Victor Mambor – Asia Pacific Report

‘The world should see this’, say Papua deforestation doco filmmakers

APR editor — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:01:42 +0000

By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific journalist

For a country with a record of large deforestation projects, Indonesia’s current activities in the far southeastern corner of the republic, South Papua province, surpass all.

With 2.5 million hectares of land being cleared for sugarcane and rice production for food and biofuel projects, alongside large oil palm concessions, Indonesia’s government has created a hugely consequential project right on Papua New Guinea and Australia’s doorsteps.

It is transforming the shape of an otherwise forest and swamp-dominated region, as well as the environment, culture and health of local Papuan communities.

New film on West Papua highlights ‘ecocide’. Video: RNZ

“The world should notice this. It’s not the Amazon, it’s just in our front door, in the Pacific here,” said Dandhy Dwi Laksono, director of Pesta Babi (Pig Feast): Colonialism in our Time, a new documentary film about the impacts of the deforestation in South Papua, the agri-business schemes behind it and the role Indonesia’s military plays in it all.

Laksono has been in New Zealand this week promoting the film with its producer, West Papuan journalist Victor Mambor, who said few people in other parts of the world know about what’s going on there.

“Maybe they only know [of] the conflict, military conflict, armed conflict in West Papua. But they never know the conflict like that,” he said.

The film sheds new light on the response by local Papuans in the wider Merauke region and its remote bush communities to an agri-business master plan attempted by several Indonesian presidents now.

Papua has some of the world’s largest remaining tracts of native rainforest — and clearing this large region of forest and swamp systems is likely to add to carbon emissions, pollution haze and biodiversity loss. Image: Mighty Earth/RNZ Pacific

Prabowo accelerated project
The current president, Prabowo Subianto, has accelerated the project and committed military support for it, saying the military is needed to secure the agri-business projects in Papua because of their scale and importance to Indonesia’s national food and energy security.

However, Mambor said the presence of Indonesian troops in Papua had long been problematic for Papuans, and was growing.

“This is the problem in West Papua. There will be more troops, and then of course because of more troops there will be more conflict. More troops, more conflict, more problem.”

Given the ongoing armed conflict between West Papuan independence fighters and Indonesia’s military in other parts of Papua region (known internationally as West Papua), this film offers a useful insight into a struggle that is less known, but no less concerning.

According to the NGO Mighty Earth, estimates of the CO2 emissions from so much land clearance range from 315 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Indonesia’s first state-owned inspection, testing, certification, and consultancy company) to more than double that, according to a report by the Indonesian independent research institute.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

West Papuan filmmakers expose Merauke rainforest destruction in ‘siege’ doco

Pacific Media Watch — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 10:24:24 +0000

Pacific Media Watch

A world premiere of a new documentary revealing the devastation of rainforest in the southeastern part of West Papua is one of two films being screened in Aotearoa New Zealand next month.

Billed as “Sinéma Merdeka: Stories from West Papua”, the programme is showing the heart of a hidden Pacific conflict and will be presented live by celebrated Papuan journalist and Jubi News founder Victor Mambor.

The two films are Pesta Babi — Colonialism in Our Time and Sa Punya Nama Pengungsi (My name is Pengungsi).

“Pesta Babi” (The Pig Party), directed by Cypri Dale and Dandhy Laksono, is being premiered at the Academy Cinema, Auckland CBD, at 6pm on Saturday, March 7.

Filmed under siege and a draconian media ban, the filmmakers offer a rare and
urgent glimpse into indigenous life in Merauke, where Indonesian bulldozers have been systematically destroying their pristine rainforest home.

This film is co-produced by Jubi, Ekspedisi Indonesia Baru, Greenpeace, Yayasan Pusaka, and Watchdoc Documentary.

The unofficial trailer of Pesta Babi Video: Jubi Media

The second film, “Sa Punya Nama Pengungsi”, directed by Yuliana Lantipo is set against the backdrop of escalating government violence and the displacement of an estimated 100,000 Indigenous Melanesian people from their lands.

“My name is Pengungsi” is centred on the story of two Papuan children born in the midst of the conflict. Both are named “Pengungsi”, which in English means “Refugee”.

Films talanoa
The films will be followed by a Q&A/Talanoa with Mambor and film director Dandhy Laksono, and hosted by Dr David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report and deputy chair of the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN).

“These films give a powerful insight into the hidden occupation and oppression inside West Papua which all people in Aotearoa need to see to understand what our neighbours are enduring,” said an organiser Catherine Delahunty.

The twin-film festival is part of a weekend West Papua Solidarity Forum programme at the Auckland University Old Choral Hall, 7 Symonds Street, on Saturday, March 7, and on Sunday, March 8, at the Taro Patch, Papatoetoe.

There will also be a public media seminar, “Kōrero With Victor Mambor – West Papua: Journalism as Resistance” at the Whānau Community Centre and Hub at 165 Stoddard Rd, Mt Roskill (next to Harvey Norman), featuring journalist and filmmaker Victor Mambor at 6pm, Monday, March 9.

West Papua is the western half of New Guinea island and has been occupied by Indonesia since 1963. The independent state of Papua New Guinea is the eastern half.

Organisers of the film screenings are West Papua Action Tāmaki Makaurau. The group notes that more than 500,000 civilians have been killed in a slow genocide against the indigenous population, according to human rights agencies.

Basic human rights such as freedom of speech are denied and Papuans live in a constant state of fear and intimidation.

Foreign journalists have generally been barred entrance.

Traditional ways of life are under threat as huge tracts of rainforest are cut down to make
way for Indonesian palm oil and food estates, the world’s largest gold mine and ever-increasing transmigration from Indonesia, making Indigenous Papuans a minority in their own land.

Book tickets for the “Sinéma Merdeka: Stories from West Papua” here.

“Sinéma Merdeka: Stories from West Papua” . . . the screening poster. Image: APR

“Kōrero with Victor Mambor – West Papua: Journalism as Resistance” event at the Whānau Hub on Monday, March 9. Image: APMN

Bombs fail to silence West Papuan journalist Victor Mambor

Pacific Media Watch — Sun, 24 Aug 2025 09:05:11 +0000

By Alifereti Sakiasi in Suva

West Papuan journalist Victor Mambor has vowed not to be silenced despite years of threats, harassment and even a bomb attack on his home.

The 51-year-old founder and editor-in-chief of Jubi, West Papua’s leading media outlet, was in Fiji this week, where he spoke exclusively to The Fiji Times about his fight to expose human rights abuses.

“Despite them bombing my home and office with molotov bombs, I am still doing journalism today because my people are hurting — and I won’t stop,” Mambor said.

In January 2023, an improvised explosive device detonated outside his home in Jayapura in what he describes as a “terror” attack.

Police later closed the case citing “lack of evidence”.

He was in Suva on Tuesday night as Jubi Media Papua, in collaboration with University of the South Pacific Journalism and PANG, screened its documentary Pepera 1969: A Democratic Integration?

“I believe good journalism is journalism that makes society better,” he said.

Republished from The Fiji Times with permission.

Victor Mambor: ‘I need to do better for my people and my land.’ Video: The Fiji Times

West Papuan media plea for Melanesian support against Indonesian media blackout

Pacific Media Watch — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 04:07:33 +0000

By Andrew Mathieson

Exiled West Papuan media are calling for Fiji — in a reflection of Melanesian solidarity — to hold the greater Pacific region to account and stand against Indonesia’s ongoing media blackout in addition to its human rights abuses.

The leaders in their field which include two Papuans from Indonesia’s occupied provinces have visited the Pacific country to forge media partnerships, university collaboration and joint advocacy for West Papua self-determination.

They were speaking after the screening of a new documentary film, Pepera 1969: A Democratic Integration, was screened at The University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

The documentary is based on the controversial plebiscite 56 years ago when 1025 handpicked Papuan electors, which were directly chosen by the Indonesian military out of its 800,000 citizens, were claimed to have voted unanimously in favour of Indonesian control of Western New Guinea.

Victor Mambor — a co-founder of Jubi Media Papua — in West Papua; Yuliana Lantipo, one of its senior journalists and editor; and Dandhy Laksono, a Jakarta-based investigative filmmaker; shared their personal experiences of reporting from inside arguably the most heavily militarised and censored region in the Pacific.

“We are here to build bridges with our brothers and sisters in the Pacific,” Mambor told the USP media audience.

Their story of the Papuan territory comes after Dutch colonialists who had seized Western New Guinea, handed control of the East Indies back to the Indonesians in 1949 before The Netherlands eventually withdrew from Papuan territory in 1963.

‘Fraudulent’ UN vote
The unrepresentative plebiscite which followed a fraudulent United Nations-supervised “Act of Free Choice” in 1969 allowed the Indonesian Parliament to grant its legitimacy to reign sovereignty over the West Papuans.

That Indonesian authority has been heavily questioned and criticised over extinguishing independence movements and possible negotiations between both sides.

Indonesia has silenced Papuan voices in the formerly-named Irian Jaya province through control and restrictions of the media.

Mambor described the continued targeting of his Jubi Media staff, including attacks on its office and vehicles, as part of an escalating crackdown under Indonesia’s current President Prabowo Subianto, who took office less than 12 months ago.

“If you report on deforestation [of West Papua] or our culture, maybe it’s allowed,” he said.

“But if you report on human rights or the [Indonesian] military, there is no tolerance.”

