On behalf of the ULMWP, I declare this December 1st to be a celebration of West Papuan unity.
In that spirit, I acknowledge and welcome the statement of support for me as President of West Papua from West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) spokesperson Sebby Sambom and Chief of Staff Terianus Satto. This is a major step forward for our movement and I thank Sebby and Terianus for their important message. We know our enemy always seeks to divide us. We must all move toward the same mission: one people, one soul.
This December 1st I call on all West Papuans, wherever you are, to honour the Morning Star by wearing its colours on your clothes. We must show the Indonesian colonisers that the spirit of the struggle is as much a part of West Papua as the clothes we wear.
Every December 1st, West Papuans celebrate our Independence Day in 1961, when our nation announced itself to the world as the first liberated Melanesian state. In a ceremony witnessed by six countries, including the UK, France, the Netherlands, and our neighbour Papua New Guinea, the New Guinea Council raised the Morning Star and sang our national anthem for the first time. Our freedom may have been stolen from us by Indonesia’s invasion two year later, but we still honour 1961 as our national day.
The situation on the ground is worse than it has been since 2019. Every day brings a new massacre, a new killing, a new incident of torture or rape. In the past three months, we have seen the murder of fifteen Papuans in Intan Jaya, the relentless bombardment of the Star Mountain, the killing of children and mothers, and riots triggered by racist abuse of Papuan students in Yalimo.
At the same time, Indonesia’s war criminal President Prabowo is continuing with the destruction of the Papuan rainforest. The National Strategic Project (PSN) in Merauke is the biggest plantation in human history: it is a planet killer.
These events show how urgent the need for unity among West Papuans is. We know that all West Papuans support Merdeka, whether in the bush, the village, the refugee camps or the cities. But we cannot have any hope of saving our people or protecting our forest if we don’t stand together. I therefore urge my people, continue to rally behind the ULMWP. This is your government and your constitution. We have thousands of representatives across our land.
We know our enemy will exploit any division between us. By unifying, we honour our ancestors and all those who have fought against Indonesian colonial rule. They joined the struggle because they believed that one day, the Morning Star would fly freely in every village and town across West Papua.
To our supporters around the world, please raise the Morning Star on November 1st. Our national flag is illegal in our own country. If we raise it, paint it on our faces, or shout for freedom in the streets, we can be imprisoned for twenty-five years. We can also be shot dead, as 18-year-old Obert Mirip was in July. This is why we need our allies to fly the flag for us.
Indonesian President Prabowo visits Australia. Will PM Albanese raise West Papua?
Barring any last minute changes, the Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, will visit Australia on Wednesday 12 November. His first visit to Australia since taking office. His last visit was in August 2024 as Defence Minister.
2024 visit (Photo Jakarta Post) President-elect Prabowo Subianto meets with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, August 20, 2024. (Reuters/AAP Image/Mick Tsikas )
Joe Collins of AWPA said, “we are going to hear the usual statements about how our relationship/friendship with Indonesian is one of our most important”.
From PM Albanese media release (11 November 2025)
“Australia and Indonesia share a deep trust and unbreakable bond as neighbours, partners and friends. Together we are committed to working for a secure, stable and prosperous Indo‑Pacific.
“I look forward to building on our previous discussions about how we can develop the strength and depth of our bilateral relationship.”
Collins said, “Although improving trade will be the number one topic in the talks, we can be sure the usual issues of defence ties, terrorism and security in the region will also be on the agenda”.
“The one issue that won’t be discussed will be the human rights situation in West Papua”.
There will be no mention of the massacre of 15 West Papuans on the 15 October 2025 during a security force operation in Soanggama Village in the Intan Jaya Regency, Central Papua. During the military operation the security forces conducted house to house searches and opened fire in an indiscriminate fashion resulting in 15 deaths. The massacre was condemned by civil society, church groups throughout the region
There will be no mention that there are more than 102,966 Internally displaced people in West Papua due to Indonesian security force operations or that there are ongoing human rights abuses committed by the security forces in the terrority.
No mention of the fact that the TNI arrest and torture West Papuans”. No mention of the fact that there are regular crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations with West Papuan activists arrested and intimidated”
And
no mention of the fact that Prabowo was dismissed from the Indonesian army in 1998 for kidnapping student activists or that he has been accused of involvement in human rights abuses in East Timor and West Papua, accusations that Prabowo has denied.
