The blast occurred in the courtyard of St Paul’s Church, Intan Jaya Regency, shortly after Sunday Mass. The injured are all civilians from the local community. Indonesian authorities have not yet clarified the origin of the device, delivered by a drone, nor identified those responsible. Meanwhile, fighting between separatists and Indonesian forces intensifies.
Jayapura (AsiaNews) – An explosive device, likely dropped by a drone, exploded yesterday, 17 May, in the courtyard of St Paul’s Nabuni Mbamogo Catholic Church, in the remote Intan Jaya region of Central Papua, injuring four civilians who were leaving the place of worship after Sunday Mass.
The area is part of Bilogai Parish, Sugapa District. Many worshippers were still gathered outside the church when the attack occurred.
According to local media outlet Suara Papua, the four victims – Pit Pogau (30), Robert Nabelau (35), Pius Pogau and Piter Nabelau were hit by shrapnel, which embedded in the bodies of the first two. All four were in the church courtyard at the time of the attack.
Bilogai Parish’s pastoral team, led by Father Yanuarius Yance Yogi, head of the Moni Puncak Deanery, immediately evacuated the injured. Two were taken to the Bilogai Regional Hospital in Sugapa District, for medical treatment.
According to initial reports, a second grenade, presumably dropped by drone, was found on the same day in the courtyard of St Pete’s Mbamogo Church.
So far, neither the Indonesian police nor the Indonesian military have released official statements regarding the origin of the device or the perpetrators of the attack.
The use of drones to drop explosives is nothing new in Central Papua, where fighting between Indonesian security forces and Papuan separatist groups has intensified in recent years.
Similar incidents have already been reported in Intan Jaya and Puncak Jaya regencies, two of the most unstable areas in the region. Indonesian-held Papua remains one of the most militarised and difficult to reach areas in the country.
For decades, pro-independence movements have denounced discrimination, repression, and human rights violations by Indonesian authorities, while the Indonesian government considers Papuan armed groups to be terrorist organisations.
In the past few years, religious communities have increasingly found themselves caught up in the violent conflict. The Catholic Church, deeply rooted among Papua’s indigenous peoples, has repeatedly called for peaceful dialogue and an end to military operations that target civilians.
A West Papuan church leader has warned that ongoing killings of young Papuans allegedly by Indonesian security forces have the hallmark of genocide.
Since the start of the year there’s been no stop to violent incidents in Indonesian-ruled Papua region – known internationally as West Papua.
Indonesia’s government blames recent violence on armed, pro-independence West Papuan fighters.
However, human rights defenders say the violence is escalating violence, and the young, indigenous people of West Papua are in the firing line.
Escalation
Last week a 17-year old Papuan girl was killed as a result of a military operation reportedly targeting civilian mining camps in Tembagapura.
Also last week, several Papuan high school students were shot when tensions flared at a graduation parade through the town of Kobakma in Papua’s central highlands. Police had objected to them wearing the Papuan Morning Star Flag a symbol of the Independence Movement.
Last month, Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said it was investigating a shooting incident that left up to twelve Papuan civilians dead as the result of an Indonesian military operation in Kembru district. According to human rights researchers, a 5-year old girl and a 77-year old woman were among the dead.
Komnas HAM’s commissioner for monitoring and investigation Saurlin Siagian said it was difficult to ascertain the exact ages of each victim in the Kembru incident, but he told RNZ Pacific that two pregnant women were among those killed.
Earlier in April, five people, including a 12-year old boy, were shot dead in Dogiyai regency in an alleged retaliatory attack by police after a policeman was killed.
The list goes on, stretching back to January – dozens of people reported dead, dozens more people injured and many more people displaced from their villages.
Pattern
The head of the human rights and justice department of the GIDI Evangelical Church of Indonesia in Papua, Pastor Jimi Koirewa, said there was a disturbing pattern to these attacks.
“The children are being killed, the women are being killed. That is a part of genocide, because the women will give birth to babies, the kids, the children, the youth, they are the future of Papua, and killing them is part of a genocide. They’re wiping us out. There will be no more people there standing in Papua. The old people will die gradually,” Koirewa told RNZ Pacific.
Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry declined to comment on the pastor’s claim. It said it could not discuss recent incidents while investigations are underway. However, the Human Rights Minister in Jakarta, Natalius Pigai, has admitted the situation is a serious concern.
After a violent year in 2025, when Komnas HAM which recorded 97 violent incidents and armed conflicts in Papua, the situation has deteriorated further this year.
Pigai noted that the country’s independent human rights body has identified 26 cases of violence in Papua from January to April 2026.
“Based on records from both domestic and international sources, there is an escalation. In just under a month, no fewer than 20 people died in 5 incidents in Dogiyai, Yahukimo, Puncak Papua, Timika, and Tembagapura,” Pigai said in a statement on Sunday.
Pigai claimed the government was continuing to seek a peaceful solution that can address the root causes of the conflict.
For the past several years Indonesian security forces in Papua have been engaged in conflict with ‘armed criminal groups’, their label for Papuan pro-independence fighters within the wider OPM Free West Papua Movement.
