The creeping crisis we’re ignoring

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As Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto steers his giant nation closer to China it’s worth recalling Paul Keating three decades ago: “No country is more important to Australia than Indonesia.”

His successors nod and offer warm words, but no longer hear their prophet. Caught up in domestic policies and trying to dodge the Trump Martian machine, we’re ignoring the neighbour.

We’re in Asia geographically, but not there culturally or politically. Their harbours are close; we want their shelter, but they’re indifferent. Updating the chart is urgent.

The US President trashes international alliances like Aussie bogans beat up Bali bars. We now fear Big Bro won’t rush to sort out bullies on a faraway playground with fewer folk than Texas.

An SOS might be triggered by real or imagined Beijing threats – like those this month involving the reported shooting of flares near an Australian surveillance jet over the South China Sea, and Chinese naval live-fire exercises in the east Indian Ocean.

The warships were 280 nautical miles from Tassie, but close enough to churn paranoia and a rush to check the ANZUS Treaty text.

The Cold War alliance “binds Australia, (NZ) and the US to consult on mutual threats, and, in accordance with our respective constitutional processes, to act to meet common dangers”.

It was signed when Trump was a pre-schooler. Now a septuagenarian, he’s showing no respect for last-century deals done for a different time and world.

In 1952, when ANZUS was born, Indonesia was run by the mercurial Sukarno dabbling with democracy, but settling for autocracy. Its population of 72 million was three years into formal independence after more than three centuries of Duch colonialism.

It threatened to go Communist; the three Western nations panicked and knocked-up ANZUS.

Since then, the Republic’s numbers have quadrupled; it’s the world’s fourth-largest state with more Muslims than anywhere else and is destroying democracy. Last year, its economic growth rate topped 5% against our 1.1%.

Although just next door, we can’t bother to learn their culture and language and understand their beliefs and values – all essential if we hope to get close.

It also has a new right-wing president. Prabowo Subianto, 73, a disgraced former general, is turning his nation into a military fantasy, parading his ministers in fatigues, forcing them to sleep under canvas. If this demeaning wasn’t real, it would be hilarious.

Prabowo is rubbishing ballots for wasting time and money; better select than elect. He’s told local journos to “prioritise the interests of the nation… a responsible press should know what constitutes the national interest”.

Opposition is stirring. Though so far poorly organised, the potential for mass strife is ever present, largely ignored by the Australian media though not by Pearls & Irritations. Water-cannons have already hosed Indonesia Gelap (Dark Indonesia) demos in Surabaya.

Prabowo’s popular policy of free lunches for schoolkids has funding and admin hassles. About 32,000 extra workers are needed to cook and deliver. They won’t be trained at the nation’s many hospitality colleges but at Universitas Pertahanan, the Defence University, where military staff can teach the loading of woks and the arming of trays.

The corruption curse terrifying investors still froths and bubbles. This month, seven suspects were arrested in an alleged $19 billion graft case at the government’s oil company, Pertamina.

Prabowo has said he wants to forgive convicted corruptors provided they secretly return the money – an idea that’s probably illegal.

Back to Keating last century; his bromance with Suharto was consummated with the Australia–Indonesia Agreement for Maintaining Security laid in 1995. The plan was fine, but Keating’s partner was already losing control after almost 30 years of despotic rule.

One report claimed Suharto was impressed by the PM, “telling his advisers he admired the Australian’s patriotism and praising his readiness to promote an Australia more engaged with its region”.

However, he was not engaged with the wong cilik – the ordinary folk whose multitudes can destroy the elite. Keating and his crew, high in their five-star hotels and embassy briefings, couldn’t sniff the winds of change billowing through the crowded kampongs far below.

Your correspondent and other Westerners were regularly cornered by intense youth and wrung dry for fresh news. The Oz motorcade howled through the intersections where masked students sold smudged photocopies of banned international magazines exposing Suharto’s kleptocracy and brutality.

Keating must have known the pact was one-sided, his counterpart rotten. Why did he ignore this villainy? He’s been contacted for comment, but hasn’t replied.

The document was shredded in 1999 after Suharto fell and Australia helped East Timor through the referendum. A shamed nation lost its pride; trust in Down Under has never recovered – and vicky-verky.