Joe Collins said, “we have been told in replies to our letters (to DFAT) that the Australia Government does raise the human rights situation in West Papua with Indonesia, however, we have yet to see any public statements from the Government on the issue.
As West Papuan National Flag day approaches, 1st December, supporters around the world will be raising the unfree flag of West Papua in a show of solidarity with the West Papuan people. A reminder to governments and in particular to the Australia Government the issue is not going away.
The United Nations has recently come under attack from the Trump Administration and, much as it goes against the grain, it’s difficult to argue with real-estate-developer-cum-ambassador-representative for UN Management and Reform [sic], Jeff Bartos:
“Over 80 years, the UN has grown bloated, unfocused, too often ineffective, and sometimes even part of the problem. The UN’s failure to deliver on its core mandates is alarming and undeniable.”
Yet the problem isn’t really the UN. One notable symptom of its malaise is the Security Council and its five veto-playing permanent members — the US, UK, France, China and Russia — representing the world system that assist and cover up for their allies who commit human rights violations, war crimes and genocide, and that also outsource such crimes. But lèse-humanité is the crime par excellence of the international system. It’s a basic principle of colonial “development”. So what follows isn’t about kicking the UN when it’s down, but about how the rulers of this system use any institution, democratic or otherwise, to achieve their own diabolical and white supremacist ends.
I’m sorry — in more ways than one — that this article is long.
It’s long because the list of UN (when I refer to the UN, I’m basically referring to the world system) offences against the people of West Papua is hideously long. Sadly, my list is by no means complete because there’s lots of “classified” material I don’t know about and many, many secrets, but I hope it gives a glimpse of how the international system works when it wants to get whole encumbering peoples out of its way.
I’m taking it as given that Indonesia is committing genocide in West Papua. It’s done stealthily but there’s plenty of evidence (for example, see here, here, and here) for it. However, the facts show that, in this six-decade-plus crime against humanity, Indonesia has been the tool of other interests, that the role of the United Nations (by which I mean some of its dominant powers and personalities) has been particularly egregious, and this is surely one of the reasons why the West Papua genocide has continued sub rosa, deliberately silenced, for more than 60 years. There are many aspects of the UN betrayal because they belong to big-power politics and they’re convoluted because of the secrecy that surrounds them.
This isn’t about an isolated instance of genocidal violence. It fits into a world system where white supremacist brutality, going back at least to the period of early modern European overseas expansion from the 15th century, the so-called Age of Discovery (a quintessentially Eurocentric concept), turned into a “scientifically-based” system with the Enlightenment and didn’t end with decolonisation. I’d suggest, after reading documents from the time when West Papua was gifted to Indonesia, that the latter was less the West’s darling than a mere instrument unscrupulously used to favour the economic and geopolitical interests of white supremacy and its destructive notions of “progress and development”. It’s not only the various Indonesian regimes that are responsible for mass murder in West Papua, but also and especially their enablers in the international political system represented by the UN and the big powers.
I can only partially list the crimes committed against West Papua (and, here, I’m indebted to painstaking research by Julian McKinlay King, John Saltford, Greg Poulgrain, and others). But even an incomplete list gives an idea of the magnitude of this lèse-humanité, this core crime of international law. I’m not interested in “speaking truth to power” because I agree with Pankaj Mishra that this is a naïve exercise. Those in power know and control the truth. I studied politics and am not an expert in international law so I hope I don’t misinterpret some aspects of it. In any case, the hard facts are enraging for any decent human being. Experts in international law are often too invested in, or too occupied with, other aspects of the corrupt system to inquire into the evidence of Indonesia’s daily genocidal actions in West Papua, and too demoralised to try to stop them through the shoddy institutions at their disposal. Yet any non-expert person who cares to look at the documents can see quite plainly that, in the last almost 65 years of West Papua’s history, the UN has played a shameful role, not only allowing this to happen but deliberately colluding with it. The very forum that has the power to stop the genocide is complicit in it.
It was only recently that the UN finally acknowledged that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, and I can’t help wondering whether all this fudging about the word is somehow related with fear of disclosure of the UN’s active role in abetting and silencing the West Papua genocide. I list 43 aspects of this below.
For the full article please see below.
