Asia Pacific Report
An exiled West Papuan leader living in Australia is calling on Oceania leaders at the Pacific Island Forum meeting in Palau this week to condemn growing military violence in the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian region.
Paula Makabory, an executive member of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), has also appealed to Melanesian Spearhead Group leaders to do the same and to call for an immediate end to the violence in civilian areas and to address the environment crisis in West Papua.
Her call is being supported by several Pacific-based organisations.
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“The letter sent today to Pacific leaders calls for immediate action because the humanitarian situation has reached a critical juncture, underscored by devastating casualties reported in recent weeks,” Makabory said in a statement.
She cited the following recent incidents as examples of many since mid-2025 until now which showed an escalation of extrajudicial killings and the use of drones and land mines by the Indonesian military in civilian areas:
- Thursday, 18 June 2026: A drone strike in Intan Jaya. At about 1pm local time, an elderly Papuan woman was killed, and two other women were severely injured in an attack involving explosive materials deployed by Indonesian military drones. Local sources indicate an alarming escalation in military tactics, including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and landmines placed along civilian footpaths.
- Wednesday, 17 June 2026: A fatal shooting in Dekai, Yahukimo. At 4.05 pm local time, a young Papuan man was shot and killed in Yahukimo Regency, Papua Pegunungan. Eyewitness accounts from the victim’s family directly implicated members of the Indonesian Marine Task Force.
- Thursday, 2 July 2026: American pilot Nicholas F. Gosselin of Associated Mission Aviation (AMA) was killed after landing in Yahukimo. The West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) claimed responsibility, alleging the aircraft was supporting Indonesian military operations, while Indonesian authorities claimed it was conducting a civilian humanitarian mission.
‘Urgent need for international monitoring’
“Regardless of the competing accounts, this tragic [pilot] incident demonstrates the urgent need for independent international monitoring, transparent investigations, and renewed efforts to de-escalate the conflict and promote human rights,” Makabory said,
“Under the internationally recognised doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), the global community — and neighbouring sovereign states in particular — has a duty to step in when a state fails to protect its population from systematic human rights violations.”
She said the continuous deployment of heavy tactical forces had turned residential areas into active conflict zones, where indigenous Papuans were treated with inherent suspicion and lethal force.
There had been 24 extrajudicial killings so far during 2026.
“Severe human rights violations are rarely met with independent investigations or genuine justice, leaving civilian populations entirely defenceless and more than 125,00 people displaced and homeless in the Highlands,” she said.
Makabory said the Indigenous people of West Papua were an integral part of the Melanesian family.
“Their ongoing suffering directly weakens the security and solidarity of the entire Pacific region,” she said.
Collective diplomatic action
Makabory urged Pacific Island Forum leaders to “break the silence” and take collective diplomatic action by issuing a formal condemnation of recent killings in Intan Jaya and Yahukimo, issue a collective call an immediate cessation of military operations in civilian areas, and demand unimpeded United Nations access to investigate human rights abuses.
She also called for condemnation of drone strikes, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for aid for displaced people in the Highlands, a moratorium on mega projects in West Papua and an independent evaluation of Special Autonomy in terms of pathways to indigenous West Papuan self-determination.
“The report also calls on the PIF leadership to challenge the crushing of peaceful dissent and the widespread destruction of Indigenous land with resulting acceleration of deforestation and regional climate change risks.”
Catherine Delahunty, spokesperson for West Papua Action Aotearoa (WPAA), said the New Zealand and Australian governments were “failing in their critical leadership roles” by their silence on all of these issues.
“The Pacific Islands Forum has called or years for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to be granted immediate, unrestricted access to West Papua to conduct an independent investigation, but this has been ignored and the PIF needs to ensure Indonesia can’t expect status at Pacific meetings while ignoring the PIF requests,” she said.
Makabory said the PIF Special Envoys, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, needed to negotiate a firm timeline for a UN fact-finding mission with Indonesia.
“The PIF and MSG must bring the West Papuan human rights crisis and land crisis to the forefront of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and relevant international human rights forums to ensure global oversight,” she said.
“The survival of our Melanesian brothers and sisters depends on leaders who are willing to champion human rights and regional stability over political convenience.”
