3) FBI Director Patel returns looted cultural artifacts to Indonesian President Prabowo
Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI Papua) has pledged to support a lawsuit filed by the Malind Indigenous community from Merauke Regency, South Papua Province, arguing the legal challenge is crucial to protecting their ancestral forests and customary lands.
WALHI Papua said it stands in full solidarity with the Malind people and is closely monitoring the court proceedings over a Merauke Regent’s decree that the organization says threatens the community’s survival.
The hearing, which focused on testimony from witnesses presented by the defendants, was held at the Jayapura State Administrative Court (PTUN) on Tuesday.
“The Jayapura State Administrative Court has become the place where the Malind people are seeking justice over the seizure of their forests and customary lands,” WALHI Papua said in a statement sent to Jubi on Tuesday evening.
According to the environmental group, the lawsuit represents a legitimate effort by the Malind community to challenge a regional policy that could facilitate land grabbing and accelerate environmental destruction across their customary territory in Merauke.
WALHI Papua also echoed arguments made by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Sekar Banjar Aji, who said the issuance of the regent’s decree disregarded the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
The organization argues that the Merauke Regent issued the decree without obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of the Malind people, the customary rights holders over the affected land.
It warned that large-scale land clearing and conversion in Merauke could severely damage rainforest ecosystems, wetlands and swamp water sources that have long sustained the Malind people’s livelihoods, culture and social life.
WALHI Papua said regional government policies should prioritize the protection of Indigenous rights and environmental sustainability rather than paving the way for environmentally destructive investment projects.
The organization also cited another lawyer representing the Malind-Anim Indigenous community, Emanuel Gobay, who described the Malind people as “the last ecological stronghold” in Merauke.
Gobay argued that stripping the Malind of their customary land rights would amount to taking away their identity, cultural heritage and the future of generations to come in Papua.
WALHI Papua called on the panel of judges at the Jayapura State Administrative Court to remain independent, uphold environmental justice principles, grant the Indigenous community’s claims in full, and annul the Merauke Regent’s decree.
The group also urged the Merauke Regency administration to review and revoke permits affecting customary lands and instead focus on recognizing and protecting Indigenous land rights.
It further called on civil society groups, students and young people across Papua to continue monitoring the legal proceedings until the Malind people’s rights are fully restored.
The lawsuit was filed by five representatives of the Malind Indigenous community, challenging Merauke Regent Decree No. 100.3.3.2/1105 of 2025.
The decree approved the environmental feasibility of a planned 135-kilometer access road in Ilwayab District, part of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense’s national food security project.
The case has been registered with the Jayapura State Administrative Court under case number 9/G/LH/2026/PTUN Jayapura since March 5, 2026. (*)
A number of photos and videos release over the past weeks clearly show Indonesian civilian planes, like the PT AMA plane Mr Gosselin was flying, being loaded with ammunition, weapons, and other military equipment. The evidence also shows Indonesian soldiers entering the planes to be transported to conflict zones like Yahukimo and Nduga.
PT AMA, along with organisations like Associated Mission Aviation, a so-called Indonesian ‘humanitarian air service’ acting under the Catholic Church, state that they merely transport food and other supplies into villages in the Papuan highlands. In reality, these groups have allowed themselves to become weapons of occupation.
West Papua has never fought with outsiders. Since the first missionaries, Carl Ottow and Johan Geissler, arrived on Mansinam Island in 1855, we have been blessed by God. We are a Christian nation: it is in our DNA. It is not in our DNA to fight outsiders, especially the Americans, who we fought alongside in World War Two. In the history of our struggle, since 1962, our enemy has only ever been the Indonesian coloniser. So we must ask how and why this situation with Mr Gosselin has arisen. The answer is clear: he, and other outsiders like him, are effectively being used as human shields by Indonesia.
When the OPM kidnapped World Wildlife Fund workers in 1996, they negotiated with the Indonesian government to let them go. Instead, the OPM were tricked by the war criminal, current Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and massacred. Despite this, all the hostages were released. The same is true of NZ pilot Phillip Mehrtens in 2024, who was well-treated by the TPNPB and eventually released. This can be contrasted with the killing of two American teachers in Timika in 2002: this was clearly a false-flag attack, orchestrated by Indonesia and blamed on the OPM to further militarise the Grasberg mine. And the shooting of German tourist, Dietmar Helmut in 2012, which was blamed on Mako Tabuni and the KNPB: also a false flag killing to justify repression of the KNPB. Going further back, we must ask ourselves: what happened to the Balibo five?