A 2021 Lowy Institute poll showed only 13% of Indonesians want Australia as a “preferred partner”. The figure for Japan, a brutal occupying force in the 1940s, was 46%.

Now Prabowo has put Indonesia into BRICS, “the China-backed bloc of emerging economies” – Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa plus Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE.

It’s in opposition to the G7: France, the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, Italy and the EU.

Australia is in neither club though ranking as the 12th largest economy in the world, ahead of Canada which is in G7. We’re not even in ASEAN, the impotent 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Indonesian wags call it NATO – No Action Talk Only.

The latest paperwork is the Australia‑Indonesia Defence Co-operation Agreement driven and signed last August by Deputy PM Richard Marles who saw a happy marriage. Prabowo doused arousal with cold water saying Indonesia would not “be involved in any geopolitical or military alliances or groupings” begging the question: Why did he sign?

We also have the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a 2020 pact that promised much, but has delivered little in trade and less in influence. Its track to success has been potholed as predicted, with no one keen to repair it except with platitudes.

Some know our grains make noodles, our forests burn, koalas are cute and many shops close early. That’s about it. Korean pop is fun.

James Curran, professor of modern history at Sydney University, wrote that Keating “not only wanted to bury the old fears of Indonesia; he was looking ahead to the possibility of a new threat, in the form of a potentially more aggressive China”.

“He was doing what any prudent leader should do – thinking broadly about the nation’s geopolitical future and preparing for any worst-case scenario.”

That scenario is here and now – engineered by Trump. If Canberra has a Plan B, it’s secret.

Three years ago the Lowy Institute’s Dr Stephen Grenville — formerly with the International Monetary Fund in Jakarta — wrote:

“Indonesia is more important to us than we are to them, and this will become truer as their relative economic weight increases. It’s hard to imagine an Indonesian president reciprocating Keating’s ‘no country is more important to Australia than Indonesia’.”

Can you help Pearls and Irritations?

INDONESIA: CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTS, STIFLING OF EXPRESSION AND REPRESSION IN PAPUA CONTINUES IN PRABOWO’S FIRST FOUR MONTHS IN POWER

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In Indonesia, civic space remains rated as ‘obstructed’ in the latest People Power Under Attack reportpublished in December 2024. Among the main concerns are the use of restrictive laws, including defamation provisions against human rights defenders and journalists as well as harassment and threats against them. The authorities have criminalised Papuan activists for their peaceful expression, while protests across Indonesia have been met with arbitrary arrests and excessive force from the police

During President Prabowo Subianto’s first 100 days in office, he had indicated a commitment to a conditional release of Papuan political activists in detention as part of a larger amnesty programme. However, human rights groups have raised concerns about Prabowo’s seriousness in protecting freedom of expression and opinion. There are also concerns about the ongoing impunity for human rights violations by the security forces, dealing with past serious crimes and the restrictions on civic freedoms.

There were nationwide student protests at the end of February 2025 against President Prabowo’s budget cuts , marking a key test of his leadership. The “Dark Indonesia” (#IndonesiaGelap) rally saw hundreds of students from leading universities carrying banners as they gathered outside the presidential palace in central Jakarta, many clad in black. Similar protests drawing thousands of students have taken place in other parts of the country, including Surabaya, Bali, Medan and Yogyakarta.

In recent months, a woman protester was jailed for opposing a palm oil mill while a protest against a hike in tax was forcibly dispersed. Protesters in Papua, including students, faced suppression and arrests for their activism. An environmental expert is facing a lawsuit and harassment for testifying in court while a punk band has had to apologise and withdraw a song on police corruption. Commemorations of a historic day in Papua were targeted with police repression. A Papuan human rights defender faced intimidation and an environmental activist was attacked, while the investigation by the national human rights body into the case of human rights defender Munir is facing challenges……………………………………

https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/indonesia-crackdown-on-protests-stifling-of-expression-and-repression-in-papua-continues-in-prabowos-first-four-months-in-power/

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Interim President: Prabowo reviving Suharto’s New Order in West Papua

Papua’s Yoboi Indigenous Community Transforms Sago Production, Opens New Market Opportunities 

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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Masyarakat Adat, or indigenous people, of Yoboi village of Papua are adopting new ways to turn their native sago palms into high-value products, reducing processing time from several days to only five hours and opening doors to wider markets.