The article in CounterPunch does list 43 separate paragraphs which are a real work of research and worthwhile reading editors note
STRONG FOCUS ON COP, CLIMATE and UNIFIED STRENGTH OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
This event was organised by The Australian West Papua Association (SA) (AWPA) supported by Conservation Council of SA and Pacific Islands Council of SA PICSA
The Free Family Event was a community fair – a number of organisations had stalls and presences including:
Asian Australians for Climate Solutions
AWPA – environment and political info
XRSA – flyers, free badges, write climate solutions on our whiteboard – about 8 XR members assisted
Face painting
Kid’s activities – focusing on tree kangaroos
Fijian and Papua New guinea dancers – organised by Tukini Tavui (Fiji) CEO PICSA
Hindmarsh Greens
Fusion Party
Sea Shepherd
Food trucks
Channel 9 came to film the dancers
The evening event had about 120 people attending (including more XR members and friends joining) – a good showing in the auditorium. Uncle Moogy welcomed us to country with stories about water sources and connections across country through groundwater.
Chairing the session:Koteka Wenda … the advertised chair was not available but young West Papuan activist-in-exile Koteka Wenda stood in: setting a unifying and gracious tone of welcome, and speaking of her own upbringing and connection to country.
Speakers: all were intensely political and focused on indigenous justice and justice for country. There was a strong focus on the Pacific peoples and on COP31, and the wider interests of millions of first nations peoples.
Arabella Douglas – from Currie Country South-East Queensland/ northern NSW .
Topics:
Recent appeals to the International Court of Justice on compensation for climate damage, and on recognition of Palestine.
Strong interest by (so-called) Pacific nations in Aust bid to hold COP31 in Adelaide,
The stance of Pacific nations in leading the approach on climate.
History of the greater land mass of SAHUL (New Guinea and Australia were once joined and still share bird and animal and plant species, long history of connection and trading,
Severe impact of climate – and moves to create unified climate solutions: examples: plant mangroves as sea-protection, and to close down the many extractive industries
Impacts of climate risk on indigenous people here – opportunities to join with Pacifika peoples. Examples of injustice – poor management of northern rivers.
Drawbacks – Fed monies received for Native Title compensations and restitutions have conditions so that they cannot be used to sue the Fed Govt.
Opportunities for appeals to the ICJ (Int Court of Justice) over climate crisis impacts as a violation of human rights. Want to get problems such as Algal Bloom and damage to Murray-Darling basin onto the COP agenda.
Opportunity for Australia to have a seat on the UN Security Council (although the 5 permanent-seat nations have rights of veto)
Uncles Pabai and Paul of Torres Strait raised a case in the Aust courts, alleging the government had failed to meaningfully address climate change.
Students from the University of the South Pacific took a case to the ICJ in 2019 to advise on the obligations of governments to address climate change under international law
Ali (Kenny) Mirin – West Papuan writer and advocate … topics:
West Papua is arguably the world’s most biodiverse and most threatened region
Illegal logging, multi-national corporations, military protection … impacts for people: restrict access to forests and food sources – + hunting, medicine
Destruction of place-identification markers such as large trees – these mark boundaries between tribes and overstepping boundaries leads to inter-tribal conflicts – there are no written records – instead a story-telling system and a land-place/moiety system
Major corp: MIFEE (Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate) – land grab … https://www.etan.org/news/2011/mifee.htm world’s largest deforestation for sugar cane .. clearing of native mangrove, sago, paperbark, wetland destruction, incursion of roads, multi species of frogs, high elevations, fragmented habitats … add climate impacts increased temp and rainfall.
50,000 – 60,000 internally displaced people due to Indonesian Military
Media censorship and communication difficulties – PNG has more than 800 languages.
Rowena – Samoan woman now living in Adelaide … topics
Pacifika peoples have contributed least to climate change but have the most serious impacts – example – nuclear waste dump flooded by rising sea levels
Repressions with all the usual methods – forbidden to use language, students confined to dormitories.
Climate justice is indistinguishable from land justice.
The Australian government claims to protect pacific “family” but at the same time rewards and supports “those who would destroy us”.
Habitat protection needed
Solution to climate catastrophe is to Speak the Truth
People in Aust do not know where Samoa is
People in the Pacific do not know where Adelaide is “is it near Perth?” … but they know it when you say “It’s the place with the Santos HQ”.
Tiani Adamson (Wildlife Conservationist and Young South Australian of the Year 2024)
Tiani came from the northern Cape York peninsula – her people were forcibly relocated to Darwin. She is now based in Adelaide.
Focuses research on islands – 5% of landmass, > 20% of biodiversity, extreme speciation due to isolation, but vulnerability to introduced ferals.
Island and indigenous decision making is more community based, long term and not based on a 4 year election cycle.
