More than 125,000 people are reported to have been displaced in West Papua as armed conflict escalates, but the real number is likely much higher.

A recent report from the Human Rights Monitor said military operations and armed violence have been particularly intense in the central highlands of Indonesian-ruled Papua region this year.

Indonesian security forces have been in an ongoing fight with small groups of guerilla fighters with the West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) in the mountainous interior of Papua.

A senior lecturer and researcher on South East Asian conflicts said it was the civilians caught in the middle who ended up suffering the most.

Caught in the middle
Hipolitus Wangge, an Indonesian who is currently a senior lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Political Science Department, said many indigenous displaced people (IDPs) flee their home villages, and are forced to live in the jungle with limited access to supplies.

He said “the cycle of violence in West Papua” has shown no signs of ending anytime soon and fears that even more people will be displaced.

“So both sides are busy claiming victories and asserting control over the area and its people, which just keeps the tension going,” Wangge said.

“Without any signs of talks or mediations, communications, building trust, people living in these conflict zones will continue to be caught in the middle.”

The Human Rights Monitor report documents dozens of armed clashes during the second quarter of this year directly impacting civilians: with drone attacks, shoot outs between forces, and villages burnt down.

Recent reports from Yahukimno regency show that civilians continue to be victims of shootings by security forces. Wangge said that those not killed or injured in the conflict often have to run away.

“You will find districts like Mimika, Nduga, Yahukimo, Puncak, Intan Jaya — those are the so-called hotspots of the conflict. They have been trying to live outside the kind of major battles.”

As the report explains, once these civilians have been displaced to makeshift forest camps, the lack of healthcare resources in particular results in even more deaths.

“Many of IDPs are still living in jungles. So they have to survive during these constrained situations living in the jungle with very limited basic supplies,” Wangge explained.

Victims on both sides
Wangge said people on both sides can feel trapped between Indonesian forces and the West Papuan freedom fighters struggling for independence.

He noted a particular risk for civilians following reports of Papuans who are suspected of being spies for the Indonesian security forces being tracked down and killed.

“They cannot just choose between one side or the other, because both sides also have some potential or capacity to target these civilians,” he explained.

“So they just have to get out and then try to find some safety because of the fear, because of constant trauma, because of the instability in highlands of West Papua.”

For the indigenous people, the consequences of the conflict are immediate: a home abandoned, a village emptied, a family separated, a community forced into the jungle in search of somewhere safe.

But Wangge notes the exact scale of displacement is impossible to establish as outside access to West Papua is heavily restricted.

The reported figures of more than 125,000 displaced people come from accounts by family members, churches or other stakeholders involved. Wangge believes there are many displaced people unaccounted for.

“It’s even higher than the actual number, the ones that have been reported in the media, but nobody knows in this situations because there is no access.”

Lack of access
For several years, Indonesia has rejected calls from the Pacific Islands region for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to send an independent fact-finding mission into Papua.

The 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum have repeatedly urged Indonesia to grant access since 2019.

Similar calls have also come from the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), made up of Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia’s Kanak independence movement FLNKS.

But despite these numerous requests, this access for the UN rights commissioner has still not been given, and Wangge is not confident the visit will happen any time soon, despite claims by Jakarta that it is on track.

He said “Indonesia is adamant that the West Papua issue should be dealt with domestically, claiming its not up for regional debate”.

“So, it’s clear there is a need to finally address this long-standing conflict. But from my chats with some Indonesian diplomats, it looks like the UN visit is not going to be a priority.

“Instead, the Indonesian government will probably go for bilateral talks. Indonesia in this regard seems more interested in talking with Pacific countries or organisations than in real dialogue with Papuan political leaders and organisations.”

Hipolitus Wangge said he expects the situation to only worsen as the year progresses, with talks of more Indonesian military infrastructure to be built in the Highlands and southern parts of Papua.