Papua has the second largest sago palm plantations in Indonesia, but customary sago processing remains largely manual and time-consuming, resulting in low-grade products that offer limited benefits to local livelihoods and food security.

Now, however, members of the Masyarakat Adat Yoboi can process sago into value-added products that meet food safety standards by using a small-scale sago processing unit, built through the support of a project jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and now owned by the community. FAO and Analisis Papua Strategis (APS) have trained 30 community members to sustainably operate the units and diversify sago-derivative products.

“With the sago processing machine unit, Yoboi people have become economically independent. It is the right solution for us in Yoboi, who have large sago forest areas in Jayapura,” said Sefanya Walli, Head of the Yoboi Adat Village, in a written statement released by the UN Indonesia.

Sago, a sacred staple for Masyarakat Adat, has been considered an alternative source of carbohydrates to help ensure food security and diversity.

However, efforts remain necessary for sago products to be accepted and consumed by the wider population, said Elvyrisma Nainggolan, Chair of the Plantation Products Marketing Group, Directorate General of Plantations, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia.

“Sago-producing village groups play an important role, and they need to be empowered so they can process sago into flour, which can then be turned into sago-based cakes and even noodles, like in Yoboi. That way, it is hoped that Masyarakat Adat Yoboi’s sago derivatives could become more widespread in markets across the archipelago and even go global in the future,” said Elvyrisma.

community’s sago-based products and connect them with potential buyers, distributors, and market actors, FAO, Masyarakat Adat Yosiba (Yoboi, Simforo, and Babrongko), and Analisis Papua Strategis launched today the first Sago Festival in Yoboi, Jayapura.

During the festival, women and other members of the Masyarakat Adat Yoboi presented live demonstrations of their sago-based dishes, such as noodles and rice analogs, showcasing their market potential. A business networking session allowed community members, small and medium sago entrepreneurs, market actors, and cooperatives to be connected and leverage business potential and opportunities. Over 100 people participated in this festival, including members of Masyarakat Adat, business representatives, and the public of Jayapura.

Head of Papua Province Plantation and Livestock Agency, Matheus Philep Koibur, expressed his appreciation toward the Sago Festival for showcasing the high potential of sago commodities to meet food needs, environmental preservation, and economic improvement of the community.

“The Sago Festival has opened up a big room to promote our sago to industry players who can then turn them into high-value products. Moreover, it is hoped that people of other sago-producing districts are motivated to follow the footsteps of Masyarakat Adat Yoboi,” said Matheus.

We are not on ’empty land’

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by Teuila Fuatai | Mar 2, 2025 | 0  | 7 min read

For more than 60 years, the Indigenous people of West Papua have sought independence from Indonesia. It’s estimated that more than 500,000 civilians have been killed in the struggle, while thousands more have fled the region. 

Rosa Moiwend is from Merauke in the southeast of West Papua, which borders Papua New Guinea. Colonial administrations have repeatedly tried to secure land in Merauke, with land grabs dating back to the Dutch regime, West Papua’s first colonial occupier. 

Today, Merauke is the site of the Indonesian government’s National Food Strategic Project, which will see the destruction of more than two million hectares of native Merauke forests and wetlands. The authorities say the huge project will provide food and energy for all of Indonesia — but for the Indigenous Malind people who live there, it’s a disaster about to happen. 

Here, Rosa talks to Teuila Fuatai. 

Our land is well known for its wildlife, especially the fish and meat you can hunt.

It’s a vast area, which is covered by wetlands, savannahs, forests and mangroves. According to UNESCO, our land has some of the largest and healthiest wetlands in the Asia-Pacific region. It’s also home to an incredibly diverse range of species.

Of course, my people have always known this.

Those still living in Merauke continue to rely on our natural resources for sustenance. In the swampy areas, you can catch fish and fresh water shrimp. We also harvest sago from the forest, and keep crops.

The different local clans, collectively known as the Indigenous Malind Anim people, have a special system to ensure food is distributed to everyone. For example, with the sago forest, one clan or family will come for a week, build a base or camp, and then harvest a few trees. If there’s a lot of trees to be harvested at once, then all the clans work together. It’s the same for hunting. The men go as a collective, with dogs and guns. Whatever the group comes back with is shared among the clans.