Australian native food businesses are less than 5% owned by indigenous people
Need to nourish land and sea – and at the same time each other.
During the military operation the security forces conducted house to house searches and opened fire in an indiscriminate fashion resulting in 15 deaths. According to community sources soldiers buried most of the bodies with some still to be found.
Human Rights Monitor
Joe Collins of AWPA said, “as with previous military operations local people fled in fear of their lives. In this case up to 145 residents fled from Soanggama, Janamba, and Kulapa. There are now over 100,000 displaced people in West Papua. Many are malnourished and children are missing out on their education”.
The security forces claimed that the dead were members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and they were killed in a firefight.
However, TPNPB Spokesperson Sebby Sambom reported only three of the dead were TPNPB members.
Local church leaders and civil society groups also disputed the official narrative. The Intan Jaya Conflict Mediation Team stated that not all 15 victims were affiliated with the TPNPB, identifying at least nine civilians, including a deaf man and a housewife who died while fleeing.
The Head of the Intan Jaya Conflict Mediation Team, Yoakim Mujizau, said that his team had visited Soanggama Village and identified the victims and gathered information from residents who witnessed the incident. The team also received information from members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) stationed there.
The latest information is that all the victims have been buried by the Task Force in different locations. Two victims were buried in Soanggama Hamlet in front of the Protestant Church. Six people were buried in Dusandigi Hamlet, Soanggama Village, and one woman was buried in Jembatan Hamlet, on the Wuisiga River.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the other six victims have not yet been found.
“The security forces are still unwilling to provide information. Where are the shooting victims? And where are they buried? So we are still investigating the whereabouts of the bodies, and we have not yet identified them,” he said.
Collins said, “we have statements from the Indonesia military saying it reclaimed/ liberated a village from the TPNPB when the only liberation that needs to be done is the liberation of West Papuans from the oppression of the Indonesian security forces”.
Joe Collins said,” we have a massacre of Papuan civilians on our doorstep and there is no comment from Canberra on the incident. No concern about the ongoing human rights abuses, the military operations or the death of civilians in the territory”.
All Canberra does “is to train and exercise with the Indonesian military. Sign a defence treaty with PNG and build up bases for US forces in the north. All to prepare for some imaginary invasion from China. Australia has always been concerned about stability in the region to our north, but the West Papua issue is the one issue that could cause the very instability the Canberra fears.
The West Papuan issue is not going away. Time for Canberra to become involved and put pressure on Jakarta to control its military in West Papua, as a first small step.
Ends
Sources
Jubi, Human Rights Monitor and Civil society reports
On 23 September 2025, police officers from the Jayapura Police arbitrarily detained thirteen members of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in the Sentani area while they were distributing leaflets to announce an upcoming peaceful demonstration marking International Farmers’ Day (24 September 2025). According to local reports, at 10:08 am, police officers stopped the activists at the old Sentani Market (Pasar Lama) and detained them after 20 minutes of tense negotiations. The police seized the leaflets and transported the KNPB activists to the local police station for questioning. They were allowed to leave later that day.
In the afternoon, around 3:30 pm, KNPB members in Abepura and Kamkey, Jayapura City, continued distributing the same leaflets at strategic public points. The police again intervened, seizing the leaflets and detaining several individuals in police vehicles. In response, other KNPB members and residents marched to the Abepura Police Station to protest the arbitrary detention and demand an explanation.
Human rights analysis
This incident demonstrates a continuing pattern of repression of peaceful political expression in West Papua. The arrests of non-violent activists for merely distributing informational materials represent a violation of the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, as guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State Party. The use of police force to silence non-violent activists highlights the shrinking democratic space in West Papua and perpetuates an atmosphere of fear among civil society organisations. The events underscore the urgent need for systemic reform of policing practices in West Papua to prevent and reduce human rights violations.
The Indonesian government’s ambitious National Strategic Project (PSN) in Merauke has entered a critical phase marked by escalating conflict between indigenous landowners and corporations backed by state authority, with customary land seizures now accompanied by police criminalization of community members resisting plantation development on their ancestral territories. On 29 September 2025, Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan announced plans to convert 481,000 hectares of Papuan forest in Wanam, Merauke Regency, for rice, oil palm, sugarcane, and cassava production, alongside renewable energy facilities, including bioethanol and biodiesel processing industries. The government claims the forest area has already been “released” from protected status, with Minister of Agrarian Affairs, Nusron Wahid, stating the land “does not belong to the community because it was previously state forest,” allocating 263,000 hectares for rice fields in Wanam, 41,000 hectares in Merauke City, 146,000 hectares for oil palm, and 1,140 hectares for ports and settlements. This massive land conversion contradicts the lived reality of indigenous Yei communities like the Kwipalo clan, whose ancestral territories are being forcibly seized by PT Murni Nusantara Mandiri (MNM). The company is part of the PT Global Papua Abadi consortium holding a 52,700-hectare concession for sugar cane plantation development.