An Indonesian MP, Oleh Soleh, warned publicly this month that the state would push for a “new wave of repression” targeting West Papuan activists while also calling the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) – the West Papuan territory’s peak independence movement – as a “political criminal group”.

‘Don’t just listen to Jakarta’
“Don’t just listen to what Jakarta says,” Mambor said.

“Speak to Papuans, listen to our stories, raise our voices.

“We want to bring West Papua back to the Pacific — not just geographically, but politically, culturally, and emotionally.”

Press freedom in West Papua has become most dire more over the past 25 years, West Papuan journalists have said.

Foreign journalists are barred entry into the territory and internet access for locals is often restricted, especially during periods of civil unrest.

Indigenous reporters also risk arrest and/or violence for filing politically sensitive stories.

Most trusted media
Founded in 2001 by West Papuan civil society, Jubi Media Papua’s English-language publication, the West Papua Daily, has become arguably the most trusted, independent source of news in the territory that has survived over its fearless approach to journalism.

“Our journalists are constantly intimidated,” Mambor said, “yet we continue to report the truth”.

The word Jubi in one of the most popular Indigenous Papuan languages means to speak the truth.

Mambor explained that the West Papua Daily remained a pillar of a vocal media movement to represent the wishes of the West Papuan people.

The stories published are without journalists’ bylines (names on articles) out of fear against retribution from the Indonesian military.

“We created a special section just to tell Pacific stories — to remind our people that we are not alone, and to reconnect West Papua with our Pacific identity,” Mambor said.

Lantipo spoke about the daily trauma faced by the Papuan communities which are caught in between the Indonesian military and the West Papua national liberation army who act on behalf of the ULMWP to defend its ancestral homeland.

‘Reports of killings, displacement’
“Every day, we receive reports: killings, displacement, families fleeing villages, children out of school, no access to healthcare,” Lantipo said.

“Women and children are the most affected.”

The journalists attending the seminar urged the Fijian, Melanesian and Pacific people to push for a greater awareness of the West Papuan conflict and its current situation, and to challenge dominant narratives propagated by the Indonesian government.

Laksono, who is ethnically Indonesian but entrenched in ongoing Papuan independence struggles, has long worked to expose injustices in the region.

“There is no hope from the Asian side,” Laksono said.

“That’s why we are here, to reach out to the Pacific.

“We need new audiences, new support, and new understanding.”

Arrested over tweets
Laksono was once arrested in September 2019 for publishing tweets about the violence from government forces against West Papua pro-independence activists.

Despite the personal risks, the “enemy of the state” remains committed to highlighting the stories of the West Papuan people.

“Much of Indonesia has been indoctrinated through school textbooks and [its] media into believing a false history,” he said.

“Our film tries to change that by offering the truth, especially about the so-called Act of Free Choice in 1969, which was neither free nor a genuine act of self-determination.”

Andrew Mathieson writes for the National Indigenous Times.

Melanesian supporters for West Papuan self-determination at The University of the South Pacific. Image: USP/NIT

Prabowo’s presidency sparks fear and faint hope in Indonesia’s contested Papua

APR editor — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 18:52:03 +0000

By Victor Mambor in Jayapura

With Prabowo Subianto, a controversial former general installed as Indonesia’s new president, residents in the disputed Papua region were responding to this reality with anxiety and, for some, cautious optimism.

The remote and resource-rich region has long been a flashpoint for conflict, with its people enduring decades of alleged military abuse and human rights violations under Indonesian rule and many demanding independence.

With Prabowo now in charge, many Papuans fear that their future will be marked by further violence and repression.

In Papua — a region known as “West Papua” in the Pacific — views on Prabowo, whose military record is both celebrated by nationalists and condemned by human rights activists, range from apathy to outright alarm.

Many Papuans remain haunted by past abuses, particularly those associated with Indonesia’s counterinsurgency campaigns that began after Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 through a disputed UN-backed referendum.

For people like Maurids Yansip, a private sector employee in Sentani, Prabowo’s rise to the presidency is a cause for serious concern.

“I am worried,” Yansip said. “Prabowo talked about using a military approach to address Papua’s issues during the presidential debates.

‘Military worsened hunman rights’
“We’ve seen how the military presence has worsened the human rights situation in this region. That’s not going to solve anything — it will only lead to more violations.”

In Jayapura, the region’s capital, Musa Heselo, a mechanic at a local garage, expressed indifference toward the political changes unfolding in Jakarta.

“I didn’t vote in the last election—whether for the president or the legislature,” Heselo said.

“Whoever becomes president is not important to me, as long as Papua remains safe so we can make a living. I don’t know much about Prabowo’s background.”

But such nonchalance is rare in a region where memories of military crackdowns run deep.

Prabowo, a former son-in-law of Indonesia’s late dictator Suharto, has long been a polarising figure. His career, marked by accusations of human rights abuses, particularly during Indonesia’s occupation of Timor-Leste, continues to evoke strong reactions.

In 1996, during his tenure with the elite Indonesian Army special forces unit, Kopassus, Prabowo commanded a high-stakes rescue of 11 hostages from a scientific research team held by Free Papua Movement (OPM) fighters.

Deadly operation
The operation was deadly, resulting in the deaths of two hostages and eight pro-independence fighters.

Markus Haluk, executive secretary of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), described Prabowo’s presidency as a grim continuation of what he calls a “slow-motion genocide” of the Papuan people.

“Prabowo’s leadership will extend Indonesia’s occupation of Papua,” Haluk said, his tone resolute.

“The genocide, ethnocide, and ecocide will continue. We remember our painful history — this won’t be forgotten. We could see military operations return. This will make things worse.”

Although he has never been convicted and denies any involvement in abuses in East Timor or Papua, these allegations continue to cast a shadow over his political rise.

He ran for president in 2014 and again in 2019, both times unsuccessfully. His most recent victory, which finally propels him to Indonesia’s highest office, has raised questions about the future of Papua.

President Prabowo Subianto greets people as he rides in a car after his inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, last Sunday. Image: Asprilla Dwi Adha/Antara Foto

Despite these concerns, some see Prabowo’s presidency as a potential turning point — albeit a fraught one. Elvira Rumkabu, a lecturer at Cendrawasih University in Jayapura, is among those who view his military background as a possible double-edged sword.

Prabowo’s military experience ‘may help’
“Prabowo’s military experience and strategic thinking could help control the military in Papua and perhaps even manage the ultranationalist forces in Jakarta that oppose peace,” Rumkabu told BenarNews.

“But I also worry that he might delegate important issues, like the peace agenda in Papua, to his vice-president.”

Under outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Papua’s development was often portrayed as a priority, but the reality on the ground told a different story. While Jokowi made high-profile visits to the region, his administration’s reliance on military operations to suppress pro-independence movements continued.

“This was a pattern we saw under Jokowi, where Papua’s problems were relegated to lower levels, diminishing their urgency,” Rumkabu said.

In recent years, clashes between Indonesian security forces and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) have escalated, with civilians frequently caught in the crossfire.

Yohanes Mambrasar, a human rights activist based in Sorong, expressed grave concerns about the future under Prabowo.

“Prabowo’s stance on strengthening the military in Papua was clear during his campaign,” Mambrasar said.

Called for ‘more troops, weapons’
“He called for more troops and more weapons. This signals a continuation of militarized policies, and with it, the risk of more land grabs and violence against indigenous Papuans.”

Earlier this month, Indonesian military chief Gen. Agus Subiyanto inaugurated five new infantry battalions in Papua, stating that their mandate was to support both security operations and regional development initiatives.

Indeed, the memory of past military abuses looms large for many in Papua, where calls for independence have never abated.

During a presidential debate, Prabowo vowed to strengthen security forces in Papua.

“If elected, my priority will be to uphold the rule of law and reinforce our security presence,” he said, framing his approach as essential to safeguarding the local population.

Yet, amid the fears, some see opportunities for positive change.

Yohanes Kedang from the Archdiocese of Merauke said that improving the socio-economic conditions of indigenous Papuans must be a priority for Prabowo.

Education, health care ‘left behind’
“Education, healthcare, and the economy — these are areas where Papuans are still far behind,” he said.

“This will be Prabowo’s real challenge. He needs to create policies that bring real improvements to the lives of indigenous Papuans, especially in the southern regions like Merauke, which has immense potential.”

Theo Hesegem, executive director of the Papua Justice and Human Integrity Foundation, believes that dialogue is key to resolving the region’s long-standing issues.

“Prabowo has the power to address the human rights violations in Papua,” Hesegem said.

“But he needs to listen. He should come to Papua and sit down with the people here — not just with officials, but with civil society, with the people on the ground,” he added.

“Jokowi failed to do that. If Prabowo wants to lead, he must listen to their voices.”

Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to the report. Copyright © 2015-2024, BenarNews. Republished with the permission of BenarNews.

A montage of West Papuan everyday life from hip-hop to protest songs

Pacific Media Watch — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 11:32:34 +0000

I came to this evening of short films not sure what to expect.

I have a history with West Papua (here referring to the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea, which comprises five provinces, one named “West Papua”) from my days fronting the legendary West Papuan band Black Brothers in the early 1990s.

During that time, I was exposed to stories of struggle and pride in the identity of the people of West Papua. From their declaration of self-determination and self-government and the raising of the Morning Star flag on 1 December 1961, to the so-called “Act of Free Choice” referendum in 1969 which saw the fledgling Melanesian state become part of the larger Indonesian state, to the next 40 years of struggle.