This system has been in place for generations. But as the Indonesian authorities and companies have come with their developments and plans over the years, that way of life and our connection to the land has been threatened and, in some places, broken.

Some of our sacred sites in the forests have been destroyed to make way for roads and infrastructure projects. Rather than go around them, developers have chosen to bulldoze their way through because it’s more economical. Parts of the forests have also been cut off entirely for development projects.

All of this has devastating impacts.

People say that Malind people are very poor, that not many of us are educated or go to school. I believe these challenges, and the poverty our families experience, are directly related to the destruction of our land and our connection with it.

For Malind people, areas of the forests and wetlands are sacred because they are inhabited by the dema or atua, our ancestral spirits who guard the land and villages. Because of that, we’ve always respected and preserved these areas. We believe the presence of the dema results in abundant and fertile harvests, which ensures, for example, that the fish and large-sized shrimp are plentiful.

Destruction of these sacred sites is akin to killing the dema, and that has severed our people’s connection with our ancestral spirits. The dema, the protectors of our land and lives, have departed due to the harm caused by human greed. Without them, our lifecycle and wellbeing as people is incomplete.

This is a trauma that has accumulated over generations.

Even before Indonesia took over in the 1960s, the Dutch administration was displacing our people and way of life through transmigration. This involved bringing Indonesian people to West Papua, to places like Merauke, to work and live. When Indonesia claimed control, transmigration simply resumed under the Suharto regime.

The occupiers bring their people, take our lands, teach their way of life, and say their people are citizens. It’s been particularly devastating for Malind people because much of what’s been confiscated over the years has been fertile land, which our people rely on to source and grow food.

Now, in 2025, we are confronted with the National Food Strategic Project. The Indonesian government plans to clear more than two million hectares of forests, wetlands and grasslands in Merauke for sugarcane and palm oil plantations, and rice fields. It has already started excavation work.

The government says the project will help Indonesia, which has a population of 270 million, achieve energy and food self-sufficiency.

In Merauke, we’ve heard this kind of talk before. For us, it’s not just wrong and disrespectful — it doesn’t make any sense.

In 2010, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono launched the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate. More than one million hectares of land was set aside for a food and energy estate. The project ultimately failed because of the condition of the land and the fact that the local people rejected it.

Those who are familiar with Merauke know the land requires a lot of work for any large-scale agricultural farming.

First, a lot of Merauke is wetlands. When it rains, people have to get around the wetland areas using a little canoe because it gets so swampy.

Second, Merauke has a rainy and dry season, and each presents uniquely different environments.

The dry season is often compared to the northern part of Australia. During this part of the year, it doesn’t really rain and Merauke is very dry. The rainy season is the exact opposite. Everyone in Merauke knows that during this time, you don’t go around with a motorbike or car because you’ll end up getting stuck in the mud. Heavy vehicles and machinery also get bogged down.

The climate and extreme terrain make it difficult to grow crops like rice and sugar cane. The Indonesian authorities saw that in 2010 when the food estate failed.

The current project is basically a repeat of that. It targets the same location, people, and area of land. In fact, the Indonesian government has promoted it for the same purposes as the 2010 project. Specifically, authorities anticipate a significant increase in food production through huge rice fields, the development of sugar cane plantations for ethanol biofuel, and oil palm plantations for palm oil production.

All of this, according to the Indonesian government, is not only a solution to its country’s food and energy crisis, but also part of addressing the climate crisis.

For me, these are false solutions.

You can’t destroy the forest and wetlands, which have multiple purposes in the local ecosystem, and say that this helps to address climate change. You also can’t promote such a large project as being pro-environment without undertaking a comprehensive environmental impact study — and we’ve seen no evidence of that to date.

Another red flag is the involvement of the Indonesian Army.

In November, 2000 soldiers arrived in Merauke “to provide assistance to the community” for the project. Indonesian authorities say the soldiers are there to help promote food security and fill labour gaps related to the project.

Despite that, human rights advocates and media reports have already highlighted human rights violations linked to the project and clearing of land. In particular, concerns have been raised about the heavy military presence and its impact on Malind people, who are still suffering from the destruction and violence inflicted on their land and communities through previous Indonesian initiatives.

Unsurprisingly, there have also been practical failures in the project’s early stage.

It’s now the rainy season in Merauke. Two thousand excavators have already been brought in from China to prepare the land. Temporary ports have been constructed, roads have been built, and the land has also been excavated to construct a water channel.