Lack of justice: ‘Shooting the people’
Pastor Koirewa said the Indonesian military forces had been amassing in large numbers in recent months.
“There’s so much military deployment coming into Papua and the reason, they said, is they want to get rid of the rebels, OPM, that’s what they call rebels. They said that they want to get rid of the OPM so that development can happen, the government can come and build the land,” Koirewa said.
“But when they come in, they are not shooting the combatant, the OPM, but they are shooting the people. So I see that the it’s escalating.”
Koirewa said police rarely investigated the violent incidents thoroughly, leaving Papuan communities mistrustful of the justice system. The GIDI church has raised its concern with the upsurge in violence.
“Our church, we have no influence in Jakarta at all. We already made some communications through the formal way to Jakarta, yeah, through the our parliament, let them know what is happening, but Jakarta is not responding. They don’t care.
“They just come in with their programme, and they don’t care at all. That’s why the church now is looking for aid outside of our country,” Koirewa said, adding that the aid they sought is for internally displaced people and Papuan schools.
Displacement
Jakarta has been promoting major agri-business projects in Papua provinces – including oil palm, rice and sugarcane – as well as large scale mining and forestry projects in the interior.
The government argues that increasing development and economic activity raises the standard of living for everyone in Papua.
“Which part of Papua are they developing? Why are the Papuans still the poorest among the whole Indonesian population. They have been for with us about more than 60 years. And why are the Papuans still the Papuans still in poverty?” Koirewa said.
“We see that there has been no output at all. They will only bring more non-Papuans in to take over our land.”
Koirewa said changing demographics due to Indonesian transmigration added to the sense that Papuans were being out numbered in their homeland and facing a bleak future.
“There’s no hope,” he said.
The displacement of Papuan villagers is also a factor, with the latest Internally Displaced Persons update from Human Rights Monitor group saying over 107,000 West Papuans remain displaced by armed conflict.
Jayapura, Jubi – Papuan women attending a free speech forum organized by the Dogiyai Student Association in Jayapura voiced opposition to what they described as ongoing violence against women and children in Papua.
The gathering took place in the Lingkaran Abepura area, Abepura District, Jayapura, on Monday (May 11, 2026).
During the forum, women’s activist Vero Hubi said Papuan women continue to bear the impact of prolonged conflict, including violence, displacement, and the loss of family members.
“I speak on behalf of Papuan women who have become victims of violence, forced displacement, and the loss of loved ones due to the prolonged conflict in Papua. Many Papuan women today live in fear and under constant pressure,” Hubi said.
She stressed that Papuan women would no longer remain silent in the face of continued suffering.
Hubi also drew attention to the condition of internally displaced communities in several conflict-affected regions, saying many women and children had been forced to flee after homes were allegedly occupied by security forces.
She further alleged that some women were injured in bomb explosions while attempting to protect their children.
According to Hubi, women across Papua would continue speaking out against all forms of violence targeting women and children.
She also urged institutions responsible for women’s and children’s protection to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Papua and publicly release the findings.
“We demand transparency in the investigation process and justice for the victims,” she said.
Another participant, Yustina Butu, spoke about the psychological burden experienced by Papuans, particularly students from Dogiyai living in Jayapura.
Butu called on Dogiyai Police to thoroughly investigate and take responsibility for a number of incidents, especially those involving teenage victims in Dogiyai Regency.
She also said alleged acts of violence committed by security personnel against civilians in Yahukimo and Mimika regencies, including against women and children, must be held accountable.
“For that reason, we are calling on Dogiyai Police to conduct a comprehensive evaluation regarding the shootings of civilians,” she said.
She further urged the Dogiyai Regency administration in Central Papua to work together with police authorities in addressing the cases.
Butu emphasized the role of women as mothers who nurture and raise children, saying both the government and security forces must properly fulfill their responsibilities to safeguard the public.
“We want our children to grow up safely and peacefully—not in fear or exposed to violence and inhumane treatment. We hope the state and the government will hear and consider our demands,” she said. (*)
Prabowo has been in power as President of Indonesia since October 2024, and the marks of his regime have been increasingly felt across civil society. The atmosphere has turned colder, with greater power going to the security services, a tightening of laws that criminalise dissent, a return of New Order-esque policies, and a sense that the civil rights fought for during the period known as Reformasi are being eroded away.
More provinces were affected by incidents than in 2024.
24.2 per cent increase in intimidation and harassment incidents, including torture and killings.
14.3 per cent increase in incidents of arbitrary arrests.
The report shows in numbers that:
In total, 14 provinces had incidents regarding Freedom of Expression and Assembly in West Papua in 2025, 4 more than in 2024. Papua remains the province with the largest number of incidents, followed by Central Papua and then South Sulawesi. Unlike in previous years, the number of incidents wasn’t as concentrated in Papua Province, but was more widely distributed across West Papua and Indonesia, with a noticeable hotspot being South Sulawesi, which is the first time that a province outside of the West Papua region has appeared in the top three.
