behind the killing.
Benny Wenda, an international icon of the West Papuan independence movement, based in England, accused Indonesia of lying about the pilot’s death and “urge[d] the world to listen to the categorical denial by the West Papua National Liberation Army".
Papuans across West Papua peacefully commemorated one of the most important historical events in their national calendar on August 15: the infamous "New York Agreement", a treaty signed between the Netherlands and Indonesia under the auspices of the US that sealed Papua's fate with Indonesia. Protests called for a review of the agreement. Once again, Indonesian security forces cracked down on this commemoration.
The Indonesian military opened fire in Kalome village, Puncak Jaya regency, on July 16, while pursuing TPNPB member Terinus Enumbi. Innocent Papuan bystanders were shot and injured in this indiscriminate attack.
The Indonesian army accused three men in the village of being TPNPB fighters. This claim was immediately refuted by the TPNPB and a local community leader, who clarified that they were all civilians. One of the trio — Murib — is a village head.
Prominent Papuan human rights lawyer Yan Christian Warinussy was shot at an ATM in the coastal town of Manokwari, on July 17, while his children waited in the car. Luckily, he survived.
In March, a harrowing video emerged showing a group of Indonesian soldiers torturing a young West Papuan man later identified as Defianus Kogoya. In the disturbing footage, Kogoya can be seen with his hands tied and shaking as he is submerged in a vat of bloody water while Indonesian soldiers take turns punching, kicking and beating him.
According to the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), as at April, more than 76,000 people have been displaced due to the Indonesian crackdown, which started in 2018.
These displacements, killings, shootings, torture and deaths are just the tip of the iceberg of what is happening in the tightly-controlled military operational areas of West Papua.
These atrocities took place during Prabowo's presidential campaign this year. Furthermore, despite having visited West Papua more than 18 times, outgoing President Joko Widodo has failed to address these serious issues.
Prabowo seeks advice from PNG on how to ‘respect Indigenous Papuans’
Prabowo stopped in PNG’s capital, Port Moresby, on his way from Canberra to Jakarta. With all the talk of security, trade and business, Prabowo is reported to have asked the PNG government for cultural advice on how to "respect" the indigenous Papuans.
Unfortunately, Prabowo got away with the blood of Papuans on his hands, just as he did in Canberra.
If PM James Marape's “gang” in Port Morseby’s Waigani precinct had an independent voice, one might expect them to advise Prabowo to stop killing Papuans, at least as a basic gesture of "respect”. However, it is unimaginable that the PNG government would challenge Jakarta's atrocities without the approval of its imperial masters in Washington, London and Canberra.
Jakarta will soon become another imperial master of PNG if it does not stand on its own two feet soon.
The more the government in Port Moresby condones Jakarta's genocidal war against the Papuans, the more likely it is that the Papuans in PNG will accept a diminished status reminiscent of the threats they have faced in West Papua for more than 60 years at the hands of Indonesia.
To believe that PNG is entitled to equal respect from Western and Eastern nations, especially Indonesia or ASEAN, because of its uniqueness is an overly simplistic view.
We are Papuans and Blacks — these names and designations alone have justified all kinds of dehumanising names, insults, abuse and mistreatment of Papuans on both sides of the border, whose representatives are received by those in power in Canberra and Jakarta.
BenarNews reported that PNG journalist Harlyne Joku was excluded from a media briefing with Prabowo and Marape during Prabowo's visit, allegedly at the request of the Indonesian embassy. The PNG Media Council condemned the exclusion as "disturbing" and "shameful" and an attack on PNG's independent media sector and an affront to PNG's political sovereignty.
If PNG does not wake up soon, it may be too late for PNG to realise that the fate of West Papua and the fate of PNG are linked, and that what happens to West Papua will determine what happens to PNG.
Prabowo's request for advice from PNG on how to respect indigenous Papuans is strange, given his history of crimes against humanity in East Timor and West Papua. It is also an insult to ask the PNG government how to respect the Papuans when Prabowo and Jokowi have totally failed to respect and listen to the Papuans.
Whether a genuine sentiment or empty rhetoric, Prabowo’s ambivalence in addressing the killings of Papuans this year alone shows where he stands on the issue of respect for Indigenous Papuans.
Papuan pawns in Prabowo’s international political chess game
Prabowo brought two prominent West Papuan figures with him on his visit to Canberra: Natalius Pigai, a former Indonesian human rights commissioner, and Wempi Wetipo, Indonesia's deputy home affairs minister.
Prabowo's intention could have been “image-building”, by showing black Papuan faces at this highest level, or might actually mean something for the Papuan people, or these elites might be just pawns in the settlers’ colonial games.
Whatever the intention, it is irrelevant to Papuans who are dying daily under Prabowo’s rule.
Prabowo's biggest test will be not only how he leads Indonesia between the two superpower rivalries between the US and Chinese, but also how he deals with Papuan lives.
If he is serious about how to respect the indigenous Papuans, he should be asking these questions to West Papuans, not the PNG government.
[Ali Mirin is a West Papuan from the Kimyal tribe of the highlands bordering the Star Mountain region of Papua New Guinea. He has a Master of Arts in International Relations from Flinders University.]
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