Last December, I learned that companies had evacuated workers due to flooding. That’s linked to the excavation of the land. Merauke is flat, so the wetland areas act as a barrier from the sea during heavy rain. Clearing and excavating the land to make way for crops removes protection for inland areas and significantly heightens the flooding risk.

The development simply doesn’t make sense. For the Indonesian government to claim otherwise is dishonest. And the misinformation doesn’t stop there.

Since the project’s inception, Indonesian authorities have repeatedly claimed that it is using “empty land”.

This statement was made by Hashim Djojohadikusumo, one of the government ministers overseeing the project. He’s also President Prabowo Subianto’s brother and a top Indonesian businessman. He claimed that 60 percent of land in Merauke is empty.

That framing is totally incorrect.

Just because we don’t physically live on a specific piece of land, doesn’t mean it can be defined as empty.

There are areas in Merauke which we use for hunting, fishing and harvesting food, but where people don’t necessarily have their homes. We also have our sacred places in the forest and wetlands, which, out of respect, we don’t enter.

The land is our life and identity, and all of it must be respected. Indonesia simply refuses to recognise or understand that.

It’s why all the tribes of Merauke are united against this project. Every village has put out statements rejecting it. We’ve also created an Indigenous Malind Anim legal forum to organise and mobilise our people.

If the Indonesian government has its way, the area we’ve always called home, where we’ve lived and hunted for thousands of years, will cease to exist.

We know our land, and the ocean around it, is rich in natural resources. Despite our objections, and our rights and place as West Papuans, as Indigenous people, Indonesia wants to exploit all of it. To them, we are an inconvenience.

We have had enough.

West Papua is not Indonesia. West Papua is Melanesian, it’s Pacific, and it’s being occupied by Indonesia. And we will stand up for our place and rights.

Indonesia must understand that we are our own people. For us, the right solution is self-determination. Free West Papua.

Rosa Moiwend is a West Papuan human rights activist from the Gebze Moyu clan of the Malind Makleuw Anim in Merauke. She is a member of the Melanesian Land Defense Alliance and a Pacific rights campaigner for the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG).

As told to Teuila Fuatai. Made possible by the Public Interest Journalism Fund.  



Of the 18,892 HIV/AIDS patients in Papua Province, only 4,192 are undergoing ARV treatment

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Arga Reysamputra

Last updated: February 15, 2025 8:59 pm

Author: Theo Kelen

Editor: Zely Ariane

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Provincial Health Office stated that up to now there are 18,892 active HIV/AIDS patients, and those undergoing Antiretroviral or ARV treatment are 4,192 patients.

This was conveyed by the Head of the HIV/AIDS Section of the Papua Provincial Health Office, dr. Rindang Pribadi Marahaba in Jayapura City, Papua, on Friday (2/14/2025). “Those who routinely take ARV drugs are 4,192 patients,” he said.

Rindang said patients undergoing ARV treatment were spread across Jayapura City (1,741 people), Jayapura Regency (1,189 people), Biak Numfor Regency (470 people), Yapen Islands Regency (462 people). Patients undergoing ARV treatment were also in Keerom Regency (97 people), Waropen Regency (71 people), Supiori Regency (71 people), Sarmi Regency (63 people), and Mamberamo Raya Regency (28 people).

Rindang said that there are at least 144 ARV services spread across nine districts/cities in Papua Province. In addition, there are 59 HIV testing services. “Treatment services have reached the Health Centers,” he said.

However, according to him, few PLWHA are willing to undergo ARV treatment because of the stigma that PLWHA receive. In addition, many PLWHA cannot undergo ARV treatment because they are constrained by access and transportation costs to ARV treatment facilities.

“ARV [treatment] must be lifelong. If for example treatment is stopped, continue taking the same medicine but it is still reviewed. Usually it is reviewed for six months. If after six months the number of viruses is not detected, the drug is continued. But [if] the virus is high, it means one of the drugs is replaced. ARV has three types of drugs in one tablet. Take one tablet but inside there are three types of drugs,” he said.

Jayapura City is the highest

Acting Head of the Papua Provincial Health Office, dr. Arry Potingku MHM said that the highest number of HIV/AIDS sufferers in Papua is in Jayapura City. According to Potingku, the high number of HIV/AIDS cases is caused by several factors, including free sex.