The conflict reached a new level on 15 September 2025, when Mr Vincen Kwipalo and his relatives physically stopped PT MNM employees operating excavators and bulldozers clearing their customary forest to build road access through Kwipalo clan territory in Jagebob District. Following this confrontation, PT MNM used one of its employees to file a police report against Mr Kwipalo at the Merauke Resort Police Station. Following the police report, Mr Kwipalo was summoned for clarification on 2 October 2025. On 17 September 2025, Mr Kwipalo and three relatives erected traditional barriers named “Sasi“ using tree trunks across the cleared land, painting them orange and posting warning signs reading “No entry to the Kwipalo customary area,” to protect the 2,308 hectares of ancestral land threatened by corporate encroachment. As of August 2025, PT MNM had already cleared 4,912 hectares of the concession area, with periodic monitoring by Pusaka Bentala Rakyat Foundation documenting ongoing deforestation.
The Kwipalo clan’s resistance reflects systematic violations of indigenous land rights under Indonesian law, particularly Article 43(3) of Law No. 2/2021, requiring that provision of customary and individual land “for any purpose” must be “carried out through deliberation with the customary law community and residents concerned to reach an agreement on the transfer of required land and compensation.”
The Kwipalo Clan has manifested its rejection through multiple channels: planting red crosses on customary territory as traditional symbols of prohibition, openly declaring rejection through the national media, staging demonstrations in both Merauke and Jakarta, and filing an ongoing lawsuit with Indonesia’s Constitutional Court challenging the project’s legality. His position is reinforced by Article 21 of Merauke Regency Regulation No. 5/2013. The article obligates the South Papua Governor and Merauke Regent to immediately order PT. MNM to stop the criminal act of seizing and embezzling the customary land of the Kwipalo clan and protect Mr. Vinsen Kwipalo from the threat of criminalisation. State institutions, including the police, have become enforcement mechanisms for corporate land acquisition. Ín addition, the military has established the 817th Territorial Development Infantry Battalion within PT MNM’s concession area on Kwipalo customary land in July 2025, without clan permission or consent. The developments support growing concerns of deliberate militarization for the purpose of securing corporate business interests.
The Merauke PSN represents a broader pattern documented across Indonesia, where National Strategic Projects systematically dispossess indigenous communities under the legal framework established by the Job Creation Law. Civil society organizations argue that the law provides “facilitation and acceleration” mechanisms that bypass normal consultation and compensation requirements. The case parallels the displacement of 75 families from Soa Village in Tanah Miring District by PT Global Papua Abadi for road and bridge construction, and other conflicts at other PSN sites, including Rempang Island (Riau Islands), Indonesian Green Industrial Zone (North Kalimantan), and the National Capital (East Kalimantan), where communities face forced evictions for development projects. Greenpeace Indonesia Forest Campaigner, Mrs Sekar Banjaran Aji, notedthat “PSN Merauke has deprived indigenous peoples of their rights, destroyed natural forests, and threatened the biodiversity of the landscape,” while emphasizing that “the involvement of the army and police in the project has also caused terror among the community and indigenous Papuans.”
Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission has documented violations in PSN Merauke activities. Yet the government continues advancing the project as part of President Prabowo Subianto’s vision referenced at the UN General Assembly, positioning Indonesia as a “candidate for the world’s food barn.” The Papua Law Enforcement and Human Rights Coalition has called on the President to “immediately revoke the National Strategic Project policy that legalizes PT. MNM’s seizure and misappropriation of the customary land of the Kwipalo clan. The criminalization of Mr Vincen Kwipalo represents an “early example” of tactics that will be deployed against indigenous land rights holders resisting investment projects throughout the South Papua Province and in other PSN sites across Indonesia.
