JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian authorities on Thursday denied claims by separatist rebels in the Papua region that at least 17 gold miners slain by insurgents were members of security forces.
The rebels said they attacked a gold panning camp in the Yahukimo district of Highland Papua province, killing 17 people, including five on Wednesday. Spokesman Sebby Sambon of the rebel West Papua Liberation Army claimed the victims were members of Indonesia's army disguised as gold miners.
He said his group had warned all workers to leave Indonesian government projects as well as traditional gold mining areas, or they would be considered part of the Indonesian security forces.
“The West Papua Liberation Army is responsible for the attacks at Yahukimo’s gold panning camp,” Sambom said. “Because they were part of Indonesian intelligence and soldiers.”
Indonesia’s Defense Ministry on Thursday said that no members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, known as TNI, are involved in illegal gold mining activities in Papua.
“The presence of TNI in Papua is solely for carrying out constitutional duties — ensuring national security and protecting all Indonesian citizens, including those in the Papua region,” it said in a statement.
Frega Wenas, the defense ministry’s spokesperson, told reporters that police had recovered the bodies of 11 miners and were searching for other possible victims.
“They targeted the civilians who are not guilty and these are actually the mining workers,” Wenas said. “They try to use disinformation narrative to frame that Indonesian government in an incorrect way.”
Indonesia’s government, which for decades has had a policy of sending Javanese and other Indonesians to settle in Papua, is trying to spur economic development to dampen the separatist movement.
Papua is a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the region, which was divided into five provinces in 2022.
Reiner Brabar, Sorong – Papuan students in several major cities in Indonesia, such as Bandung, Jember, Malang, Bali, Lombok and several cities in Papua, held peaceful demonstrations on Monday April 7 to urge the gold and copper mining company PT FreeportIndonesia (FI) to immediately stop exploiting natural resources (SDA) in Papua.
The simultaneous action on Monday were organised by students from the West Papua Independent Student Forum (FIM-WP), the Papua Student Alliance (AMP), the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP), the Papua High School and University Students Association (IPMAPA) and several other organisations in order to commemorate 58 years of PT Freeport Indonesia's presence exploring Papua's natural resources.
Some of the simultaneous actions went smoothly, but others also ended in chaos because they were restricted or even forcibly disbanded on the grounds that they did not have permits to demonstrate from the police, as happened in Nabire, Central Papua.
The commemoration in Nabire ended in chaos and was marked by the firing of teargas. During the action, a number of demonstrators were arrested and questioned by police before being sent home.
During the action, the demonstrators unfurled a number of banners and distributed pamphlets calling for Indonesia to immediately grant the right of self-determination to the Papuan people. They also asked the Indonesian government to immediately revoke the recently ratified revisions to Law number 34/2004 on the Indonesian Military (TNI) and withdraw all organic and non-organic military troops from the land of Papua.
Action in Nabire, Central Papua
As reported by tiiruu.com, Nabire District Police (Polres) Chief Assistant Superintendent Samuel D. Tatiratu said that police did not prohibit the peaceful demonstrations against PT Freeport, but what was prohibited was the long-march to the office of the Central Papua Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) offices because it would have disrupted public order.
"We from the Polres Nabire facilitated trucks at each point, there were three trucks to transport the masses to the DPRP offices. But the demonstrators did not want to use the trucks we provided to get to their destination", he told reporters at the Karang Tumaritis market on Monday April 7.
Tatiratu said that security for the demonstrators was carried out to ensure public order and security in Nabire district so that residents could carry out their activities safely.
"It needs to be known that the Polres Nabire does not prohibit actions being carried out by residents. We ensure that public order and security can run well and smoothly so that residents are not disturbed by demonstration activities", said the police chief.
In a statement, general field coordinator Yance Pogau explained that the action was forcibly dispersed, protesters were arrested and teargas was fired by security forces, resulting in participants being injured.
"The protesters took to the streets at several locations including Karang Tumaritis, Wadio, KPR Siriwini, Jalan Jakarta. The protesters taking part and were going to hold a long-march to the Central Papua DPRD offices to convey their aspirations. However, they were forcibly dispersed and the protesters were dispersed without prior negotiation".
"We had already submitted a notification letter [with police] to hold a peaceful demonstration, but the police responded in an inhumane manner. Several demonstrators were injured due to the police's forced dispersal", Pogau explained.
Action in Jayapura, Papua
Students who are members of the FIM-WP held a demonstration to reject PT Freeport at the Waena Expo and the Waena State Housing Company (Perumnas) in Heram district, Jayapura city, on Monday.
The peaceful demonstration, which started at the Cenderawasih University (Uncen) campus then moved off towards the Perumnas III taxi roundabout, was forcibly dispersed by a joint force of TNI and Polri (National Police) officers. According to field reports, security forces blocked the demonstrators then gave them around 45 minutes to give speeches at the location.
"After the speeches, the demonstrators then continued the long-march to the gathering point at Waena Expo to convey their position peacefully", explained Vian, one of the demonstrators.
Action in Manokwari, West Papua
In Manokwari a peaceful demonstration was held in front of the Mansinam 1 dormitory on Jalan Gunung Salju in Amban. This is part of a wave of national actions that took place simultaneously in various cities in Indonesia.
Field coordinator Loti Selak said that the action was a response to the extension of the work contract between Indonesia and the United States which will reopened natural resource exploitation in Papua.
"Freeport is not just about mining. It is a symbol of land grabbing, a symbol of the betrayal of the sovereignty of the people of Amungsa. We demand justice for our rights that have been taken away", asserted Selak.
Even though the demonstration was peaceful, the action was blocked by officers from the Manokwari Municipal Police.