“Free sex plays a major role in the spread of HIV/AIDS. [And] Jayapura City has the highest number of HIV/AIDS sufferers in Papua,” Potingku said last week.

Based on data from the Papua Provincial Health Office from 1993 to the end of 2024, there were 18,892 patients in Papua Province who were actively suffering from HIV/AIDS. The highest number of HIV/AIDS cases was in Jayapura City (8,487 people), followed by Jayapura Regency (4,746 people), Biak Numfor Regency (2,957 people), Yapen Islands Regency (1,599 people).

HIV/AIDS cases were also found in Keerom Regency (434 people), Supiori Regency (247 people), Waropen Regency (194 people), Sarmi Regency (166 people), and the fewest HIV/AIDS cases were in Mamberamo Raya Regency (62 people).

Arry Potingku asked the district/city health office to conduct HIV/AIDS screening. He said that during the free health check-up, HIV testing was also offered.

“Many have not been detected,” he said.

Dominated by OAP

The Person in Charge of HIV/AIDS at the Abepantai Health Center, Ruth Kristina Wabiser Amd Kep said that there were 75 HIV/AIDS patients undergoing Antiretroviral or ARV treatment at the Abepantai Health Center. According to him, the HIV/AIDS patients undergoing treatment were spread across Enggros Village, Nafri Village, Koya Koso Village and Abepantai Sub-district.

“There are 75 PLWHA patients served. Those who are patients undergoing ARV treatment. They are actively undergoing ARV treatment. This is a case from 2011 to the present,” Wabiser told Jubi, on Thursday (2/13/2025).

Wabiser said that HIV/AIDS patients were dominated by indigenous Papuans, namely 54 patients. Meanwhile, there are 21 non-native Papuans with HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS patients range from toddlers aged 2 years to 57 years.

“From 2 years old to 57 years old. The most OAP patients,” he said.

Wabiser also said that there were HIV/AIDS patients who were rejected by their families. He said that patients who were rejected by their families would stay at the Surya Kasih Hospice.

“There is still stigma and rejection from the family. If they experience rejection, we usually put them in the Surya Kasih Hospice, until their condition recovers well, then the family can accept them. That’s what we’ve found so far. In the hospice there is one patient [from the Abepantai Health Center] who has been there for almost three months,” he said.

The Person in Charge of HIV/AIDS at the Abepura Health Center, Iin Siti Rubiah SKep Ners said that as of January 2025, her party had served ARV treatment for 108 patients. Patients who received treatment were aged 20 to 62 years.

Siti said that HIV/AIDS patients were also dominated by indigenous Papuans. According to her, PLHIV patients were spread across Kota Baru Village, Awiyo Village, Yobe Village, and Asano Village.

“Mostly OAP. Some are routine, some are not. [But] we always provide [stock] of extra medicine for patients who leave the area [for] work, some work as far as Sarmi,” said Siti, on Thursday (2/13/2025).

Head of the HIV/AIDS Section of the Papua Provincial Health Office, dr. Rindang Pribadi Marahaba asked HIV/AIDS sufferers to routinely undergo Antiretroviral or ARV treatment. ARV treatment is important to reduce the risk of HIV transmission and prevent the worsening of opportunistic infections.

Rindang also asked families to provide support for their families who are undergoing ARV treatment. According to Rindang, support from the community is needed and especially for PLWHA patients.

“It is hoped that those who already know their HIV/AIDS status will immediately return to services to get ARV. Those who take ARV must do so routinely every day. For families, the community continues to support families infected with HIV/AIDS. So that they take their medication regularly,” he said. (*)

Human Rights Monitor raises alarm over security forces targeting advocates in Papua 

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The international watchdog group, Human Rights Monitor (HRM), has spoken out about human rights defenders in West Papua, Indonesia, being put under surveillance.

Tineke Rumkabu was questioned by security force officials, wearing full military gear, at the end of a church service in Biak, Papua in late January.

The officials, according to HRM, claimed that the supposed church meeting was a gathering in support of independence.

Rumkabu, a human rights defender in Papua, denied this and viewed the confrontation as an act of intimidation.

HRM said the arbitrary actions of the security forces raise concerns about violations of human rights, particularly the right to safety and freedom from harassment.