However, apart from the occasional ABC or SBS news story and the 1963 ethnographic film Dead Birds, I hadn’t seen much footage on West Papua until now.

The West Papua Mini Film Festival is a touring festival of short films organised by the West Papuan community and their allies and supporters in Australia to raise awareness of the situation in West Papua.

The four films I saw, at the first screening in Sydney, were:

My Name is Pengungsi (Refugee)
Pepera 1969, A Democratic Integration?
Papuan Hip-Hop: When the Microphone Talks
Black Pearl and General of the Field

The first two films were quite harrowing portrayals of internal displacement and coercion in West Papua. My Name is Pengungsi (Refugee) follows the lives and families of two children, both named “refugee”, born and currently being raised in parts of West Papua distant from their families’ places of origin.

Their displacement is clearly correlated with the increased presence of extractive corporate interests backed in and supported by a military presence.

In both children’s cases this has been enabled by the gradual breaking up of the region of West Papua into first two, and now five, separate provinces.

A scene from My Name is Pengungsi (Refugee)

My Name is Pengungsi (Refugee). Video trailer: Jubi TV

The second film, Pepera 1969, A Democratic Integration, deals with the history of oppression and coercion under Indonesian rule and the absurdity of the rubber-stamping process undertaken by Indonesia (the Act of Free Choice, the Indonesian acronym for which is Pepera) which enabled it to annex West Papua under the impotent gaze of the United Nations and the complicit support of countries including the US and Australia.

The film documents the process leading into decolonisation and West Papua’s short-lived period of self-rule.

The second two films were insightful celebrations of Papuan identity in the arts, through hip-hop artists like Ukam Maran and the earlier musical group Mambesak, and in sport, with the incredible story of the Persipura football club of Jayapura.

The latter’s achievements as a football team and subsequent discrimination and suppression in the racially charged Indonesian football league provide an allegory of West Papuan identity.

In both cases, the strength and resilience of West Papuan identity, and West Papuans’ pride in their ancient ties to land and culture, are palpable.

A scene from Papua Hip-Hop: When the microphone talks.

What I liked about the four films was that they presented a montage of West Papua from rural to urban, from the everyday life of internally displaced people to the exciting work of hip-hop artists with their songs of protest; from the big picture and history of West Papua to the smaller microcosm of the Persipura football team and supporters.

All in all, I was surprised how much I came out of the festival better informed about a place, its history and current developments. And this despite having the privilege of knowing more about West Papua than many Australians.

For those who don’t know much about West Papua and would like to know more, attending the West Papua Mini Film Festival is a must. It is on at various locations around Australia until 21 April 2024, with details here.

And to end on a happy note, my evening of film appreciation included meeting one of the festival’s organisers, Victor Mambor. Victor is the nephew of the late Steve Mambor, drummer for the Black Brothers!

West Papua Mini Film Festival 2024, 9-21 April 2024, Wollongong, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Lismore, Hobart, Melbourne, and Darwin.
The films are also available to view with English and Indonesian subtitles on the Jubi TV Youtube channel.

‘Alopi Latukefu is the director of the Edmund Rice Centre. He previously worked for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This review was first published on ANU Development Policy Centre’s DevPolicyBlog and is republished here under Creative Commons.

From Gaza to West Papua, the long struggle for justice and freedom

Pacific Media Watch — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 10:02:48 +0000

ANALYSIS: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report

On my office wall hangs a framed portrait of Shireen Abu Akleh, the inspiring and celebrated American-Palestinian journalist known across the Middle East to watchers of Al Jazeera Arabic, who was assassinated by an Israeli military sniper with impunity.

State murder.

She was gunned down in full blue “press” kit almost two years ago while reporting on a raid in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp, clearly targeted for her influence as a media witness to Israeli atrocities.

READ MORE: The plan is to turn Palestine into a historical footnote so it’s too late to save it

As in the case of all 22 journalists who had been killed by Israeli military until that day, 11 May 2022, nobody was charged.

Now, six months into the catastrophic and genocidal Israeli War on Gaza, some 137 Palestinian journalists have been killed — murdered – by Israeli snipers, or targeted bombs demolishing their homes, and even their families.

Also in my office is pasted a red poster with a bird-of-paradise shaped pen in chains and the legend “Open access for journalists – Free press in West Papua.”

The poster was from a 2017 World Media Freedom Day conference in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, which I attended as a speaker and wrote about. Until this day, there is still no open door for international journalists

Harassed, beaten
Although only one killing of a Papuan journalist is recorded, there have been many instances when local news reporters have been harassed, beaten and threatened – beyond the reach of international media.

Ardiansyah Matra was savagely beaten and his body dumped in the Maro River, Merauke. A spokesperson for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Victor Mambor, said at the time: “‘It’s highly likely that his murder is connected with the terror situation for journalists which was occurring at the time of Ardiansyah’s death.”

Dr David Robie . . . author and advocate. Image: Café Pacific

Frequently harassed himself, Mambor, founder and publisher of Jubi Media, was apparently the target of a suspected bomb attack, or warning, on 23 January 2023, when Jayapura police investigated a blast outside his home in Angkasapura Village.

At first glance, it may seem strange that comparisons are being made between the War on Gaza in the Middle East and the long-smouldering West Papuan human rights crisis in the Asia-Pacific region almost 11,000 km away. But there are several factors at play.

Melanesian and Pacific activists frequently mention both the Palestinian and West Papuan struggles in the same breath. A figure of up to 500,000 deaths among Papuans is often cited as the toll from 1969 when Indonesia annexed the formerly Dutch colony in controversial circumstances under the flawed Act of Free Choice, characterised by critics as the Act of “No” Choice.

The death toll in Gaza after the six-month war on the besieged enclave by Israel is already almost 33,000 (in reality far higher if the unknown number of casualties buried under the rubble is added). Most of the deaths are women and children.

At least 27 children have died of malnutrition so far with numbers expected to rise sharply.

The Palestinian and West Papuan flags flying high at a New Zealand protest against the Gaza genocide in central Auckland. Image: David Robie/APR

Ethnic cleansing
But there are mounting fears that Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the Gazans has no end in sight and the lives of 2.3 million people are at stake.

Both Palestinians and West Papuans see themselves as the victims of violent settler colonial projects that have been stealing their land and destroying their culture under the world’s noses — in the case of Palestine since the Nakba of 1948, and in West Papua since Indonesian paratroopers landed in a botched invasion in 1963.

They see themselves as both confronting genocidal leaders; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose popularity at home sinks by the day with growing protests, and Indonesia’s new President-elect Prabowo Subianto who has an atrocious human rights reputation in both Timor-Leste and West Papua.

And both peoples feel betrayed by a world that has stood by as genocides have been taking place — in the case of Palestine in real time on social media and television screens, and in the case of West Papua slowly over six decades.

Last November, outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo confronted US President Joe Biden on his policies over Gaza, and appealed for Washington to do more to prevent atrocities in Palestine.

Indonesian politicians such as Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi have been quick to condemn Israel, including at the International Court of Justice, but Papuan independence leaders find this hypocritical.

“We have full sympathy for the struggle for justice in Palestine and call for the restoration of peace,” said United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) president Benny Wenda.

Pacific protesters for a Free Palestine in New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. Image: David Robie/APR

‘Where’s Indonesian outrage?’
“But what about West Papua? Where was Indonesia’s outrage after Bloody Paniai [2014], or the Wamena massacre in February?

“Indonesia is claiming to oppose genocide in Gaza while committing their own genocide in West Papua.”

“Over 60 years of genocidal colonial rule, over 500,000 West Papuans have been killed by Indonesian forces.”

Wenda said genocide in West Papua was implemented slowly and steadily through a series of massacres, assassinations and policies, such as the killings of the chair of the Papuan Council Theys Eluay in 2001; Mako Tabuni (2012); and cultural curator and artist Arnold Ap (1984).

He cited many independent international and legal expert reports for his “considered position”, such as Yale University Law School, University of Wollongong, and the Asian Human Rights Commission – The Neglected Genocide.

In the South Pacific, Indonesia is widely seen among civil society, university and community groups as a ruthless aggressor with little or no respect for the Papuan culture.

Jakarta is engaged in an intensive diplomacy campaign in an attempt to counter this perception.

Unarmed Palestinians killed in Gaza – revealing Israel’s “kill zones”. Video: Al Jazeera

Israel’s ‘rogue’ status
But if Indonesia is unpopular in the Pacific over its brutal colonial policies, it is nothing compared to the global “rogue” status of Israel.

In the past few weeks, as atrocity after atrocity pile up and the country’s disregard for international law and United Nations resolutions increasingly shock, supporters appear to be shrinking to its long-term ally the United States and its Five Eyes partners with New Zealand’s coalition government failing to condemn Israel’s war crimes.

On Good Friday — Day 174 of the war – Israel bombed Gaza, Syria and Lebanon on the same day, killing civilians in all three countries.

In the past week, the Israeli military ratcheted up its attacks on the Gaza Strip in defiance of the UN Security Council’s order for an immediate ceasefire, expanded its savage attacks on neighbouring states, and finally withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital after a bloody two-week siege, leaving it totally destroyed with at least 350 patients, staff and displaced people dead.

Fourteen votes against the lone US abstention after Washington had earlier vetoed three previous resolutions produced the decisive ceasefire vote, but the Israeli objective is clearly to raze Gaza and make it uninhabitable.