With regard to perpetrators, security force personnel, including police, carryed out or were involved in the majority of incidents, which together cover around 65 per cent of reported incidents. This is consistent with levels seen in previous years. The high number of cases committed by unknown perpetrators, which made up 15.6% of all incidents, has been a cause of concern during 2025, and points to a large number of intimidation incidents where no actor involved could be identified. Moreover, companies have come into more and more conflict with local indigenous communities that are speaking up to protect their land, explaining companies” relatively strong involvement in silencing local protests against their plans and intimidating local leaders in order to compel communities into acquiescence. They made up 5.2% of all incidents.
The majority of those affected is consistent with previous years, but does also include attempts at intimidating Komnas HAM personnel, who ended up being shot at by the TPNPB. The total impact on all campaign groups on West Papua hit 42 per cent of all incidents, which is lower than previous years, as students were the single group that ended up being the most affected in 2025, covering 29.1% of incidents and bearing the brunt of intimidatory activities in particular, as well as dispersal events. Intimidatory actions against individuals and smaller groups shows a return to the proclivity towards these sorts of tactics in 2023, which contrasts to the election year of 2024, but also the climate of fear that Prabowo seeks to create against those who might oppose his policies.
We can discern certain important trends from the data we have collected and analysed:
Firstly, there has been a general trend since 2023 of strong-arm and targeted arrest tactics to create a climate of fear, with 2025 showing a continuation of this pattern in West Papua. 2024 was somewhat anomalous due to the fact that it was a general election year. There has been a noticeable downturn in mass protest events in West Papua (and those arrested in them), which shows the dire atmosphere of free expression that these conditions are creating.
Secondly, mirroring Prabowo’s desire to intensify PSNs throughout West Papua during his term as President, there has been a noticeable uptick of intimidation, arrests or attack incidents against those speaking up for indigenous communities affected by these policies. This shows an intensification of tactics that began in 2024.
Thirdly, intimidation targeted at Papuans across Indonesia has meant the greater geographic spread of incidents recorded this year across the country. Whilst there were no international incidents recorded this year, the fact that a province outside of West Papua (that of South Sulawesi) managed to get into the top three of provinces affected by incidents this year shows a definite increased frequency and proportion of overall events now occurring outside of the region.
Check out the full report by clicking on the link below.
Five West Papuans were killed by the Indonesian military in Mimika;
Four Papuans were killed by the Indonesian military in Puncak;
Indonesian police killed a Papuan civilian in Dogiyai;
Indonesian security forces shot and injured seven Papuan students in Mamberano Tengah for painting the Morning Star on their clothes. ______________________________________
While the world looks away, genocide continues in West Papua.
Indonesian security forces have committed a series of new mass killings over the past ten days, executing at least ten Papuans and shooting many more.
According to on-the-ground reports from the TPNPB and humanitarian defenders, the Indonesian military conducted a sweeping operation in a gold panning area in Tembagapura, Timika Regency, spanning from the evening of May 7th to the morning of May 8th. Five civilian gold miners were shot dead during the operations, while a toddler was reportedly injured and is in critical condition. One of the victims, 17-year-old Nalince Wamang, was hoping to raise money to fund her university studies.
At the same time, military operations conducted in Omukia District, Puncak Regency between May 1st and May 6th resulted in the deaths of at least four Papuan civilians – all murdered by Indonesian troops. According to Human Rights Monitor, the victims were as follows:
Ms Tarling Wanimbo, 20, shot whilst searching for food in her family’s garden.
Mrs Naena Murib, 31, shot dead whilst gardening.
Mr Bebison Murib, 19, shot dead during the operations
Mr Amukiamen Magay, 41, shot dead during the operations.
Earlier, on May 5th, the military shot seven West Papuan students, ranging in age from 17 to 24, during a graduation parade in Kobakma, Mamberamo Tengah Regency. One, 18-year-old Yali Elabi, remains in hospital in critical condition. The only “crime” these students had committed was painting the Morning Star on their clothes. Indonesia fears our flag so much they will shoot our children for flying it.
Indonesia’s ten days of bloodshed then continued yesterday (May 10th), as the police executed yet another Papuan civilian in Dogiyai, Mr Nopison Tebai.
Massacres have become normal in West Papua. The latest killings by the Indonesian colonial occupiers occurred in the wake of recent massacres in Dogiyai and Kembru, Puncak Regency. Thirty-seven West Papuans have now been killed by Indonesian security forces in 2026 – evidence of a serious escalation in Indonesian militarisation. We must also remember that this figure doesn’t include the many civilians who will die of hunger or disease in the bush after being forcibly displaced by military operations.
Tembagapura is in the dead zone surrounding the Freeport mine, the biggest and most toxic gold mine on earth. The forests there have been destroyed, the water is poisoned, the fish are all dead, and the basin of the Ajkwa river has been transformed into a huge grey wasteland. As a result, West Papuans who once hunted there have been forced to pan for gold just to survive.
Those who were killed in Tembagapura suffered three times – first they lost their lands, then their livelihoods, and finally their lives.