The following are the demands raised by protesters in several cities in Indonesia on April 7 as summarised by Suara Papua:
- Close PT Freeport, BP LNG Tanguh and restore the people's sovereign rights
- Stop military operations and withdraw all organic and non-organic military from Papua
- Stop the national strategic projects (PSN) in Merauke, South Papua, Fak-Fak, West Papua and Sorong, Southwest Papua
- Close all illegal companies throughout the West Papua homeland
- Revoke the revisions to Law Number 34/2025 on the TNI, reject the Dreft Law on the National Police and the Draft Broadcasting Law
- Give the right of self-determination as a democratic solution for the Papuan people
- Reject the government's free nutritious meals (MBG) program
- Stop the criminalisation and killing of Papuans
- Allow foreign journalists to report in Indonesia, especially in Papua
- Thoroughly investigate cases of human rights violations in Papua
- End the Sorong Special Economic Zone (KEK) development project
- Stop the gagging of democratic space and stop the criminalisation of Papuan pro-independence activists
- Enact the Draft Law on Indigenous Peoples
- Stop mining exploration in Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Tolak UU TNI dan Hak Penentuan Nasib Sendiri Bagi Papua Digemakan".]
Source: https://suarapapua.com/2025/04/08/tolak-uu-tni-dan-hak-penentuan-nasib-sendiri-bagi-papua-digemakan/
The Defense Ministry said that a Papuan separatist group killed 11 Indonesian civilians in Yahukimo, Highland Papua, adding that the victims were not, as the group claimed, intelligence agents disguised as civilians.
In a press statement issued in Jakarta on Thursday, head of the ministry's Information Bureau, Brig. Gen. Frega Wenas Inkiriwang, said that the armed group's allegation of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) being involved in illegal mining activities in Papua was false.
Indonesian military personnel stationed in the region are tasked solely with ensuring security and protecting civilians, he added.
He underlined that Indonesia remains steadfast in its commitment to prioritizing legal and peaceful means in addressing separatist movements in Papua region.
He said that the government recognizes the need to adopt a comprehensive approach and go beyond focusing on the security aspect to manage the easternmost region of Indonesia.
Inkiriwang stressed that the Indonesian government will not be provoked by the violent propaganda and systematic disinformation spread by armed groups with the intent of misleading and instilling fear in the public, particularly non-Papuan communities engaged in local economic activities.
Related news: Indonesia restores order in Highland Papua after attack on teachers
In this regard, he pointed out that rebels associated with the Papuan separatist movement have been striving to promote dangerous narratives by equating civilians—including teachers, medics, and construction workers—with security officers.
Therefore, the murder of the 11 civilians can be considered a crime against humanity, which constitutes a violation of national and international laws, he added.
The official informed that the National Police (Polri) has commenced an operation to recover the bodies of the 11 civilians—who have been identified and confirmed to be illegal gold miners—killed in an alleged attack by an armed group led by Elkius Kobak on April 6, 2025.
The TNI had made similar statements earlier, denying rumors about its personnel conducting intelligence operations in the guise of civilians.
Brig. General Kristomei Sianturi, head of the TNI's Information Center, told the media in Jakarta on Wednesday that the armed group members spread the false narrative to avoid being labeled as human rights offenders following their barbaric act.
Related news: Highland Papua seeks to boost human development index
Reporter: Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Indonesia have launched a number of deadly military operations in Intan Jaya in recent weeks.
The first bombing took place in Eknemba Village on March 29th, committed by two fighter jets taking off from Timika airstrip. At 6:59PM in the evening, two separate TNI jets dropped more bombs and fired six rockets on Ndaugi village. Following this, four rockets were fired at Mount Puya Agapa, and then four on Zanamba Village.
A total of thirteen bombs were dropped as the TNI wreaked havoc across rural Intan Jaya. This is one of the most advanced militaries in the region, dropping bombs and firing rockets at mountain villages, on houses with sago rooves. These operations were supposedly justified by the presence of TPNPB fighters in the villages. How can the alleged presence of guerillas justify bombing defenceless hamlets where women and children and living?
Intan Jaya has been at the centre of the ongoing humanitarian crisis the military has inflicted on my people since 2018. Only months ago, an elite military unit slaughtered three children and a mentally disabled man in the Regency – crimes that no one has yet been held accountable for. The previous year, two children were shot and one killed by Indonesian soldiers during a firefight with the TPNPB. Intan Jaya residents have suffered grievously under the current President, the war criminal Prabowo and his predecessor, Joko Widodo. They urgently need the Indonesian military to withdraw, so the displaced can return to their homes and rebuild their lives in peace.
The people joining armed groups in West Papua are not well armed or funded by international networks. They are merely seeking to defend their homes against an illegal foreign occupation that is threatening to wipe them out.
It is the TNI who have displaced over 100,000 people over the past six years; it is the TNI who have driven more than 1000 Papuans – mostly women and children – to their deaths in the bush; it is the TNI who occupy and burn schools, hospitals and churches, depriving countless innocent civilians of healthcare and education.
Indonesia is the real terrorist in Tanah Papua. This has been true ever since their initial invasion in 1963; ever since, they have wiped out more than 500,000 of us, a still in-motion genocide hidden from the world by a six-decade ban on international media and NGOs. This disaster will continue until we are finished – or until the world intervenes, and demands Indonesia recognises our right to self-determination.
To the Indonesian government the ULMWP issues the following demands: 1) Allow Amnesty International, other NGOs, and foreign media to report freely from West Papua; 2) immediately allow the visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; 3) withdraw your military from West Papua and allow the IDPs to return home.
Benny Wenda
Interim President
ULMWP
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