Rumkabu and her family have faced intimidation from the security forces before – in 2023, after she spoke via Zoom to a conference in London, in which she testified about state violence in West Papua and the plight of internally displaced people.

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Free meals threatened – and threatening 

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2Y9P3KF Sumedang Regency, West Java, Indonesia. 11th Oct, 2024. Elementary school students eat during a trial of the free lunch program at Sirahcai Elementary School, Sumedang Regency, West Java. Free lunch is the mainstay program of Indonesia president and vice president-elect PRABOWO SUBIANTO and GIBRAN RAKABUMING RAKA. This program will run from early 2025. (Credit Image: © Dimas Rachmatsyah/ZUMA Press Wire) EDITORIAL USAGE ONLY! Not for Commercial USAGE!

By Duncan Graham 

Feb 17, 2025

Before the 18th century Enlightenment, church and state in Europe were one. In Indonesia, fears that Islam will infiltrate civic affairs go back to the founding of the Republic. Instead, the threats are not from the mosques, but the military.

The nation with more Muslims than any other state is constitutionally secular, but it’s heading towards a stratocracy.

Since becoming the eighth president, Prabowo Subianto has been bringing khaki into national and regional public offices following the policy of second President Suharto from the last century.

Prabowo’s former father-in-law called it Dwifungsi – two functions. It was widely discredited and grossly inefficient. Unelected generals had reserved seats in the Parliament; lesser ranks were posted to run departments where they had few wanted skills.

Suharto was a former general. Likewise Prabowo, though his history is ignominious; in 1998 he was cashiered for disobeying orders. He fled to exile in Jordan, but he’s now back imposing his military fantasies and undermining democracy.

He’s even forced his overstocked 109-strong ministry (13 are women) into fatigues and humiliating parades. Like Donald Trump, he plans to scrap the awkward and costly elections and bring back appointments. As in the US, these jobs would go to mates, rellies and donors.

The policy in the world’s fourth-largest country isn’t confined to setting up regional military centres; it’s also putting lower ranks into menial jobs, delivering LPG gas bottles to the poor and lunches to school kids. This isn’t assuaging hunger, but creating fear in West Papua.

About 5000 soldiers from other provinces have been hunting tribesmen demanding independence; a low-level guerilla war has been underway in the mountains and jungles for about 50 years.

Civilian families in the occupied province hate being shadowed by armed men and are wary of their intentions, for one of their tactics is torture. Now they’re dishing out food.

The imagination flares: What better way to subdue dissidents than by poisoning their food? There’s no evidence that’s happening, but the fear is real. Who couldn’t have foreseen the reaction?

The lunch box program comes from a promise last year by Prabowo during the presidential election campaign, which he won. Makan Bergizi Gratis (MBG free nutritious meals) was poorly planned and is now being badly executed.

The Papuans’ distrust has been reinforced by the story of 40 students from a school in Central Java throwing up after gulping down free meals. Indonesian media reports claimed dozens had fallen ill in North Kalimantan. Poor hygiene has been blamed.

MBG is a worthy bid to curb stunting that cripples about 20% of the next generation. (The Australian figure is 2.3%.)

Lousy diets plus poor access to services, particularly in remote regions, are blamed by UNICEF for the tragedy. Two of five children under five don’t get basic food groups.

Other factors: Pregnant mums need top-quality tucker. Anything less lets in infections that stunt the babe’s growth in the womb. Six per cent of newborns are underweight.

With these figures it’s clear education on pregnancy and child rearing is as important as free food. A whole-of-problem strategy is needed.

The original budget allocation of Rp 15,000 ($1.50) for an MBG meal was slashed by Prabowo to Rp 10,000 – a sum too small for wholesome ingredients, cooking and delivery. So the armed forces have been recruited, distressing a society where trust is as short as protein.

“The people of Papua are complaining and rejecting the free nutritious food for school children because the food is provided by the TNI (Army) and Polri (police),” local religious leader Wenior Pakage told the media.

“They’re afraid for their children that they’ll be murdered with poison, resulting in an extermination. The community wants the program scrapped and the funds transferred to pay school fees so students can obtain knowledge for free.”

Hundreds of kids in uniform reportedly left classes and protested in the streets of Yahukimo Regency, waving banners rejecting MBG. The story can’t be independently verified because the foreign media is banned from Papua.