As The Guardian described the vote, “When Gilad Erdan, the Israeli envoy to the UN, sat before the Security Council to rail against the ceasefire resolution it had just passed, he cut a lonelier figure than ever in the cavernous chamber.”

The newspaper added that the message was clear.

‘Time was up’
“Time was up on the Israeli offensive, and the Biden administration was no longer prepared to let the US’s credibility on the world stage bleed away by defending an Israeli government which paid little, if any, heed to its appeals to stop the bombing of civilian areas and open the gates to substantial food deliveries.”

Al Jazeera interviewed Norwegian physician Dr Mads Gilbert, who has spent long periods working in Gaza, including at al-Shifa Hospital. He was visibly distressed in his reaction, lamenting that the Israeli attack had “destroyed” the 78-year legacy of the Strip’s largest and flagship hospital.

Speaking from Tromso, Norway, he said: “This is such a sad day, I’ve been weeping all morning.”

Dr Gilbert said he did not know the fate of the 107 critical patients who had been moved two days earlier to an older building in the complex.

“The maggots that are creeping out of the corpses in al-Shifa Hospital now,” he said, “are really maggots coming out of the eyes of President Biden and the European Union leaders doing nothing to stop this horrible, horrible genocide.”

Australia-based Antony Loewenstein, the author of The Palestine Laboratory, who has been reporting on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories for two decades, described Israel’s attack on the hospital as the “actions of a rogue state”.

Gaza health officials said Israel was targeting all the hospitals and systematically destroying the medical infrastructure. Only five out of a total of 37 hospitals still had some limited services operating.

Indonesian soldiers gag journalists in West Papua – the cartoon could easily be referring to Gaza where attacks on Palestinian journalists have been systemic with 137 killed so far, by far the biggest journalist death toll in any conflict. Image: ProtetAnakMelanesia/APR

Strike on journalists’ tent
Yesterday, four people were killed and journalists were wounded in an Israeli air strike on a tent in the courtyard of al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

The Israeli military claimed the strike was aimed at a “command centre” operated by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group, but footage screened by Al Jazeera reporter Hind Khoudary clearly showed it was a tent where displaced people were sheltering and journalists and photographers were working.

The Israeli military have killed another photojournalist and editor, Abdel Wahab Awni, when they bombed his home in the Maghazi refugee camp. This took the number of journalists killed since the start of the war to 137, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.

Al Jazeera has revealed that Israel was using “kill zones” for certain combat areas in Gaza. Anybody crossing the “invisible” lines into these zones was shot on sight as a “terrorist”, even if they were unarmed civilians.

The chilling practice was exposed when footage was screened of two unarmed civilians carrying white flags being apparently gunned down and then buried by bulldozer under rubble. A US-based civil rights group described the killings as a “heinous crime”.

The kill zones were confirmed at the weekend by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which said the military had claimed to have killed 9000 “terrorists”, but officials admitted that many of the dead were often civilians who had “crossed the line” of fire.

Call for sanctions
The Israeli peace advocacy group Gush Shalom sent an open letter to all the embassies credited to Israel calling for immediate sanctions against the Israeli government, saying Netanyahu was “flagrantly refusing” to comply with the ceasefire resolution.

“We, citizens of Israel,” said the letter, “are calling on your government to initiate a further meeting of the Security Council, aiming to pass a resolution which would set effective sanctions on Israel — in order to bring about an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip until the end of Ramadan and beyond it.”

A Palestinian-American professor of law Dr Noura Erakat, of Rutgers University, recently told a BBC interviewer that Israel had made its end game very clear from the beginning of the war.

“Israel has made its intent clear. Its war cabinet had made its intent clear. From the very beginning, in the first week of October 7, it told us its goal was to depopulate Gaza.

“They have equated the decimation of Hamas, which they cannot achieve militarily, with the depopulation of the entire Gaza strip.”

A parallel with Indonesia’s fundamentally flawed policies in West Papua. Failing violent settler colonialism.

Papuan journalist award-winner Victor Mambor targeted for his reports

David Robie — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 12:44:00 +0000

By David Robie

When Papuan journalist Victor Mambor visited New Zealand almost nine years ago, he impressed student journalists from the Pacific Media Centre and community activists with his refreshing candour and courage.

As the founder of the Jubi news media group, he remained defiant that he would tell the truth no matter what the risk while facing an oppressive and vindictive regime.

“Journalists need to break down the wall and learn freely about our struggle,” he said in a message to New Zealand media via an interview with Pacific Media Watch.

READ MORE: The Victor Mambor reports at Asia Pacific Report

Now the 49-year-old journalist and editor finds that the risks are growing exponentially as his media network has expanded — with an English language website and Jubi TV becoming add-ons — and the exposure of his networks have also widened.

He writes for the Jakarta Post, Benar News and contributes to international news services. Two years ago he was also co-producer of an award-winning Al Jazeera 101 East documentary about the plunder of West Papuan forests for oil palm plantations.

But last week the timing was impeccable over his latest award, the Oktonianus Pogau Prize for courageous journalism. It came just eight days after a bomb blast had happened in the street outside his Jayapura home.

The blast has been described as a “terror” attack as a warning over his journalism.

Police investigating
Police are investigating but nothing of substance has been reported so far.

Less than two years ago, on 21 May 2021, another (of many) attempts were made to intimidate Mambor — a glass window in his Isuzu car was smashed and the backdoor and lefthand door spray-painted while the vehicle was parked outside his house in Jayapura.

No prosecution, or even an arrest of a suspect.

Police conducting a crime scene investigation in Bak Air Complex, Angkasapura Village, Jayapura City, after the bomb blast on 23 January 2023. Image: Jubi/Dok

“This act of terror and intimidation is clearly a form of violence against journalists and threatens press freedom in Papua and more broadly in Indonesia,” said Lucky Ireeuw, chair of the Jayapura chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) at the time.

Tabloid Jubi coverage of the Oktovianus Pogau award to Victor Mambor. Image: Jubi screenshot APR

“It is strongly suspected that the terrorism suffered by Victor is related to reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a certain party dislikes,” he added without being more specific.

Mambor was actually born at Muara Enim, Sumatra in 1974, the son of Rachmawati Saibuna and John Simon Mambor, a poet from Rasiey, Wondama Bay. His father was also a leader of the Papua Presidium Council and he died as a political prisoner in Jakarta in 2003 at the age of 55.

Presidium chair at the time was chief Theys Eluay, who was murdered by Indonesian soldiers in the following year at Sentani, Papua. Eluay was a colleague of John Mambor.
Victor Mambor often quotes his father, saying: “Be proud of yourselves as Papuans who have never begged in their rich land.”

Pantau citation
The Pantau Foundation began awarding the Pogau prize for courage in journalism in 2017 to honour the bravery of the founder of news media Suara Papua, Oktovianus Pogau.

A Papuan journalist and activist born in Sugapa on 5 August 1992, Pogau died at the age of 23 in Jayapura. The award is given annually to commemorate his bravery.

Pogau reported on violence against hundreds of indigenous Papuans during the Third Papuan Congress in Jayapura in 2011. At the time, three Papuans were killed and five jailed on treason charges — but no Indonesian official was questioned or punished.

A scene from the Al Jazeera investigative documentary Selling Out West Papua in June 2020. Image: Screenshot APR

Frustrated by the fact that hardly any Indonesian news media were reporting these human rights violations, Pogau launched Suara Papua in 2011.

Speaking for the Pantau Foundation, human rights advocate Andreas Harsono delivered this citation in part:

“Victor Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights of indigenous Papuans through journalism — as well as being steadfast in the face of intimidation after intimidation — made the jury agree that he was a courageous journalist.

“Victor Mambor’s name was recently mentioned in the media after a bomb was detonated outside his house on January 23 in Jayapura. Mambor suspected the terror was related to Jubi’s coverage of the murder and mutilation of four indigenous Papuans from Nduga in Timika in October 2022, when four soldiers were charged with “premeditated murder” . . .

“Victor Mambor grew up in Muara Enim until he graduated from SMAN 1. In 1992, he moved to Bandung, where he later worked as a journalist for Pikiran Rakyat daily. In Bandung, he was mentored by Suyatna Anirun, an actor and director from the Bandung Study Theatre Club.

“In 2004, after his father died, young Victor Mambor decided to work as a journalist in Jayapura. He was appointed editor of Jubi, later general manager, expanding into television and using drones.

“On his blog, Victor Mambor posts important texts he created or translated between 2005 and 2017, including the abduction of Papuan children to Java and his criticism [about] Jakarta journalists’ perspectives, which often only talk about Indonesian nationalism and not giving much space for Papuan perspectives.

“In May 2015, Victor Mambor interviewed President Joko Widodo in Merauke about restrictions on foreign journalists entering Papua since 1967. Jokowi replied that all foreign journalists were free to enter Papua without restrictions.

“Ironically, to this day President Jokowi’s statement has not come true. Foreign journalists are still restricted from entering Papua.

“In 2019, together with several journalists in Pacific Island countries, he founded the Melanesian Media Freedom Forum (MMFF).

“Mambor has also increased coverage of the Pacific region through Jubi, a natural thing for Papuan media, as well as working with media outlets such as Radio New Zealand, Solomon Star, Vanuatu Daily Post, Melanesia News, Fiji Times, Islands Business, Cook Islands News, Post-Courier, and Marshall Islands Journal.

“Victor Mambor was one of three co-producers of an investigative video entitled Selling Out West Papua broadcast by Al Jazeera in June 2020. He collaborated with Mongabay, the Gecko Project and the Korea Centre for Investigative Journalism.