Jayapura, Jubi – Conflict in Papua has increasingly shifted from separatist issues towards disputes over the environment and natural resources, according to researcher Adriana Elisabeth.
Ms Elisabeth, a former researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), which has since been incorporated into the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said the shift was particularly evident in opposition to national strategic projects in South Papua, where large areas of customary land have been used for development.
“I see a shift in the conflict, from separatism to environmental conflict. Environmental issues used to centre on PT Freeport, but now they have expanded to national strategic projects in South Papua,” Ms Elisabeth said.
She made the comments during the launch of the book Thom Beanal: Lay Pastor, Tribal Leader and Father of the Papuan People at the MAWI office in Jakarta on Thursday, August 27. The event was also streamed on YouTube and reported by Jubi.
Ms Elisabeth said the issues portrayed in the documentary Pesta Babi were consistent with findings from LIPI research, including research into the struggle of the late Papuan leader Thom Beanal, which is documented in the book written by Markus Haluk.
She said the documentary presented long-standing issues in Papua in a different format, while the concerns raised by Beanal remained largely unchanged.
According to Ms Elisabeth, there are four major underlying issues in Papua.
The first is the history of integration and political identity, including unresolved questions surrounding Papua’s political status and its integration into Indonesia.
The second is political violence and human rights violations, with many cases from the past yet to be fully and fairly resolved.
The third is what she described as failures in development policies, particularly in education and healthcare, which she said had not sufficiently empowered Indigenous Papuans.
The fourth is marginalisation and inconsistency in the implementation of special autonomy, which she said had contributed to the economic and cultural marginalisation of Indigenous Papuans.
Ms Elisabeth also criticised a meeting between the so-called Team of 100 and then-president BJ Habibie at the State Palace in Jakarta on February 26, 1999, saying it did not constitute genuine dialogue.
Thom Beanal, who represented Papuan communities at the meeting, called for Papuans to be allowed to determine their own future, including seeking independence or separation from Indonesia.
Ms Elisabeth said the demand was rooted in accumulated grievances arising from Papua’s history.
She said President Habibie responded that establishing a new country was not an easy matter and asked the Papuan representatives to reconsider their demands.
Book author Markus Haluk said Thom Beanal had long raised concerns about what he described as genocide, ethnocide and ecocide in Papua.
Mr Haluk described Beanal as a national figure who brought together people with different political positions.
He said Beanal was a humanist who was able to work with different groups while maintaining a strong position as a customary landowner in an area containing one of the world’s largest mining operations.
Separately, lawyer and former director of Elsham Papua Aloysius Renwarin raised concerns about the Indonesian government’s decision to extend PT Freeport Indonesia’s special mining licence from 2041 to 2061.
Mr Renwarin and fellow activist John Rumbiak previously assisted Thom Beanal and other community leaders, including Mama Josepha Alomang, in their legal campaign against Freeport, including proceedings in New Orleans in the United States.
Mr Renwarin said Freeport’s environmental impacts and plans for the mine’s eventual closure required a comprehensive review.
He said Freeport began mining at Mount Ertsberg in 1973, before environmental impact assessments, known in Indonesia as AMDAL, were legally required.
Indonesia’s first environmental management law came into effect in 1982, while technical implementation of environmental impact assessments began nationally following a government regulation issued in 1986.
“From 1973 to 1986 there was no accountability through an environmental impact assessment, so there needs to be a comprehensive environmental review, particularly given the condition of Mount Ertsberg, which has been excavated and turned into a lake at an altitude of thousands of metres,” Mr Renwarin said.
He said environmental impact assessments for Freeport were only discussed after mining operations began at Mount Grasberg in 1988.
Mr Renwarin also pointed to changes to the landscape caused by mining waste discharged into the Wanogong River, known as the Aykwa River in the Kamoro language, including sedimentation and changes to the surrounding landscape.
He said further environmental assessments should be conducted for underground mining and the company’s eventual mine closure, with the process carried out transparently and in cooperation with local governments.
Ertsberg’s production declined during the 1980s and the mine closed in 1988, according to geologist George A. Mealey’s book Grasberg: Mining the Richest and Most Remote Deposit of Copper and Gold in the World, in the Mountains in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.
Mealey wrote that the former Ertsberg excavation had become a water reservoir used in ore processing and was known as Wilson Lake.