Mr Vinsen Kwipalo stops PT MNM excavators from destroying the Kwipalo clan’s customary forest, 17 September 2025
Mr Vinsen Kwipalo and supporters in front of the Merauke District Police Station, 2 October 2025
Period of incident: 15/09/2025 – 15/10/2025 Perpetrator: Private Company, Government Issues: business, human rights and FPIC, human rights defenders, indigenous peoples
In the wake of looting and rioting in late August, President Prabowo Subianto deployed more than 75,000 Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers to secure areas in and around Jakarta.
Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Fri, September 19, 2025
Political developments in the past few weeks have not been very kind to the concept of civilian supremacy in the country. In the wake of looting and rioting that took place in late August, President Prabowo Subianto agreed to the deployment of more than 75,000 soldiers from the Indonesian Military (TNI) to secure areas within and around Jakarta. It could have been a bigger display of military might, as security authorities proposed the deployment of more than 100,000 troops in the city. The troops’ deployment may have been the largest in the capital city since 1998, when soldiers in armored vehicles patrolled the streets following civil unrest that ended with the resignation of then-president Soeharto.
Also in response to the unrest in August, President Prabowo sacked coordinating minister for political and security affairs Budi Gunawan after serving only 10 months in office, convinced that the former police general had failed to coordinate a proper response to handle the protests and street violence.
To replace Budi, on Wednesday President Prabowo inaugurated Djamari Chaniago, his senior at the military academy who in the late 1990s served as commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).
The appointment of Djamari is only the latest in a series of decisions allowing both active and retired military generals to take charge of civilian institutions. In May this year, then-finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati appointed Djaka Budhi Utama, a retired lieutenant general who was once found guilty of kidnapping human rights activists, as head of the Customs and Excise Directorate General. Later in July, another Army officer Maj. Gen. Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani was appointed as president director of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), in charge of one of the most crucial agencies involved in food security.
Other than packing civilian institutions with military generals, President Prabowo has also designed policies that allow military officers to have leading positions in their execution. In the food security program, the plan is to have thousands of soldiers deployed in the country’s remote regions to work on lands that will produce rice and other staple foods. Currently, TNI soldiers are taking leading roles in a forestry task force that is expected to seize lands illegally occupied or used by palm oil companies. Plans are also afoot to expand the military presence outside of Java, including the deployment of the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) to far-flung regions.
This certainly looks like an aberration in a civilian-led democracy like Indonesia. But the reality today is that this expansion of the military’s role in politics could find its legal justification in the revised TNI Law, which was passed without much fanfare in March this year.
The revised law increases the number of state institutions to which military officers can be appointed without having to retire early from the service from 10 to 14. The new legislation also expands the TNI’s non-combat operations and extends sitting officers’ retirement age. When the Constitutional Court (MK) read its ruling on Wednesday to uphold the legality of the revised TNI Law, the court’s judges were up against insurmountable odds. It was difficult for them to turn the tide in a political atmosphere that was already welcoming the increased presence of the military in civilian affairs. And with soldiers still patrolling the streets as the court was hearing the case, it was as if the panel of judges was staring down the barrel.
But it is unfair to pin our hopes on the court to save this nation from rising militarism.
The job of ensuring civilian supremacy should be in the hands of politicians both in the executive and legislative branches of the government, it is they who should devise rules mandating that the primary role of the military is national defense.
The rationale for the new allowance was that legislators in the current term [2024-2029] were not receiving government housing, unlike in previous years, and were therefore entitled to compensation. This was further justified by the fact that many legislators are not from Jakarta and have to pay for accommodation when they are in town. The previously existing DPR housing complex where they received free accommodation was decommissioned in 2024 due to quality complaints from residents.
The allowance announcement led to outrage for many reasons. First, the amount of Rp50 million was seen as outrageously high—much more than what ‘ordinary Indonesians’ earn—and a poor use of taxpayers’ money. This was further exacerbated by a viral moment in which Kadir gave a nonsensical calculation for how the Rp50million amount had been determined, defended it as being insufficient to find suitable accommodation in the vicinity of the legislative complex. He claimed that around Rp78million would be required every month and so legislators would still be out-of-pocket.
While a charitable interpretation would be that Kadir misspoke, the fact that his calculations were wildly incorrect led to ridicule and undermined the rationale of the allowance. Responding to pressure, Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad clarified on 26 August 2025 that the allowance would only be applicable for one year, from October 2024-October 2025, and that it could only to be used for housing, dismissing claims that it was a salary increase. However, this explanation has done little to address the underlying concerns that prompted public anger in the first place.