“This was about how a South Korean company, Korindo, seized land and destroyed Papua’s forests. The documentary makers received the Wincott Award for video journalism.

“On May 21, 2021, Mambor was intimidated. His car glass was broken, and the door was spray-painted, while parked at night in front of his house in Jayapura. The police have yet to find the perpetrators of this vandalism.

“In September 2021, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, issued an annual report on international cooperation in the field of human rights. Guterres named Victor Mambor as one of five human rights defenders who frequently experienced intimidation, harassment and threats in covering issues in Papua and West Papua provinces.

“Yayasan Pantau calls on the Indonesian police, especially in Papua, to keep Victor Mambor safe, and to find the people who damaged his car and placed a bomb in front of his house.”

Victor Mambor speaking in an “unfree media” documentary on the Jubi website. Image: Screenshot APR

Papua’s Jubi chief editor awarded Indonesian Pogau prize for courage

Pacific Media Watch — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 22:15:46 +0000

RNZ Pacific

Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of the West Papuan newspaper and website Jubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism.

The foundation’s Andreas Harsono said Mambor’s decision to return to his father’s homeland and defend the rights of indigenous Papuans through journalism, as well as being steadfast in the face of “intimidation after intimidation”, made the jury agree he was a courageous journalist.

Late last month a bomb exploded outside Mambor’s home in Jayapura in an apparent planned attack and he has faced other incidents of intimidation.

READ MORE: ‘Terror’ bomb explodes near Papua journalist Victor Mambor’s home
— Pacific Media Watch
Victor Mambor wins Oktovianus Pogau Award for courage in journalism — Bahasa Indonesian
Activists hail life jail sentence for army major over brutal Papuan killings
Other Victor Mambor reports

Mambor suspected it was related to Jubi’s coverage of the murder and mutilation of four indigenous Papuans in October 2022, which led to four soldiers being charged with “premeditated murder”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Papuan journalist Victor Mambor says bomb attack likely due to his reporting

Pacific Media Watch — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 09:19:31 +0000

Pacific Media Watch

A prominent Papuan journalist has said a recent bombing near his home is the latest in a string of attacks against him, reports ABC Pacific Beat.

Victor Mambor said he heard motorbikes ride past his home before a bomb exploded about 3 metres from his house on Monday.

He suspects his attackers wished to scare him.

“It’s not the first time, I have had more threats before,” Mambor said.

“They broke my my car, they threatened me through SMS texts and WhatsApp messenger.”

Mambor, editor of the Papuan news website Jubi, suspects the work he has done reporting on Indonesian-ruled West Papua has led to these threats.

“I think they think I’m a journalist who supports the West Papua freedom movement,” he said.

Presenter: Prianka Srinivasan

‘Terror’ bomb explodes near Papua journalist Victor Mambor’s home

Pacific Media Watch — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 01:25:58 +0000

By Dandy Koswaraputra and Pizaro Gozali Idrus

A veteran journalist known for covering rights abuses in Indonesia’s militarised Papua region says a bomb exploded outside his home yesterday and a journalists group has called it an act of “intimidation” threatening press freedom.

No one was injured in the blast near his home in the provincial capital Jayapura, said Victor Mambor, editor of Papua’s leading news website Jubi, who visited New Zealand in 2014.

Police said they were investigating the explosion and that no one had yet claimed responsibility.

“Yes, someone threw a bomb,” Papua Police spokesperson Ignatius Benny told Benar News. “The motive and perpetrators are unknown.”

The Jayapura branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) condemned the explosion as a “terrorist bombing”.

In Sydney, the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) and Pacific Media Watch in New Zealand protested over the incident and called for a full investigation.

Mambor said he heard the sound of a motorcycle at about 4 am and then an explosion about a minute later.

‘Shook like earthquake’
“It was so loud that my house shook like there was an earthquake,” he told Benar News as reported by Radio Free Asia.

“I also checked the source of the explosion and smelt sulfur coming from the side of the house.”

The explosion left a hole in the road, he said.

The incident was not the first to occur outside Mambor’s home. In April 2021, windows were smashed and paint sprayed on his car in the middle of the night.

Tabloid Jubi editor Victor Mambor being interviewed by Pacific Media Watch’s Anna Majavu during the first visit by a Papuan journalist to New Zealand in 2014. Image: Del Abcede/PMW

Mambor is also an advocate for press freedom in Papua. In that role, he has criticised Jakarta’s restrictions on the media in Papua, as well as its other policies in his troubled home province.

The AJI awarded Mambor its press freedom award in August 2022, saying that through Jubi, “Victor brings more voices from Papua, amid domination of information that is biased, one-sided and discriminatory.”

“AJI in Jayapura strongly condemns the terrorist bombing and considers this an act of intimidation that threatens press freedom in Papua,” it said in a statement.

‘Voice the truth’ call
“AJI Jayapura calls on all journalists in the land of Papua to continue to voice the truth despite obstacles. Justice should be upheld even though the sky is falling,” said AJI chair Lucky Ireeuw.

Amnesty International Indonesia urged the police to find those responsible.

“The police must thoroughly investigate this incident, because this is not the first time … meaning there was an omission that made the perpetrators feel free to do it again, to intimidate and threaten journalists,” Amnesty’s campaign manager in Indonesia, Nurina Savitri, told BenarNews.

The Papua region, located at the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, has been the site of a decades-old pro-independence insurgency where both government security forces and rebels have been accused of committing atrocities against civilians.

Foreign journalists have been largely barred from the area, with the government insisting it could not guarantee their safety. Indonesian journalists allege that officials make their work difficult by refusing to provide information.

The armed elements of the independence movement have stepped up lethal attacks on Indonesian security forces, civilians and targets such as construction of a trans-Papua highway that would make the Papuan highlands more accessible.

Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, has accused Indonesian security forces of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and mass forced displacement in Papua.

Security forces kill 36
Last month, Indonesian activist group KontraS said 36 people were killed by security forces and pro-independence rebels in the Papua and West Papua provinces in 2022, an increase from 28 in 2021.

In Sydney, Joe Collins of the AWPA said in a statement: “These acts of intimidation against local journalists in West Papua threaten freedom of the press.

“It is the local media in West Papua that first report on human rights abuses and local journalists are crucial in reporting information on what is happening in West Papua”.

Collins said Canberra remained silent on the issue — ‘the Australian government is very selective in who it criticises over their human rights record.”

There was no problem raising concerns about China or Russia over their record, “but Canberra seems to have great difficulty in raising the human rights abuses in West Papua with Jakarta.”

Republished from Radio Free Asia with additional reporting by Pacific Media Watch.

Victor Mambor as an advocate for media freedom in West Papua. Image: AWPA

Papuan journalist Victor Mambor wins Udin Award for ‘dedicated journalism’

Pacific Media Watch — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:35:17 +0000

Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

The co-founder of Tabloid Jubi, Victor Mambor has been presented with the 2022 Udin Award from Indonesia’s Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) during the organisation’s 28th-anniversary celebration.

Mambor is an indigenous Papuan journalist who has dedicated his life for decades to the field of journalism.

The Udin Award — presented last month — is AJI’s annual prize to promote press freedom and freedom of expression in Indonesia.

Through it, AJI seeks to recognise journalists (individuals and groups), who are dedicated to the field of journalism, and become victims of physical or psychological violence because of their journalistic activities.

Mambor, who is also a former chair of AJI Jayapura, is often reported as the leader and planner of public demonstrations against the government, although there is no evidence for the accusations.

In addition, Mambor has also often experienced digital violence and the destruction of personal property.

Last year, for example, Mambor’s vehicle was deliberately damaged by an unknown person. Prior to that, his social media was also doxed, and his personal data was exposed.

Laying the foundations
Even so, Victor Mambor and Jubi continue to lay the foundations and principles of journalism in their journalistic works.

“This award certainly reminds us again that intimidation, criminalisation, physical, verbal and digital violence against journalists like what was experienced by Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin (Udin), the owner of this award, still exists today and we are still fighting for a free press,” Mambor said after receiving the award last month.

The UN Human Rights Council in September 2021 called him a humanitarian and a rights activist who faced threats, harassment and intimidation for his reporting on West Papua, including reporting to UN human rights mechanisms, and for attending UN meetings for which they were questioned by security forces.

His name was raised among other human rights defenders in the Indonesia section of the report published by the UN. The report contains references to five cases of criminalisation and intimidation against human rights defenders working in or about West Papua

The Udin Award was taken from the pen name of the journalist for the Bernas Daily, Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, who died on 16 August 1996 in Yogyakarta after being attacked by two unknown assailants.

Udin was persecuted and intimidated because of the news he wrote on 13 August 1996. To date, the case has not been thoroughly investigated and his killer was not identified.

Indonesian police question Victor Mambor during an investigation. Image: AJI

Seven nominations
In 2022, AJI received seven nominations for the Udin Award. The proposals were assessed by a jury of three members.

One jury member, Bambang Muryanto, said that it was not easy for a journalist to maintain his professionalism and independence in an area of armed conflict.

Especially when the situation in the area was similar to martial law without official government recognition.

“The safety of himself and his family is at stake. The very difficult location conditions are also a challenge to present comprehensive news that does not violate journalistic ethics,” said Bambang.