Only one side in this fight has a history of attacking foreigners.
False flag attacks on foreigners and using civilian infrastructure for military purposes are both crimes under international law and a violation of the Geneva Convention. Indonesia has been guilty of this crime, which is called perfidy, consistently since 2018, when the current, more intensified phase of the West Papua genocide began.
Along with disguising military planes as civil aircraft, the Indonesian army (TNI) routinely occupies hospitals, schools, and churches and transforms them into military bases, terrorising local Papuans and forcing them to flee. The latest example of this trend occurred last week, when the TNI took control of Benawa Community Health Centre, Yalimo Regency. Many sick and critically ill patients were expelled.
Indonesia’s strategy is to militarise every aspect of West Papuan life. By deliberately blurring the lines between civilian and military, Indonesia justifies the takeover of civilian and municipal infrastructure, expelling local residents and turning them into refugees into their own land. Many murdered civilians are also labelled as ‘OPM’. After clearing the people, Indonesia clears the land, building mines, plantations, and other industrial projects in their place.
The final element of this strategy is the media blackout Indonesia has imposed on West Papua for the past six decades. Only by barring all journalists and NGOs from operating there, Indonesia able to spread their lies about the violence they inflict on Papuans, including in tragic cases such as Mr Gosselin’s.
I therefore call on the UN, the MSG, PIF, and OACPS, to increase the pressure on Indonesia to allow a UN visit to West Papua urgently. Indonesia must also allow journalists to operate in West Papua. If the conflict is to cease, international observers must be allowed to know what is going on.
Ultimately, Indonesia must come to the table with the ULMWP to discuss a referendum. This is the only long-term path to a peaceful solution in West Papua.
Benny Wenda
Interim President
ULMWP
3) FBI Director Patel returns looted cultural artifacts to Indonesian President Prabowo
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto received a collection of cultural artifacts from the country's Papua region that had been illegally taken to the United States, officials said Thursday.
The handover took place late Wednesday during a meeting with FBI Director Kash Patel at Prabowo’s residence in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Patel arrived in Jakarta shortly after talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet concerning joint efforts to combat international online scam operations that cheat victims out of billions of dollars annually.
The exchange underscored growing cooperation between Indonesia and the U.S. in recovering stolen cultural heritage and returning the items to the country of origin, Indonesia Culture Minister Fadli Zon said.
The artifacts from Papua are part of the cultural heritage of the Dani and Asmat tribes and Lake Sentani communities. They were repatriated through cooperation between Indonesia’s Culture Ministry and the FBI after provenance research established the objects had been smuggled out of Indonesia, Zon said.
“These are very valuable objects because this repatriation process is part of our effort to restore our cultural sovereignty,” Zon said, adding that the artifacts will be displayed at Indonesia’s National Museum.
Images from Indonesia's Presidential Secretariat show several polished stone ax heads and ceremonial objects traditionally associated with Papuan societies.
Traditional Papuan stone axes were more than utilitarian tools. Among highland communities such as the Dani, they historically served as symbols of wealth and status, were exchanged in marriage and ceremonial transactions and were often passed down as treasured ancestral heirlooms, the Culture Ministry said.
The return is the latest in a series of efforts by U.S. authorities to recover and repatriate Southeast Asian cultural property that was trafficked through international antiquities networks, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement.
Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced the return of two bronze, Buddhist sculptures depicting Avalokiteshvara from the eighth century, the embassy said.
During a repatriation ceremony at the Indonesian Consulate on July 10, Clayton said U.S. authorities would continue working with Homeland Security Investigations to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property and return stolen artworks to their origin countries.
“The bodies of the married couple were taken to Dekai Regional Hospital and will be handed over to their families for burial,” Yahukimo Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Zet Saalino said.
The evacuation was hampered by strong currents in the Brazza River, which rescuers had to cross to reach the site, Saalino said.
The team will resume its search Friday, July 24, to evacuate the third victim, a woman, he said, adding that the victims were local residents who had been panning for gold near Seradala.
“Although we have repeatedly urged civilians not to pan for gold, some residents continue to search for and pan for gold,” he said.
An armed criminal group led by Kopitua Heluka had claimed responsibility for Monday's shooting of three civilians near the Trans-Papua Highway in Seradala Subdistrict.
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Translator: Bayu Prasetyo
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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