This new wave of brutality is a result of Indonesia’s increased military deployment in West Papua. At least 110 new battalions have been formed in West Papua since the election of Prabowo Subianto as Indonesian President in 2024, bringing tens of thousands of additional soldiers to the highlands and villages.
These troops are not in West Papua to protect civilians or preserve Indonesia’s ‘sovereignty’. They are there to protect Indonesia’s investments: to defend the Wabu Block, the Freeport Mine, and the South Papua National Strategic Project (PSN), the biggest deforestation project in human history. The government deliberately creates violence and chaos to feed their troops and the industrial projects they serve.
On behalf of the ULMWP and the Pacific people of West Papua, I demand the immediate expulsion of Indonesia from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). Indonesia currently sits as a dialogue partner in PIF and an Associate Member of the MSG. If their positions are not reviewed following these massacres, the Pacific will be complicit in the genocide of its West Papuan neighbours.
Pacific leaders must ask themselves: will you allow this to happen in your backyard? Will you close your eyes as West Papuans are slaughtered? Future generations will judge your actions at this critical moment.
9 May 2026 Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific senior journalist
Video footage obtained by human rights researchers shows a crowd of angry Papuans throwing stones towards police infrastructure. The sound of gun shots follows. Photo: Screengrab / Human Rights Monitor
Indonesian authorities say investigations are underway into an incident in West Papua when a number of people were allegedly injured after police fired shots amid a student graduation event.
Reports from West Papua say seven people sustained injuries when tensions flared at a parade by senior high school graduates through the town of Kobakma in Mamberamo Tengah Regency of Papua’s central highlands on Monday (5 May).
The situation reportedly escalated after local people watching the parade, objected to attempts by police officers to stop graduates displaying the West Papuan nationalist Morning Star flag.
Brandishing the flag, or painting school uniforms and personal accessories with a Morning Star symbol, is relatively common across West Papua on graduation day – despite the flag being effectively outlawed by Indonesia.
Video footage obtained by human rights researchers shows a crowd of angry Papuans throwing stones towards police infrastructure. The sound of gun shots follows.
According to Human Rights Monitor, seven West Papuans – including some students – were injured from being shot. The seven were aged between 17 and 24 years old.
Local police said their officers tried to persuade the students not to display the Morning Star, but they were ignored and the situation developed into unrest. Police said that in response they dispersed the crowd using tear gas and fired warning shots into the air.
According to police, a number of people were injured, including police personnel. Security forces, including military, are patrolling the area after the melee briefly descended into rioting and looting at the at Kobakma’s central market.
A spokesperson at the Indonesian Embassy in New Zealand told RNZ Pacific that information it had gathered about the incident indicated the students’ parade had been “infiltrated by another group that provoked to create discord related to an unfortunate incident that happened in the area on the previous day”.
“Local authorities in close relations with civic groups, including church authorities and traditional leaders, are currently trying to conduct a thorough investigation regarding the incident that happens.”
The spokesperson said national and local authorities would focus their efforts to avoid any further “unfortunate similar incidents” happen in the future.
This 11-page report lists cases and developments including human rights violations and their patterns; developments in the armed conflict and its impact on civilians; significant political shifts in Indonesia affecting West Papua; and international responses and initiatives.
The human rights situation between January and March 2026 remains dire. The reporting period was characterised by a significant rise in documented cases of arbitrary detention and torture. There are two major patterns in this trend. First, HRM observed a significant rise in arbitrary detentions in conflict zones, particularly in the Dekai District of Yahukimo Regency. Yahukimo has already become the top hotspot of armed violence throughout 2025 with 35 armed clashes, and ten such incidents between January and March 2026. Security forces targeted indigenous Papuans, mostly young adults, including females and minors. Most of them were released the following day without being charged. Intensified patrols and raids further contribute to this trend, with security forces applying interrogation methods that violate Indonesian criminal procedure and human rights law.
Second, a significant number of these arbitrary detentions were reportedly accompanied by torture. Officials used coercive and violent measures to extract information about the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) or to force confessions from detainees. These developments took place alongside ongoing military operations in the regencies Intan Jaya and Puncak, reportedly involving battle drones, mortars and air strikes in civilian populated areas across the central highlands. As a result, the number of internally displaced persons continues to rise (see section on Conflict below).
There is no sign of de-escalation in sight. The Indonesian government kept deploying additional military personnel to remote areas across West Papua, fueling armed conflict and triggering more internal displacements. An unknown number of indigenous Papuans were internally displaced due to armed conflict incidents and subsequent raids in the Boven Digoel Regency in February 2026.
The military operations in the central highlands reportedly involved the use of battle drones, mortars and air raids in civilian populated areas, violating principles of distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Recurring armed violence and heavy military presence have resulted in the cessation of daily activities and paralysation of health and education services across conflict-affected regencies. Such patterns cause fear among local communities and encourage the civilian population to flee to safer areas. As of 27 March 2026, armed conflict and military operations in West Papua have resulted in the internal displacement of more than 107,039 civilians across multiple regencies.