Researchers warn of growing potential for mass killings in Papua region

APR editor — Sat, 23 Jul 2022 08:35:22 +0000

By Victor Mambor and Alvin Prasetyo in Jayapura

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum is warning in a new report that mass killings of civilians could occur in Indonesia’s troubled West Papua region in the next year to 18 months if current conditions deteriorate to a worst-case scenario.

Although large-scale violence against civilians is not occurring yet in Papua, early warning signs are visible and warrant attention, says the report, titled “Don’t Abandon Us: Preventing Mass Atrocities in Papua.”

The museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide published the 45-page report this week authored by an Indonesian, Made Supriatma, who conducted field research in the region.

READ MORE: Other West Papua human rights reports

“Indonesia ranks 27th on the list of countries with risks of mass atrocities. This report should be considered as an early warning,” Supriatma said.

A combination of factors — increasing rebel attacks, better coordination and organisation of pro-independence civilian groups, and the ease of communication — makes it plausible that the unrest could reach a new level in the next 12-18 months, the report said.

“If political and social unrest persist, and if it were to spread across the region, it is possible that the Indonesian government could determine that the scale or persistence of the protests would justify a more severe response, which could lead to large-scale killing of civilians,” it said.

The risks are rooted in factors such as past mass atrocities in Indonesia, the exclusion of indigenous Papuans from political decision-making, Jakarta’s failure to address their grievances and conflicts over the exploitation of the region’s resources, according to the report.

Human rights abuses
Other factors include Papuans’ resentment over Jakarta’s failure to hold accountable security personnel implicated in human rights abuses and conflict between indigenous Papuans and migrants from other parts of Indonesia over economic, political, religious, and ideological issues, it said.

Under one scenario that the report envisions, pro-Jakarta Papuan militia, backed by the military and police, commit mass atrocities against pro-independence Papuans.

But such a scenario depends on indigenous Papuan groups remaining divided into pro-Jakarta and pro-independence groups, it said. The other scenario involves Indonesian migrants and Indonesian security forces committing atrocities against indigenous Papuans, the study said.

“Don’t Abandon Us”: Preventing mass atrocities in Papua, Indonesia. Image: EWP cover

The report recommends that the government improve freedom of information and monitoring atrocity risks, manage conflicts through nonviolent means, and address local grievances and drivers of conflict.

Supriatma said indigenous Papuans he spoke to as part of his research confirmed that real and perceived discrimination had fueled an “us-against-them” mentality between indigenous Papuans and Indonesians.

Papua, on the western side of New Guinea Island, has been the scene of a low-level pro-independence insurgency since the mainly Melanesian region was incorporated into Indonesia in a United Nations-administered ballot in the late 1960s.

In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua — like Indonesia, a former Dutch colony — and annexed the region.

Only 1025 people voted in the UN-sponsored referendum in 1969 that locals and activists said was a sham, but the United Nations accepted the result, essentially endorsing Jakarta’s rule.

‘Not based on facts’
An expert at the Indonesian presidential staff office, Theofransus Litaay, questioned the study’s validity.

“There’s something wrong in the identification of research questions. The author extrapolated events in East Timor to his research,” he said, referring to violence by pro-Jakarta militias before and after East Timor’s vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

“It’s not based on the facts on the ground,” he said, without elaborating.

Gabriel Lele, a senior researcher with the Papuan Task Force at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said the report was based on limited data.

“It is true that there has been an escalation of violence, but the main perpetrators are the OPM [Free Papua Movement] and the victims have been civilians, soldiers and police,” lele said.

He said rebels had also attacked indigenous Papuans who did not support the pro-independence movement.

Violence has intensified in Papua since 2018, when pro-independence rebels attacked workers who were building roads and bridges in Nduga regency, killing 20 people, including an Indonesian soldier.

Suspected rebels killed civilians
In the latest violence, suspected rebels gunned down 10 civilians, mostly non-indigenous Papuans, and wounded two others on July 16.

A local rebel commander from the OPM’s armed wing, Egianus Kogoya, claimed responsibility.

“We suspect they were spies, so we shot them dead on the spot,” the Media Indonesia newspaper quoted him as saying on Monday.

The attack in Nduga regency came a little more than two weeks after legislators voted to create three new provinces in Papua amid opposition from indigenous people and rebel groups.

In March this year, insurgents killed eight workers who were repairing a telecommunications tower in Beoga, a district of Puncak regency.

No desire to address racism
Reverend Dr Benny Giay, a member of the Papua Church Council, said Jakarta had not shown a desire to address racism against Papuans, who are ethnically Melanesian, and instead branded pro-independence groups terrorists.

“Authorities allow arms trade between armed groups and members of the TNI [military] and police, which perpetuates the violence and in the end can have fatal consequences for the indigenous people,” Dr Giay said.

The influx of migrants from other parts of Indonesia has created inter-communal tensions and conflicts over regional governance, analysts said.

Indigenous people are concerned that a massive project to build a trans-Papua highway, as part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s drive to boost infrastructure, could lead to economic domination by outsiders and the presence of more troops, said Cahyo Pamungkas, a researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

“The road will mainly benefit non-Papuans, and indigenous people will benefit little economically because they are not ready to be involved in the economic system that the government wants to build,” Cahyo said.

Republished from Benar News. Co-author Victor Mambor is editor-in-chief of the indigenous Papuan newspaper and website Jubi.

Papua region hosts Indonesia’s national games amid rise in independence struggle

APR editor — Sun, 03 Oct 2021 23:50:50 +0000

By Victor Mambor in Jayapura

A major national sports event opened in Papua at the weekend, with officials hoping it will showcase the Indonesian government’s commitment to developing the province and reassure the public that the region is safe despite an active and escalating pro-independence insurgency.

The National Games, an event held once every four years, were scheduled to take place last year but were postponed because of the covid-19 pandemic.

The games opened on Saturday and run until October 15 in Jayapura, the provincial capital, and three regencies.

READ MORE: Other West Papua news reports

Billy Mambrasar, a Papua-born adviser to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, said the government hoped the games would help boost the economy of the deeply impoverished region.

“The National Games in Papua, as Pak Jokowi hopes, will be successful not only in terms of sporting events and organisation, but also in creating a multiplier effect,” he told reporters.

Mambrasar said he had travelled across Papua to ensure that Papuan small businesses were involved in organising the games.

Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali said the people of Papua were already benefitting economically from the games.

‘Economic impact’
“It has brought an economic impact on the communities,” Zainudin said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

“People sell T-shirts and souvenirs. Moreover, the situation here is under control.”

Papua won the right to host the games in 2014, outbidding Bali and Aceh provinces. A total of 7039 athletes and officials have descended on Papua for the country’s biggest sporting event, in which competitors are competing for medals in 56 sports.

The games are being held at venues in Jayapura City and three regencies – Jayapura, Merauke and Mimika. Some events, including esports, began last week.

The director of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) expressed optimism that the games would proceed without incident, saying the insurgency was “hundreds of kilometers away”.

“The military and police have taken necessary security precautions, so we are optimistic that all events will go well,” Boy Rafli Amar said in a video interview with detik.com.

More than 21,000 police and soldiers had been “deployed to prevent any security and public order disturbances,” national police chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said.

‘Safe and smooth’ hope
“What we hope is that the games will run safely and smoothly, while covid-19 remains under control,” Listyo told reporters after visiting sport venues in Papua on Thursday.

The areas where the games are being held are generally peaceful. But violence linked to the insurgency has broken out in other parts of the region that comprises Papua and West Papua provinces, and which makes up the western half of New Guinea Island.

In September, suspected rebels set fire to public buildings, including a health clinic and an elementary school in Kiwirok district, after security forces killed an insurgent during a gunfight, police said.

A 22-year-old nurse died after falling into a ravine while trying to flee the scene of the attack. One of her colleagues survived after being stabbed.

A policeman and a soldier were also killed in clashes with rebels.

The insurgency has simmered for decades in the Papua region, but violence has intensified in the past three years.

In April, the government designated pro-independence rebels as “terrorists” after insurgents ambushed and assassinated an army general who headed the regional branch of the National Intelligence Agency. The killing prompted Jokowi to order a crackdown.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who will officially inaugurate the National Games, buys Nokens – traditional Papuan bags – from a craftswoman in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia, Oct. 1, 2021. [Courtesy President Joko Widodo’s official Facebook account]

The Lukas Enembe Stadium – named after the governor of Papua province – and the Papuan National Games complex in Jayapura. Image: Tribun News

Some local businesses unhappy
Jayapura Regent Mathius Awoitauw said the games could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“The National Games are a matter of pride for Papuans, because it is extraordinary to have been entrusted to host it,” he said.

But some local businesses, including members of the Chamber of Papuan Indigenous Entrepreneurs (KAPP) and the Papuan Coffee Community, said they had been left out.

“We have had several meetings with the games’ organisers but there has been no progress,” Meky Wetipo, KAPP’s executive director, told BenarNews.

“We hope that they can entrust us with providing 3 tonnes of skipjack tuna, several tonnes of carrots, and fruit. But all these things are being done by government agencies.”

Denny Yigibalom, a coffee farmer and owner of the TIYOM coffee brand, said he had met with local lawmakers to discuss cooperation between coffee farmers and the games’ organisers, but there had been no further communication.

Makers of noken, traditional Papuan bags, said they were disappointed not to have been enlisted to provide souvenirs for the games, said Cintya Warwe, the manager of the Papua Women’s Market.

Noken purchase promise
“During a meeting at the end of August with the women of the Meepago noken community, the women complained because the organisers had promised to buy 5000 nokens. But this has not happened,” Cintya told BenarNews.