So, what do these protests say about current attitudes towards politicians, their work and their lifestyles in Indonesia? Following on from the recent One Piece flag phenomenon, the critiques that have unfolded reflect much deeper issues regarding Indonesians’ perceptions of politicians. Not only are they seen as out of touch with the concerns of everyday people but also the decisions they make about government spending are made without transparency and accountability.
The housing allowance: is it justified?
One reason the new Rp50 million (AUD4,700) monthly housing allowance was such a shock to Indonesians is that it stands in stark contrast to the minimum wage rate (Upah Minimum Regional, UMR) for Jakarta, which currently sits at Rp5,396,791 (approximately AUD500) per month. As the minimum wage is government-sanctioned, the fact that another government body came out so publicly with wildly different calculations for housing, let alone other costs associated with surviving in Jakarta, hit a raw nerve.
There have also been calls for more transparency on how the DPR decided on the allowance amount in the first place. Defending the decision, House Speaker Puan Maharani said that the determination was thoroughly evaluated and took into account ‘the conditions and prices in Jakarta.’ A cursory scan of property websites in Indonesia such as rumah123 and lamudi.co.id, list a wide range of accommodation available for rent around the Senayan area which surrounds the legislative complex. Yes, the area is central and highly desirable, but fully-furnished 2-bedroom apartments can still be found for under Rp10 million per month. Considerably larger houses at the low-end of the price spectrum can be found for Rp20 million per month.
Of course, there are other neighbourhoods close by that offer comparable options at significantly lower prices. The previous accommodation for DPR members was in Kalibata, a neighbourhood around 10 kilometres away from the DPR offices. This does beg the question of how legislators landed on the allowance sum of Rp50million per month in the first place, and whether politicians’ entitlements are too high.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Indonesian Institute have framed the debate in terms of what politicians already earn, highlighting that their compensation is already generous and their accommodation should not be further subsidised with public funds. In the aftermath of the announcement, several politicians have made public their earnings. Puan Maharani and Dasco Ahmad have both stated that their take home pay is around Rp100 million per month (AUD9,381), including base wages, allowances and higher duty benefits.
But the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Forum Indonesia untuk Transparansi Anggaran (Fitra) has claimed it to be closer to Rp230million(AUD21,578). For reference, the Central Statistics Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS), put the average monthly salary for managers in Jakarta at Rp14,329,826 (AUD1,341) (August 2024).
With politicians’ salaries way above average pay rates in Jakarta, politicians have been accused of being unworthy of such high salaries and out of touch with the concerns of everyday Indonesians.
The public response of some politicians has added further fuel to the fire. Accused of being out of touch, KBR.ID have called the situation an ‘empathy test‘ for politicians, which several seem to have failed. Project Multatulicompiled a list of quotes which exemplified the haughty retorts of politicians.
In some choice examples, PDI-P member Deddy Sitorus was quoted as saying that comparing legislators to becak drivers or workers is a ‘logical fallacy’, while Nasdem member Ahmad Sitori stated that people calling for the dissolution of the DPR ‘are the dumbest people in the world.’ Nasdem member Nafa Urbach refuted criticism of the housing allowance, arguing that due to traffic her commute to the DPR from outer suburb Bintaro was ‘’extreme” (luar biasa) so she needed the allowance to live closer to work. Kompas, in a sly lampooning of this argument, calculated that by taking public transportation and walking she could be at work within 35 minutes.
Online discourse criticising the decision has drawn much from ideas about the appropriate use of public funds and that, as taxpayers, Indonesians should have a say in how politicians are compensated. Much has been made about Indonesia’s economic situation which led to drastic cross-sectoral funding cuts earlier in 2025, including to the education and health budgets, and regional fund transfers. In an economic context where the government has been forced to take drastic measures and promote ‘efficiency’ within the national budget, a high additional allowance for lawmakers seems like a poor use of already limited funds.
Attempts to silence criticism have further angered the public. Reminiscent of the political debate surrounding flying the One Piece flag on Indonesia’s national day, the Deputy Minister for Communication and Digital, Angga Raka Prabowo, called on social media platforms TikTok and Meta to assist with deplatforming ‘provocative content.’ In their attempts to mediate online channels, places where citizens can post their political complaints and critique government policies, politicians have only intensified the perception they believe that they should be above criticism.
Questioning the position of politicians
The protests and commentary on the housing allowance, both online and offline, reflect a revived spotlight on debate about the role of politicians and public expectations of them.