The Grasberg mine, which replaced Ertsberg, began open-pit operations in 1988. Surface mining was gradually phased out and officially ended in late 2019 after the accessible surface mineral reserves were depleted.
With underground mining continuing, Menuel John Magal, director of the Amungme Indigenous Community Institution (LEMASA), said the company’s environmental impact assessment should be revised.
He said Freeport’s obligations towards local communities for the period from 2024 to 2041 should be negotiated with communities and incorporated into the company’s environmental impact assessment.
Freeport Indonesia’s Director and Executive Vice President for Sustainable Development, Claus Wamafma, said the company remained committed to sustainable mining practices and long-term environmental rehabilitation.
He said plans for the post-mining period, including staged implementation and funding, had been prepared and approved by the Indonesian government.
“We have prepared the post-mining plan, including its stages and technical funding arrangements,” Mr Wamafma said.
He acknowledged the economic challenge facing Mimika Regency, where mining operations and related activities still contribute significantly to the local economy.
Mr Wamafma said Freeport’s social programs in Mimika, Central Papua, were being implemented in collaboration with the local government. (*)
Jayapura, Jubi – The head of Black Danger Community (BDC) Persipura 1963, a supporters’ group for Indonesian football club Persipura Jayapura, has questioned PT Freeport Indonesia’s contribution to the club ahead of the 2026–27 season.
Jansen Previdea Kareth said BDC 1963 welcomed the launch of Persipura’s team, new jersey, sponsorship support and a book titled Persipura dari Masa ke Masa (Persipura Through the Years) on Sunday, August 30, 2026.
The launch events were held simultaneously in several cities, including Sorong in West Papua, Timika in Mimika Regency, Central Papua, Jayapura, Yogyakarta and Jakarta.
Mr Kareth also praised Persipura’s management, including its commissioners, president director and chairman, as well as Nusantara Cenderawasih Karsa (NCK) President Director Owen Rahadiyan, for continuing to support and oversee the club as it prepares for the 2026–27 Liga 2 season.
“For us, this was a very lively event. It was something all the fans, loyal supporters and people of Papua had been waiting and longing for as the new season begins,” Mr Kareth told Jubi in a message on Monday, August 31.
However, Mr Kareth said the launch had also raised questions about the club’s sponsorship arrangements, particularly the absence of support from PT Freeport Indonesia.
While acknowledging that the team launch is a requirement under league regulations before the start of a new season, he said he wanted to raise concerns directly with PT Freeport Indonesia President Director Toni Wenas.
“I want to offer some critical input to Mr Toni Wenas, as President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia. He needs to understand that Persipura is part of the identity of the Papuan people,” Mr Kareth said.
He described Persipura as an important symbol for Papuans and one of the few institutions continuing to represent their dignity and pride through football in Indonesia and internationally.
Mr Kareth said the launch of the 2026–27 squad had left many people in Papua questioning why Freeport was not among the club’s sponsors.
He argued that Persipura represented the people of Papua and should receive greater support from a major mining company operating in the region.
“It is strange that after decades of operating in Papua and exploiting its natural resources, from the first Contract of Work in 1976 until today, PT Freeport has not provided support or sponsorship for Persipura in Liga 2,” he said.
The chairman of the Black Danger Community (BDC) Persipura 1963 supporters’ group, Jansen Previdea Kareth, has questioned PT Freeport Indonesia’s lack of sponsorship for Persipura Jayapura.
One of the reasons reportedly given by Freeport for not sponsoring the “Mutiara Hitam” (Black Pearl) is that the team is still competing in Liga 2, Indonesia’s second-tier football competition.
Another reason is that Papua has since been divided into several provinces, meaning the administrative boundaries have changed. PT Freeport Indonesia now operates in Central Papua Province.
Kareth said he was saddened by this way of looking at the issue, arguing that Persipura is one of the few institutions capable of bringing Papuans together across the region, including people from coastal, lowland and highland communities.
“Even though Papua has now been divided into six provinces, that cannot change the love, pride and the status of Persipura, which stands above everything else for the people of Papua,” he said.
Kareth said PT Freeport Indonesia’s logo should have appeared on Persipura’s new jersey as a sponsor when the team was officially launched. (*)