She said she heard news that the games’ committee wanted to buy 25,000 fake nokens from outside Papua to be used as mementoes.

However, some indigenous small businesses are taking part in the events by setting up tents to sell handicrafts outside the new Lukas Enembe Stadium, which cost nearly $1 million to build and is named after the serving governor of Papua.

Individual residents have also been allowed to set up stalls outside the stadium and sell handicrafts and betel or areca nuts, which are traditionally consumed raw by Papuans and people in neighboring Papua New Guinea.

In Merauke, women from the Marind tribe are selling handicrafts, including bags, hats, wallets, bracelets, necklaces, and bows along the city streets.

“Sales are worth up to 3 million rupiah (U.S. $210) a day. Bags, wallets and hats are the most popular. Most of the buyers are contingents from outside Papua,” said Maria D. Keimawu, leader of a small businesses association.

Covid-19 concerns
The provincial government, meanwhile, has taken measures to prevent the spread of covid-19 during the games, including by ramping up vaccinations and limiting the number of people who can enter the main stadium to fewer than 10,000, officials said.

“Gatherings of large numbers of people, even with strict health protocols, should be cause for concern,” said Masdalina Pane, a member of the Indonesian Association of Epidemiologists.

She said cases spiked after the recently completed Tokyo Olympics and the European football championship.

Yunus Wonda, the games’ chief organiser, said more than 50 percent of people in the areas that host the games had received at least on dose of a vaccine.

“We will make sure that everyone entering the venue have been vaccinated, that’s the main requirement,” he said, referring to the opening ceremony at the Lukas Enembe Stadium.

Victor Mambor is editor of Tabloid Jubi and a contributor to Asia Pacific Report.

Tabloid Jubi journalist Victor Mambor ‘terrorised’ over Papua reports

Pacific Media Watch — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 10:48:13 +0000

By Reza Gunadha and Chyntia Sami Bhayangkara in Jayapura

Victor Mambor, journalist and editor of the Papua-based Tabloid Jubi, has become the target of a terrorist act this week.

A car that he owns which was parked on the road near his home in the Papuan capital of Jayapura was vandalised by unknown individuals between 12 midnight and 2am on Wednesday, April 21.

The windscreen of Mambor’s Isuzu Double Cabin DMax was smashed by a blunt object. The rear and left-side windows were also damaged by a sharp instrument.

READ MORE: Other Asia Pacific Report articles on West Papua media issues

Journalist Victor Mambor on a visit to New Zealand’s Pacific Media Centre in 2014. Image: Del Abcede

The left-side front and back doors were also spray painted with orange paint.

The Jayapura branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) chairperson, Lucky Ireeuw, suspects that the vandalism act was committed over reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a “certain party” disliked.

Tabloid Jubi and its website are known for consistently presenting the public with reports on human rights violations in Papua.

“This act of terror and intimidation is clearly a form of violence against journalists and threatens press freedom in Papua and more broadly in Indonesia,” said Ireeuw in a press release on Thursday, April 22.

‘Terrorism suffered’
“It is strongly suspected that the terrorism suffered by Victor is related to reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a certain party dislikes.”

Prior to the vandalism of his car, Mambor has suffered a series of attacks.

“Digital attacks, doxing, and disseminating a flyer on social media the content of which painted Tabloid Jubi and Victor Mambor in a bad light, playing people off against each other and threats of criminal attacks on the media and Victor personally,” Ireeuw said giving examples of the attacks.

The incident has already been reported to the authorities and Ireeuw is calling on the police to immediately investigate and arrest the perpetrators.

Ireeuw slammed the attack against Mambor and Tabloid Jubi and urged whoever committed it to stop such actions immediately.

“We appeal to all parties to respect the work of journalists and respect press freedom in the land of Papua,” he said.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Victor Mambor, Jurnalis Tabloid Jubi Papua Jadi Korban Aksi Teror”.

Papuan residents fearful as Indonesian military buildup still grows

APR editor — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 07:08:13 +0000

By Victor Mambor in Jayapura

Calm has yet to return to Nduga regency in Indonesia’s Papua province where pro-independence rebels killed 19 construction workers in December, forcing residents to flee to escape clashes between the insurgents and government security forces.

Soldiers and police launched an operation code-named “Operasi Nemangkawi” to capture those allegedly responsible in the killings of workers who were building the Trans-Papua Highway.

Regional military spokesman Colonel Muhamad Aidi said no arrests have been made so far.

“We have been focusing on restoring security, protecting citizens and displaced people,” Aidi said.

Meanwhile, fears abound that more violence could erupt.

“We are afraid to return to our village because there are still soldiers and police,” Usman Lokbere, an Nduga resident who fled to Wamena, the main town in Jayawijaya regency, said.

In addition to efforts to capture the suspected killers, the military sent 600 soldiers to Nduga last week to resume the construction of bridges as part of the highway that stretches more than 4300 km from Sorong, the largest city in West Papua province, to Merauke regency, and is scheduled to be completed in 2019.

Provide security
“The TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) personnel are currently on their way to Timika, then to Nduga,” said Osman Marbun, head of the Jayapura National Road Development Center (BBPJN).

The soldiers, based in the capital of South Sulawesi province, will provide security while working on the construction project, according to a military official.

“The 600 TNI personnel will be deployed around the Trans-Papua road, between Wamena and Mumugu,” regional military chief Major-General Yosua Pandit Sembiring said.

The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), claimed responsibility for the killings, alleging that the people they killed were soldiers from the military’s engineering detachment, and not civilian workers.

Three TNI soldiers were also killed in a further clash with West Papuan militants in the Nduga regency on Thursday, reports The Jakarta Post.

Construction on parts of the highway has been stalled for months, but President Joko Widodo has vowed to finish the project as part of his promise to develop the resource-rich area.

Military criticised
Papuan House of Representatives member Laurens Kadepa criticised the military’s move, saying sending reinforcements was not a solution and would only add to the climate of fear.

“Indonesia is being watched closely by the international community, global church councils and even the United Nations due to the ongoing violence in Papua, but the central government still maintains the practice of violence,” he said.

“The spotlight (on Indonesia) should have prompted the government to reform security measures in Papua,” he said.

Human rights activist Peneas Lokbere said sending hundreds of soldiers contradicted claims by authorities that security had been restored in Nduga and that residents had returned to their villages.

“If indeed the situation in Nduga is peaceful, why is the TNI sending reinforcements? That will only prolong people’s trauma,” he said.

Nduga resident Raga Kogoya called the decision to send more troops unfair.

“We are only a few, why must we continue to be subjected to security operations,” Raga Kogoya said.

Providing food
Daniel Kogoya, spokesman for the Nduga Regency Regional Secretariat, said the local government remains focused on providing food and health care to residents who were uprooted from their homes by the violence.

“Many people are still displaced. They have little food to eat and their health is deteriorating,” Daniel Kogoya said. “Displaced children have been unable to attend classes while exams are approaching.”

Papua is one of the archipelago’s poorest regions despite its rich natural resources. It declared independence from Dutch colonial rule on December 1, 1961, but that was rejected by the Netherlands and later by Indonesia.

In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded the region and annexed it, and six years later held a controversial referendum in which, according to human rights groups, security forces selected slightly more than 1000 people to agree to the region’s formal absorption into the archipelagic nation.

By Victor Mambor is editor of Tabloid Jubi and this report by him for Benar News is republished by the Pacific Media Centre with permission.

Three TNI soldiers killed in clash

New military counter-terrorism unit arrests 5 West Papuans, says Jubi

APR editor — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 06:45:09 +0000

By Victor Mambor in Jayapura

Five civilians in Timika have reportedly been arrested by the newly reactivated military counter-terrorism unit for “aspiring” to West Papuan independence.

“At 10pm on Saturday June 9, Orpa Wanjomal (40) and his stepchild Polce Sugumol (31) were arrested at their home in the SP 2 [housing unit] in Timika,” United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) spokesperson Jakob Rumbiak said yesterday.

“Five hours later, at 3am in the morning, on Sunday June 10, Titus Kwalik was arrested at the SP 10.

“At the same time Julianus Dekme (31) and Alosius Ogolmagai (49) were arrested at Julianus’ house at the SP 6. The five civilians were arrested for aspiring to Papuan independence.”

Rumbiak said that the Joint Special Operations Command (Koopssusgab) was involved in the arrests. The Koopssusgab is a joint military counter-terrorism unit, which was recently reactivated in concert with revisions to the Anti-Terrorism Law, and is under the direct authority of Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Commando unit
The commando unit, according to House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I chairperson Abdul Kharis Almasyhari, was formed to assist in dealing with terrorism under certain conditions if the national police request assistance.

According to Almasyhari, under the revisions to the 2003 Anti-Terrorism Law, which were enacted on May 25, there are additional regulations which make it more comprehensive, including the possibility of involving the TNI (Indonesian military) under certain conditions.

“However the Koopssusgab apparently can’t be formed yet because they don’t have a core budget yet,” said Almasyhari.

Nevertheless, the ULMWP is sure that the arrests were carried out by Koopssusgab.

“The use of the special military anti-terrorist force against West Papuan civilians is irresponsible and morally wrong”, said Rumbiak.

The West Papuan people were not terrorists, and had never carried out terrorist acts, unlike Indonesian terrorists or extremists.