While the announcement of the housing allowance provided an impetus for outrage, the issues subsequently discussed are reflective of a much deeper dissatisfaction with the way the government is run. These August 2025 protests are part of a more recent history of protests stemming from the Dark Indonesia (Indonesia Gelap) movement, which aimed to highlight a plethora political complaints.
One of the fundamental reasons that the housing allowance has triggered anger is related to public perceptions of politicians and their role as representatives of citizens’ interests. Arguments that since politicians’ salaries are funded by public money, they should be beholden to the public fuels these complaints.
Indonesians are used to politicians falling short of expectations, evidenced by the high number of politicians embroiled in the corruption scandals flooding national news. But the housing allowance was particularly jarring because people could directly compare it to what they earn themselves.
This has opened the floodgates for a more intense focus on politicians’ salaries and, more importantly, whether they are worthy of them. Here, the argument is that if politicians do not understand what it is like to live as an ordinary person in Indonesia, how can they possibly represent ordinary people’s interests?
These complaints are not new. They reflect a long-existing divide between political elites and everyone else within Indonesian society. But with increasing social media commentary and debate, Indonesians are better able to connect across grievances and mobilise, both online and offline. The call for accountability and increasingly vocal demands that politicians answer to the public are reflective of an rising sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo, which, if not resolved, might lead to an ever-rising number of protests in the future.Analysis, Policies, Politics
IN exile but unbroken, three West Papuan journalists are in Fiji calling on the Pacific to stand with them against Indonesia’s ongoing media blackout and human rights abuses.
Their visit is part of a broader effort to forge solidarity with Pacific neighbours, through media partnerships, university collaborations, and joint advocacy for human rights and self-determination.
Speaking after the screening of their latest documentary film “Pepera 1969: A Democratic Integration” at the University of the South Pacific, the team including Victor Mambor, co-founder of Jubi Media Papua, Yuliana Lantipo, senior journalist and editor, and Dandhy Laksono, Jakarta-based investigative filmmaker shared their personal experiences of reporting from inside one of the most heavily militarised and censored regions in the Pacific.
“We are here to build bridges with our brothers and sisters in the Pacific,” said Mambor.
“There is no hope from the Asian side,” added Laksono. “That’s why we are here, to reach out to the Pacific. We need new audiences, new support, and new understanding.”
The team urged Pacific people to push for greater awareness of the West Papuan situation and to challenge the dominant narratives propagated by the Indonesian government.
“Don’t just listen to what Jakarta says,” said Mambor. “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.”
Mambor described the continued targeting of Jubi Media staff, including attacks on their office and vehicles, as part of an escalating crackdown under Indonesia’s new President.
“Two of our operational cars were destroyed. Our journalists are constantly intimidated. Yet we continue to report the truth.”
The situation for press freedom in West Papua is dire. Foreign journalists are barred entry, internet access is often restricted during periods of unrest, and local reporters — especially Indigenous one’s risk arrest or violence for covering politically sensitive stories.
“If you report on deforestation or culture, maybe it’s allowed. But if you report on human rights or the military, there is no tolerance,” said Laksono.
Laksono, who is not Papuan himself but has long worked to expose injustices in the region, added: “Much of Indonesia has been indoctrinated through school textbooks and media into believing a false history. Our film tries to change that by offering the truth, especially about the so-called Act of Free Choicein 1969, which was neither free nor a genuine act of self-determination.”
Journalist Yuliana Lantipo spoke of the daily trauma faced by communities caught between the Indonesian military and the West Papua National Liberation Army.
“Every day we receive reports: killings, displacement, families fleeing villages, children out of school, no access to health care. Women and children are the most affected,” she said.
As one of the few Indigenous female journalists reporting from conflict zones, Lantipo also highlighted how her identity both enables and complicates her work.
“Sometimes, as a woman, I can access conflict areas more easily, especially when traveling with elders or family members. But Indigenous male journalists, especially those with dreadlocks or visible Papuan identity, are often turned away or arrested.”
Despite the personal risks, Lantipo and her colleagues remain committed to their role.
“People need us to speak the truth. That is our responsibility. That is our profession.”
Jubi Media Papua
Founded in 2001 by West Papuan civil society, Jubi Media has become one of the most trusted and independent sources of information from the territory. With more than 30 reporters and 50 staff, the media house has built a reputation for fearless journalism.
“Jubi means ‘to speak the truth’,” said Mambor. “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.”
Australia West Papua Association Adelaide 