In response to escalating militarisation, civil society groups across West Papua have mobilised in peaceful protests, demanding an end to military operations and the withdrawal of non-organic troops. Between late October and early November 2025, demonstrations had already taken place in Nabire, Enarotali, Sugapa, and Jayapura. Further protests against the rising militarisation in West Papua occurred in the regencies Pegunungan Bintang, Intan Jaya and Yahukimo in January 2026. Another protest took place in the Nabire Regency in February 2026. While civil society groups, church leaders, and human rights organisations are united in calling for an immediate halt to military operations, demilitarisation, and meaningful engagement in a peaceful dialogue, the central government shows no signs of refraining from a security-based approach in West Papua.
HRM documented 35 armed attacks and clashes throughout the first quarter of 2026, a smaller number than that of the fourth quarter of 2025, counting 41 clashes. The majority of armed hostilities during the reporting period occurred in Yahukimo, with 10 armed clashes and attacks, followed by the Puncak Regency with 6 armed clashes. Armed hostilities were also documented from the regencies of Intan Jaya, Nabire, Puncak, and Mimika. Isolated incidents of armed violence occurred in the regencies Tambrauw, Maybrat, Paniai, Nduga, Boven Digoel, Tolikara, and Dogiyai.
HRM counted 13 civilians killed and 4 injured by the TPNPB. Meanwhile, 5 civilians were killed, and 4 were wounded by security force members during armed clashes or counter-insurgency operations. Concerning the combatants, 9 security force members were killed, and 2 were injured during this period. In contrast, the TPNPB reportedly lost 5 combatants, with 4 guerrilla fighters being injured during armed clashes.
Comprehensive data on armed conflict violence in West Papua is available in the HRM Annual Report 2025, published in March 2026.
Political developments
On 2 January 2026, Indonesia enacted its new Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), prompting a coalition of civil society organisations to declare an “Indonesian legal emergency.” The new law has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts, human rights defenders, and historians. Among the most troubling provisions in the new KUHP are restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly. The code also increases the maximum punishment for treason from life imprisonment to the death penalty. Perhaps most alarming, Article 622 explicitly repeals key provisions of Law Number 26/2000 on Human Rights Courts, effectively eliminating criminal accountability for gross human rights violations.
On 13 and 14 January 2026, Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka visited West Papua to review development projects, beginning in Biak Numfor before travelling to Wamena, where he played in a friendly football match, met with regional leaders and community figures, and engaged with local coffee farmers and creative economy practitioners. His planned second-day visit to Yahukimo Regency was cancelled following intelligence assessments that identified armed group movements in the area. The TPNPB had fired shots at an aircraft in the region and issued a threat to kill the VP if he travelled to Yahukimo.
On 6 February 2026, President Prabowo and Australian PM Anthony Albanese signed a bilateral defencetreaty, first announced in Nov 2025, signalling deepening security cooperation. The Prime Minister announced several new initiatives to further enhance the bilateral security relationship, including supporting the development of joint defence training facilities in Indonesia, establishing a new embedded position for a senior Indonesian military officer in the Australian Defence Force, and building ties between future military leaders through the expansion of the Junior Leaders’ Forum Military Education Exchange. On 12 March 2026, Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin announced plans, alongside Australia, to pursue separate trilateral security arrangements with Japan and Papua New Guinea.
On 20 February 2026, various Special Rapporteurs oft he UN Human Rights Council issued a formal communication to the Indonesian Government concerning the draft Presidential Regulation (“Regulation”) on the Duties of the Indonesian National Army in Combating Terrorist Acts. The UN experts represent the view that the manner in which the Regulation would expand the role of the military in countering terrorism in peacetime would bring serious risks to human rights, the rule of law, and Indonesian civil society.
A military police person, far left, escorts Indonesian military personnel, from left, Sami Lakka, Nandala Dwi Prasetya, Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, and Edi Sudarko, accused of an acid attack on human right activist Andrie Yunus, during trial at a military court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
An acid attack by four Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers on a human rights activist highlights growing tensions as President Prabowo reinstates military influence in Indonesia’s civilian administration.
Is Indonesia using state-sanctioned violence to crush critics of its administration of the world’s third-largest democracy? Since a revolution at the end of the last century, it claims to have thrown off a 32-year autocracy led by former general Soeharto. But the replacement government, now run by Soeharto’s former son-in-law, Prabowo Subianto, is a “flawed democracy” according to the London-based Economic Intelligence Unit.
Arousing most concern are laws to put the military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, TNI) in control of systems and departments previously run by civilians. NGOs have been leading critics of this trend, with one prominent human rights advocate, Andrie Yunus, assaulted in an acid attack on 12 March 2026 as he left his Central Jakarta office around 11 pm. Yunus is the Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) and has been an outspoken critic of the return to a military-run state. He had been receiving phone threats but had still been planning to release research into violence perpetrated by the security forces.
Amnesty International Indonesia collected 295 incidents of intimidation against human rights defenders and labelled 2025 as the Year of Living Dangerously for activists. (The title of the 1978 Christopher Koch book and Peter Weir’s 1982 film retains its relevance and potency.) Acid is often the weapon of choice. It doesn’t go bang and arouse security or upset body scanners; blokes carrying plastic drink bottles rarely arouse suspicion.
