2) Indonesia bombs West Papuan villages again – Civilians flee to the bush
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1) OPM Claims Only 3 Members Died in TNI Operation in Intan Jaya OPM denies TNI statement that 18 of its members died.
May 16, 2025 | 12:36 p.m. WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) Sebby Sambom claimed that only three of his members were killed in the TNI's crackdown in Sugapa and Hitadipa Districts, Intan Jaya Regency, Papua.
He denied the TNI's statement that the number of its members killed was 18 people.
Meanwhile, the TNI's enforcement operations were carried out in five villages in the Sugapa and Hitadipa Districts on Wednesday morning, May 14, 2025. The five villages include Titigi, Ndugusiga, Jaindapa, Sugapa Lama, and Zanamba.
"18 of our troops were shot by the military, it is not true. What is clear is that 3 of our members were killed," said Sebby when contacted on Friday, May 16, 2025.
The three people from the separatist group who were killed in the TNI operation were Gus Kogoya, Notopinus Lawiya, and Kanis Kogoya. Meanwhile, two other members, Tinus Wonda and Ndundu Seperti, were injured.
According to Sebby, the number of victims due to the military operation in Sugapa District was indeed 18 people. However, he said, the majority were civilians.
He said, there were three residents who died due to the military operation. According to Sebby, the three victims who died were kidnapped by military personnel in the early hours of the morning.
In addition, according to him, there were six other civilians who were also kidnapped by the military. However, he said, the six residents fled from the military post into the forest. Four other residents were also injured from being shot during the TNI operation in Sugapa District.
The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) reported that three civilians were victims of armed contact between TNI and OPM personnel. Head of the PGI Papua Bureau, Reverend Ronald Rischard, said the three victims were Evangelist Elisa Wandagau, Mono Tapamina, and Head of Hitadipa Village, Ruben Wandagau.
Information on the victim data was obtained from the Kemah Injil Church network located around the location of the incident. However, Ronald admitted that he could not yet confirm whether the three civilian victims were included in the list of 18 people previously claimed to have died by the TNI in the military operation.
"We cannot yet confirm the names released by the TNI. What is clear is that from the church report, there were three civilians who died and several others were injured," said Ronald in a press statement on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Meanwhile, the TNI claimed that the number of victims killed in the operation in Sugapa District was 18 people. In the operation, the TNI also secured a number of pieces of evidence such as AK-47 firearms, homemade weapons, ammunition, bows and arrows, Morning Star flags, and communication devices.
The Head of the TNI Information Center (Kapuspen), Major General Kristomei Sianturi, said that this operation was a form of protection for the Papuan people. He said that the military operation was carried out in a measured and professional manner.
"This operation was carried out in a measured, professional manner, and prioritized the safety of civilians. We will not let the Papuan people live in fear in their homeland," he said in an official statement, Thursday, May 15, 2025.
Dani Aswara contributed to the writing of this article.
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Islands Business
2) Indonesia bombs West Papuan villages again – Civilians flee to the bush
May 16, 2025 _ Pacnews
In a renewed wave of airstrikes, Indonesia has bombed several villages in Ilaga, Puncak Regency, West Papua—displacing entire communities and reigniting memories of past atrocities.
According to Benny Wenda, Interim President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), “Indonesia has launched a number of devastating airstrikes on a handful of villages in Ilaga, Puncak Regency.”
These attacks, coming on the heels of last week’s deadly strikes, have reportedly killed one Papuan civilian and left another seriously injured.
Wenda said the operation, which is ongoing, has targeted seven villages.
“All of their inhabitants have been displaced, forced to flee into the bush and live as refugees in their own ancestral lands.”
He condemned the military’s use of churches as bases, calling it “a longstanding TNI practice which is in breach of humanitarian law,” and questioned regional silence.
“This should be a wakeup call for Pacific leaders – are we not fellow Christians? Do our holy places do not deserve protection from this brutality?”
Images surfacing from the region show civilians holding the Indonesian flag—not in allegiance, but in desperation.
“The images that have emerged – of terrified West Papuan refugees carrying the Indonesian flag as a symbol of surrender – remind me of my childhood in 1977,” Wenda said.
“My tribe also carried the Indonesian flag to try and keep our women and children safe. Nonetheless, many were imprisoned, raped, and tortured, and many thousands were massacred.”
He drew direct parallels between the past and present.
“Indonesia used U.S-made Bronco aircraft to strafe and bomb my village from the air; now, they use even more technologically advanced helicopters and planes, as well as drones assembled in China and Europe. In both cases, the majority of refugees are women and children.”
Wenda warned that the military escalation, which began in Intan Jaya, has expanded to other parts of the highlands, including Puncak, with no clear end in sight. “We do not know where it will end.”
Calling for urgent international intervention with a clear list of demands, he said “Indonesia has hidden West Papua from the world for over six decades, the only evidence we have of these operations is shaky video footage from civilian journalists.”
“1) Allow all journalists, foreign and domestic, media to report freely from West Papua 2) immediately allow the visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, demanded by over 110 UN member states 3) withdraw your military from West Papua and allow the IDPs to return home,” he said.
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