The West Papuan people’s right to self-determination is guaranteed under the Indonesian Constitution, the United Nations Human Rights Charter, UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 (1960), the UN Convention on Civil and Political Rights (2007) and UN General Assembly Resolution 1752 Chapters XVII and XII.

Tabloid Jubi has attempted to contact Mimika District Police Chief Assistant Superintendent Agung Marlianto via WhatsApp for clarification of the alleged arrests. As of posting this article however, Marlianto has not responded.

Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the article was “ULMWP: 5 warga sipil Timika ditangkap karena aspirasi Papua Merdeka”. Victor Mambor is editor of Tabloid Jubi.

More West Papuan stories

Wansolwara student journos report on West Papua human rights struggle

Wansolwara — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 09:27:25 +0000

By Vilimaina Naqelevuki in Suva

Media access to West Papua, where more than half a million of its indigenous people have reportedly been killed over five decades, remains restricted.

Full support … West Papuan Independence leader Benny Wenda (in red shirt) holds the banned West Papuan Morning Star flag with key supporter Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare during his visit last year. Image: bennywenda.org

News coverage of the alleged genocide is extremely difficult because of the restrictions on local and foreign media.

Some West Papuan journalists have also died in their effort to tell the truth about the deaths that largely occur in remote rural areas.

This makes news coverage of the alleged atrocities in the Indonesia-occupied land extremely difficult.

West Papuan independence leader Benny Wenda, in an online interview, told Wansolwara the restrictions allowed for the atrocities to remain “silenced”.

And even if access was granted after the labyrinthine effort, “journalists cannot go freely to report on politics in West Papua,” he said.

“They will get followed and questioned by Indonesian intelligence and West Papuans will suffer intimidation and threats if they speak to journalists.”

Recent prominence
Papua New Guinea Media Council president Alexander Rheeney said West Papua’s struggle of more than 50 years had only been given prominence in the region’s mainstream media in recent years.

Papua New Guinean journalist Alexander Rheeney, who is also president of the PNG Media Council. Image: PNG Media Council

Less than 10 years ago, the mainstream news media – in neighbouring countries like Fiji, Australia and New Zealand, ignored the situation in West Papua. It was effectively a media “black hole”.

Rheeney said it was more challenging for Pacific journalists whose governments recognised the sovereignty Indonesia had over West Papua.

“The media in PNG have reported on West Papua and all the human rights abuses but not as much as we would want it to despite the fact that PNG and West Papua share a land order,” he said.

The increasing coverage by Pacific news media should be commended, said journalism educator Professor David Robie.

Professor David Robie speaking at the Free Media in West Papua seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia, last month. Image: Alves Fonataba/PMC

Dr Robie, director of the Auckland-based Pacific Media Centre, who has regularly written and published news on West Papua’s struggle for more than three decades, said it was a huge relief that the Pacific was “finally waking up to the issue of West Papua”.

“This an issue of Melanesian solidarity, Pacific solidarity – an issue of self-determination, and the Pacific countries that got independence on a plate ought to be telling this story,” he said.

Jakarta media freedom conference
Dr Robie was one of the keynote speakers invited last month to the Free Media in West Papua forum at the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2017 conference in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

He spoke along with Indonesian and Papuan human rights activists and Tabloid Jubi editor Victor Mambor of Jayapura.

Pacific Freedom Forum editor Jason Brown said it was an utter disgrace that some in mainstream media published or broadcast stories on wars from other regions and “not in our own backyard”.

“In recent years, RNZI has done a much better job of covering West Papua. The recent closure of shortwave services by Radio Australia, however, means that the region has lost reliable access to news on West Papua from that source,” said Brown.

Rheeney warned that the region could not afford to fail fellow Pacific Islanders of West Papua.

He said to do so would be to doom the Pacific region to more instability.

“If a prosperous Pacific region is to be ensured, the issue of West Papua must be addressed,” he said.

Timor-Leste lessons
“As journalists we can no longer continue to turn a blind eye on all the human rights abuses that is happening.

“The PNG government can no longer turn a blind eye on what is happening on the other side of the border.”

Dr Robie said that informed political decisions could not be reached if the news media were not allowed to report freely on West Papua.

He said this lesson could easily be drawn from East-Timor’s road to independence.

East Timor, which was also occupied by Indonesia in 1975, secured its independence after a handful of journalists exposed the human rights violations through video smuggled out of the Indonesian-ruled territory, especially after the Santa Cruz massacre in the capital Dili in 1991.

Indonesia’s control rapidly fell apart after international pressure.

“In-depth and timely media coverage will save lives as West Papua lurches towards independence — which will come eventually — no matter how hard Jakarta tries to block this,” said Dr Robie.

Rheeney is also optimistic. He said Pacific journalists should continue to report on the issue, to keep the struggle in the news so that lasting solutions were found sooner and more bloodshed is prevented.

Vilimaina Naqelevuki is a final year journalism student with the USP Journalism Programme. Naqelevuki is pursuing a double major in journalism and politics, and is pictures editor of Wansolwara, the student news publication produced by the Journalism Programme.

Indonesia faces chance to prove it is more ‘journalist-friendly’ in 2017

Pacific Media Watch — Thu, 15 Dec 2016 23:22:36 +0000

By Colette Davidson

When journalist and media activist Victor Mambor wants information from inside Papua, Indonesia, he knows how to get it — he has to ask someone who isn’t Papuan.

“I’m Papuan so when something happens, I ask the police about it but they don’t give me an answer,” says Mambor. “My friend, who isn’t Papuan, can ask the same thing and get an answer.”

The situation epitomises how Mambor has had to operate in order to fill the pages of his Papuan-based newspaper, Jubi.

“If you want to be a real journalist in Papua and committed to ethics, it’s very hard, from the reporting to the salary,” says Mambor. “There’s a double standard for Papuan journalists and a lot of discrimination.”

The Indonesian government has used the long-standing conflict in Papua to justify implementing harsh rules in the region, offering limited opportunities and restricted access to journalists. While authorities may withhold information from local Papuan journalists — who are identified by their family name or physical characteristics — foreign journalists have little chance of even accessing the region.

But while the lack of access to Papua means that coverage of the region remains limited, some say that the coming year will be a test for Indonesia as it gets set to host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day celebrations on May 3, 2017.

Many Papuan journalists say they are fed up with the censorship, self-censorship and dangers that go along with reporting from and about the region and they are ready to let the world know.

Human rights abuses
Papua and West Papua have a long-standing history of human rights abuses, ever since the Free Papua Movement (OPM) began its low-level guerrilla war against the Indonesian state in the 1960s. Since then, West Papuans have protested for independence, accusing the Indonesian government of violence and abuses of freedom of expression.

In an attempt to mask the suppression of Papuan nationalism, the Indonesian government has long made outside access to Papua a challenge.

For journalists who do tackle the task of reporting on Papua, the primary focus is often related to the environment, with topics on resource extraction or corruption — topics very difficult and dangerous to report on.

Recently, the Indonesian government looked ready to open access to Papua, when President Joko Widodo made an announcement in May 2015 stating that the government would lift restrictions on foreign media access. But Phelim Kine, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch in New York, says that the announcement hasn’t pulled much weight.

“It was never followed up by any written decree, so while it was a rhetorical opening to Papua, foreign media still can’t get in,” says Kine. “And if they do get in, they’re subject to surveillance and harassment that makes effective reporting very difficult.”

Kine says journalists routinely self-censor material, and that the Indonesian government and security forces in Papua often place informers into media organisations to monitor and influence coverage. At other times, an intelligence operative will be required to follow a journalist into the region, restricting what they can report on and how sources offer testimony.

The result is that little or no coverage exists about the realities inside Papua, where civilians — especially in remote areas — are victims of civil, social and economic rights violations.

Stolen land
Many in the region have no access to health or education services, or risk having their land stolen by the police or military. Because of their isolation, they have no one to whom they can report the violations.

But as much as authorities within Papua have tried to censor incriminating material, much of the news that comes out of the region remains negative, says Lina Nursanty, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers’ (WAN-IFRA) Indonesian Media Freedom Committee chair and a West Java-based freelance editor.

“Whenever we hear anything about Papua, it’s always about a tribal war or human rights abuses,” says Nursanty. “The news we get from there is always violent.”

As hosts of next year’s UNESCO World Press Freedom Day celebrations, Indonesia has the challenging task of convincing the world that it deserves to act as a platform for media freedom.

Nursanty says that while attending last year’s Press Freedom Day event in Helsinki, she joined a meeting with the Indonesian ambassador, where the discussion of Papua was at the top of the agenda.

“The Indonesian Press Council representative said that our biggest homework for next year is press freedom in Papua,” says Nursanty.

The Indonesian press council is currently creating a press freedom index for each region. And while the country’s overall index is improving, many Papuan journalists say it is not enough.

World Press Freedom Day
Mambor says that at next year’s World Press Freedom Day, he is willing to expose the truth about Papua, even if it puts his personal safety at risk.

“We need to take the opportunity to tell the world about what’s happening in Papua,” says Mambor. “We need to say how we are not granted freedom of the press and about the discrimination there. I’m already past paranoia. I’ll talk about what’s going on. I’m not worried. Sometimes you have to take the risk.”

The WAN-IFRA Indonesia Media Freedom Committee is organising a joint reporting trip to Papua at the beginning of 2017. The initiative will see 10 Indonesian media organisations provide a week of joint coverage from the region, working with local Papuan journalists to shift the national news agenda and provide more detailed coverage of issues of importance to Papuans.