Yunus was critical of the TNI’s growing influence, largely through inserting officers into the leadership of government departments that had been handling civilian affairs for almost three decades, since the collapse of Soeharto’s New Order government. Prabowo is a former three-star general sacked in 1998 for allegedly disobeying orders while he was Commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command_._ Now as President, he has even put TNI officers in charge of the government’s free-school meal program and its rice control and distribution agency_._
Yunus’s ambushers were four active-duty intelligence officers, who are on trial in a military court, where it is alleged they were motivated by personal revenge to splash his face and clothes with acid. Another version blames Yunus for causing distress in 2025 when he disrupted a hotel meeting of politicians and bureaucrats discussing the revision of the TNI Law. The defendants consider Yunus’s actions had insulted the military.
Researchers for Yunus’s defence have scrutinised security camera tapes of the incident and claim another 10 soldiers were involved as watchouts, making the attack a coordinated affair. A flask of the prepared acid mix was tossed in Yunus’s face, under his helmet and down his overclothes. He was thrown off his machine, screaming in agony, according to witnesses. Twenty per cent of his body is burnt and he will likely lose his right eye. He is still in hospital.
Prabowo has reportedly said: “This is terrorism, isn’t it? A barbaric act. We must pursue.” But KontraS is unimpressed by the pledge and angry about the prosecution being held in a military court, even if the proceedings are open to the media.
Yunus has written to the President:
In various cases involving civilians harmed by military personnel, including forced disappearances, killings, torture, and domestic violence, military courts have never delivered justice, accountability, or full institutional responsibility up to the chain of command. This only perpetuates a record of impunity.
This appeal was binned.
Jakarta Military Court chief Colonel Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto has tried to justify keeping the case in his jurisdiction. He told a press conference:
If this were handled in a civilian court, it would not be appropriate, and the legal process would not proceed. It could even be rejected by the district court.
The track record on prosecutions is not good. Ten years ago, a former policeman turned corruption investigator, Novel Baswedan, was walking home from his local mosque in North Jakarta when two men threw acid at his face. He lost an eye. After more than two years of investigation and a presidential order to find the assailants, the result was a disappointment. Two active police officers were convicted and jailed for a year. Novel’s supporters said they were scapegoats.
The stand-out in the business of removing government critics has to be the 2004 assassination of lawyer Munir Said Thalib, the founder of KontraS in 1998. He was poisoned on a Garuda flight while heading to Utrecht University to study for a master’s degree in international law and human rights. A post-mortem found arsenic in an orange drink. He died before landing. The then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (another former general) promised Munir’s widow, Suciwati, that the case would be thoroughly investigated. It wasn’t.
According to the nation’s leading daily, Kompas,
the shadow of the military’s return to dominance in civilian governance is now increasingly apparent. A total of 2,500 active TNI personnel have quietly taken up civilian positions, a figure that exceeds the limits set by law.
If the revision of the TNI Law currently being discussed by the DPR (Parliament) is passed, the last barrier to military involvement in civilian bureaucracy will collapse.
Not only that, but soldiers will also be given the opportunity to engage in business activities, blurring the clear line that has long separated the military from economic and political interests.
The California-based Asia Sentinel magazine has warned of “the darkening face of Indonesia’s democracy” with “reports of intimidation and terror directed at activists, legislative initiatives widely seen as constraining press freedom, and, perhaps most strikingly, the reactivation of military command structures at the regional level”.
How does this affect Australia? Along with the US, in early 2000s, Australia banned Prabowo from visiting on the grounds of his alleged human rights record in Papua and Timor. But in politics, pragmatism usually smothers principles. Prabowo got his visa once he founded his right-wing populist Gerindra (Great Indonesia) party in 2008 and became its candidate for the presidency.
Earlier this year, PM Anthony Albanese visited Jakarta to sign a security deal between the TNI and the ADF, saying, “No country is more important to Australia — or to the prosperity, security and stability of the Indo-Pacific than Indonesia”. No mention of human rights, the rules of warfare and the sharing of values. Our soldiers mingling with theirs should beware of misunderstandings that could lead to criticisms and cool drink bottles with suspect contents.
The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.
Duncan Graham
Duncan Graham has been a journalist for more than 40 years in print, radio and TV. He is the author of People Next Door (UWA Press). He is now writing for the English language media in Indonesia from within Indonesia. Duncan Graham has an MPhil degree, a Walkley Award, two Human Rights Commission awards and other prizes for his radio, TV and print journalism in Australia. He lives in East Java
On 5 May 2026, police officers opened fire at protesters and injured at least seven civilians with bullets (see photos and victim table below, source: independent HRDs), most of them senior high school students conducting a parade to celebrate their school graduation in Kobakma, Mamberamo Tengah Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province. The situation allegedly escalated after police officers attempted to stop the group over the display of the Morning Star flag. Spray-painting school uniforms with a Morning Star Symbol is a common practice across West Papua on graduation day. In other parts of West Papua such as Yahukimo, Lanny Jaya and Nabire, the student parades took place without being interfered by authorities (see photos below, source: independent HRD)
According to local sources, students had gathered to celebrate the announcement of their graduation results and marched through Kobakma town. When the procession reached the market area near Arege Road and the police station, police officers reportedly blocked the parade around 11:00 am. A verbal confrontation escalated into a scuffle. Residents who witnessed the incident reportedly objected to the police intervention, after which the situation became increasingly chaotic. Protesters began throwing stones at the police officers, who allegedly responded by firing shots and deploying tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Reports also indicate that at least one police officer sustained serious injuries during the unrest. Security personnel reportedly remained deployed at several strategic locations in Kobakma following the incident. The Deputy Regent of Mamberamo Tengah Regency was expected to meet police officials on 6 May 2026 at the Kobakma Police Station to discuss de-escalation and prevent further violence.
The Morning Star is a symbol of cultural identity for indigenous Papuans. Article 2 of the Papuan Special Autonomy Law (UU Otsus) acknowledges the use of a regional emblem as a symbol of cultural identity if the symbol is not used to compromise the sovereignty of Indonesia. However Indonesian authorities continue criminalising the use of the Morning Star on clothing and accessories. The Papuan independence movement promotes the Morning Star Flag as their National Flag.
Human rights analysis
The incident raises serious concerns regarding the necessity, legality and proportionality of the use of force by law enforcement officials. Even if authorities considered the display of the Morning Star flags unlawful under Indonesian law, the use of firearms against students and civilians requires strict scrutiny. Under international human rights standards, firearms may only be used when strictly unavoidable to protect life.
The incident also raises concerns regarding Indonesia’s obligations under the United Nations Human Rights Committee interpretation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State Party. The reported use of live ammunition against students and civilians during a public procession may constitute an interference with the rights to life, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression protected under Articles 6, 19 and 21 ICCPR. Even where authorities consider symbols such as the Morning Star flag to be politically sensitive or unlawful under domestic legislation, restrictions on expression and assembly must remain lawful, necessary and proportionate. Under Article 6 ICCPR, law enforcement officials have a heightened duty to protect life and must minimise harm during public order operations. The deployment of firearms in response to a student procession appears difficult to reconcile with the principle that lethal or potentially lethal force may only be used as a measure of last resort where strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat.
Furthermore, the reported shooting of minors and young civilians may amount to arbitrary deprivation of life or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment if excessive force was used. Indonesia is therefore under an obligation to conduct a prompt, effective, independent and impartial investigation capable of identifying those responsible and ensuring accountability and reparations for the victims.
Table of persons injured by bullets in Kobakma Town on 5 May 2026
No
Name
Age
Status, background
Additional info
1
Yali Elabi
18
Student, Kobakma State High School
Gunshot wound to right thigh; critical
2
Nita Sibak
20
Female student, Kobakma State High School
Gunshot wound to left hand
3
Sago Pugumis
17
Male student, from Broges Village, Kobakma District
Injured; hospitalised
4
Enius Wanimbo
22
Male student, from Kelila
Injured; hospitalised
5
Wajus Pagawak
24
Village youth, from Gimbis Village, Kobakma District
Injured; hospitalised
6
Abi Yikawa
24
Civilian, from Dakama Village, Bolakme District
Injured; hospitalised
7
Nius Wandikbo
19
Male, from Ilukwa
Injured; hospitalised
Protesters with gunshot wounds receive medical treatment at the Lukas Enembe Hospital in Mamberamo Tengah Regency, 5 May 2026
Detailed Case Data Document ID: HRM-CAS-063-2026 Region: Indonesia > Highland Papua > Central Mamberamo > Kobagma Total number of victims: 7
#
Number of Victims
Name, Details
Gender
Age
Group Affiliation
Violations
1.
1
Nita Sibak
female
20
Indigenous Peoples, Student
ill-treatment
2.
1
Yali Elabi
male
18
Indigenous Peoples, Student
ill-treatment
3.
1
Sago Pugumis
male
17
Indigenous Peoples, Student
ill-treatment
4.
1
Enius Wanimbo
male
22
Indigenous Peoples, Student
ill-treatment
5.
1
Wajus Pagawak
male
24
Indigenous Peoples, Student
ill-treatment
6.
1
Abi Yikawa
male
24
Indigenous Peoples, Student
ill-treatment
7.
1
Nius Wandikbo
19
Indigenous Peoples, Student
ill-treatment
Period of incident: 05/05/2026 – 05/05/2026 Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Police > POLRES Issues: indigenous peoples, security force violence
Support for state-backed development puts Church at odds with Indigenous Catholics defending ancestral land
By Ryan Dagur Published: April 20, 2026 06:12 AM GMT
For decades, the Catholic Church has presented itself as a moral ally of Indigenous peoples.
From Laudato Si’, in which Pope Francis defended ancestral lands, to Vatican endorsements of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Church has framed the protection of Indigenous communities as a matter of justice, dignity and faith.
That global moral posture makes what is now unfolding in Papua deeply unsettling.
In Indonesia’s easternmost region, a senior Catholic leader is facing fierce opposition from his own congregation for supporting a government-backed food mega-project that threatens Indigenous land.
The controversy erupted after Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke warned that Catholics protesting the project would “perish.” His comment ignited outrage among Papuan Catholics and exposed a profound contradiction between the Church’s teachings and its actions on the ground.
In Papua — a region long scarred by land dispossession, militarization and resource extraction — the Church’s stance is never merely theological. It is political, moral and deeply consequential.
Mandagi’s words force an unavoidable question: Will the Church in Papua live up to its global teachings by standing with Indigenous communities defending their ancestral land, or will it align itself with state power and corporate interests under the banner of development and food security?
The archbishop’s remarks were delivered during a church inauguration Mass on April 6, in response to peaceful weekly protests led by lay Catholics opposing his support for a massive food estate designated by Jakarta as a national strategic project.
“God destroys those who do not respect places of worship,” Mandagi told them.
For many Papuan Catholics, the statement felt less like spiritual guidance than a threat — one issued from the pulpit against those invoking their faith to defend their land and livelihoods.
The backlash was immediate. Expressions of pain and anger flooded social media as lay Catholics accused the archbishop of silencing dissent rather than shepherding his flock.
Yet the furor did not arise overnight. Since 2024, Mandagi’s vocal endorsement of the project has prompted sustained protests demanding that he withdraw his support and apologize.
Rather than easing tensions, his latest remarks have widened the rift, transforming internal disagreement into an open moral confrontation.
At the heart of the dispute is a government food project that aims to clear up to 3 million hectares of land in Merauke — two-thirds for sugarcane and the rest for rice. The administration of Prabowo Subianto has presented the initiative as essential to Indonesia’s food sovereignty.
But the land is far from empty. It is the ancestral territory of the Malind, Maklew, Khimaima and Yei peoples — forested wetlands where life depends on sago groves, rivers and seasonal hunting.
More than 50,000 Indigenous residents across 40 villages are expected to be affected. Deforestation is already underway. By the end of 2025, nearly 6,000 hectares had been cleared for rice cultivation, while sugarcane plantations destroyed more than 15,000 hectares in early 2026 alone.
Each hectare lost represents not only environmental damage but also the erosion of Indigenous food systems, culture and collective memory.
While urban Catholic youth stage demonstrations inside churches, Indigenous communities have mounted their own form of resistance.
Across Merauke, villagers have planted red crosses — salib merah — on land earmarked for clearing, asserting ownership and erecting a spiritual barrier against destruction.
The symbolism is striking: Catholic imagery deployed by Indigenous people themselves, yet without the backing of the Church’s hierarchy.
Rather than listening to these concerns, Mandagi has suggested that protesters are being manipulated by vested interests. What has been conspicuously absent is any public acknowledgment of the harm the project poses to his own congregants.
His background — he is not Papuan, but from North Sulawesi — has further fueled criticism, prompting growing calls for the Vatican to appoint an Indigenous Papuan archbishop.
These demands are not merely symbolic. In recent years, Papuan-born bishops have emerged as some of the strongest moral voices opposing land grabs and militarization.
His stance aligns closely with Papua’s Protestant churches, which have long opposed land dispossession. In February, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia — which includes 105 denominations — formally condemned land seizures carried out in the name of food security at the conclusion of its assembly session in Merauke.
The controversy also recalls the failure of an earlier mega-project: the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate, launched in 2010 and eventually abandoned after widespread displacement and ecological damage.
At the time, under Archbishop Nicolaus Adi Seputra, the archdiocese’s Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation office actively supported community resistance.
The contrast with Mandagi’s leadership is stark. Shortly after his appointment, in January 2021, he signed a memorandum of understanding with a palm oil company linked to the controversial Korindo Group to renovate a seminary — without meaningful consultation with local communities.
The dangers posed by the current project extend far beyond land loss.
In 2025, Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission identified at least five areas of concern: land rights, environmental health, food security, participation in decision-making and personal security.
Militarization is the most acute threat. Troops have been deployed to secure project sites, with military posts established near Indigenous villages.
In 2025, a battalion was stationed inside a company concession on the ancestral land of the Kwipalo clan from the Yei tribal group without consent. When villagers blocked excavators, they faced police reports and threats of criminal charges.
The United Nations has also raised the alarm. In March 2025, nine UN special rapporteurs warned Indonesia of alleged land grabbing, forced evictions, deforestation and military repression linked to the project.
The pattern is familiar: sweeping promises of food security, land acquisition enforced by armed force and the displacement of Indigenous peoples — echoing colonial plantation models rather than participatory development.
It is here that the Church in Papua stands at a crossroads.
One path prioritizes harmony with state power, reframes Indigenous resistance as disorder and recasts dispossession as progress — risking the erosion of decades of moral authority.
The other is grounded in Catholic social teaching: standing with communities whose land, culture and survival are under threat.
The Papuan Catholics who protest week after week are not enemies of the Church. They are its conscience
The question is whether the Church hierarchy will heed that call — or allow the words uttered from the pulpit to define its legacy.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
Australia West Papua Association Adelaide 