Schooling is compulsory nationally and supposedly gratis, but fees for registration, books, uniforms, teacher gratuities, funds for new buildings and other imposts are common. They’re usually masked as “donations” and vary from school to school.

The money to make learning free is here in abundance, literally underfoot. Papua is where Croesus took a breather and stayed.

The western half of the island of New Guinea has a population of around four million. The indigenous people are nominally Christian; the newcomers are mainly Muslim. They’ve migrated from Java, contractors and miners to work on the Grasberg opencut and underground copper and gold mines, among the largest in the world.

This joint venture between the Indonesian Government and the US company Freeport has a workforce of more than 30,000. In 2023, it reportedly generated a net income of US$3.16 billion.

Prabowo is no cheerleader for democracy and reportedly wants funds “redirected to public welfare projects, including providing free meals for schoolchildren”. Who’d think the savings might go elsewhere in a country shot through with corruption?

The MBG idea seems worthwhile, but its implementation has hit many snags apart from Papua fear and Central Java food poisoning. Unpalatable meals and insufficient funds are also among the complaints.

Project head Dadan Hindayana wants  an extra US$6.11 billion just to reach a quarter of the target of 83 million by the end of 2025.

Prabowo’s reputation with the wong cilik (the masses) rides on making the MBG work and the scheme permanent. This can’t be done on dollar a day meals without using bad food and the military as waiters.

To do good, the president’s kitchen needs cleanliness, a new menu and professional caterers. Any tariff shake-up will mean less money for the army.

For a pseudo-military man who has been out of the bang-bang business for 27 years, but still sees it as the way to go, a massive makeover might seem indigestible. But it’s doomed without a huger cash uplift.

That may come from savings elsewhere, though nothing specific. One suggestion is for the meals to be cut to one a week  an idea horrifying nutritionists.

“It should be for five days to match the nutritional adequacy measure,” said expert Tengku Syahdana. “If for one day, the needs can’t be met.”

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.

The return of militarism 

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We have reasons to worry about expanding the roles of the military beyond its domain as defender of the nation against external threats. Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Thu, February 13, 2025

the return

Cabinet retreat cartoon (JP/T. Sutanto)

President Prabowo Subianto has once again displayed his penchant for military figures filling strategic posts within his government with the recent appointment of Maj. Gen. Novi Helmy Prasetya as the new president director of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog). State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir gave no compelling reasons for the choice of an active military officer for the civilian post other than a vague reference to the “revitalization of Bulog management” and the “changing perspectives” of the agency. But further stoking confusion, the Indonesian Military (TNI) announced on Monday that Novi had been promoted on Jan. 31 to the three-star job of commanding general of the TNI Academy, in a decree that was signed over a week before he was named the new Bulog chief. TNI spokesperson Maj. Gen. Hariyanto said on Tuesday that Novi’s appointment as Bulog chief was part of a “deal for a strategic partnership in food security between the agency and the military” and because “the SOEs Ministry sees Novi as having a chain of command that can support the delivery of food security programs”. Whatever the reasons behind Novi’s assignment to Bulog, the appointment is legally flawed and sends yet another message of the return of the TNI’s dual function, just like during the New Order, at the expense of civilian supremacy. The New Order regime was marked by significant economic growth, but also widespread human rights abuses and suppression of political freedoms.


The prevailing 2004 TNI Law says that military officers may only occupy civilian positions after they have been discharged from duty. Under this law, those who remain in active service can be seconded to certain positions in seven state institutions overseeing defense, security or intelligence and to the Search and Rescue Agency, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) or the Supreme Court, which manages military courts.

We recall during the COVID-19 pandemic the government resorted to military deployment to assist with contact tracing efforts and health protocol enforcement or to run emergency hospitals for treating COVID patients. But that was in line with the law, which outlines 14 types of operations other than war that justify TNI participation, such as disasters and humanitarian missions. Prabowo, a former Army general himself, might want Bulog to adopt military-like discipline and focus and a clear chain of command while playing a leading role in food security. Novi is not the first man in uniform to lead Bulog, anyway, as police general Budi Waseso once led the agency in 2018-2023. Indeed, Prabowo’s presidency has seen a growing presence of the military in the government. Many of his picks for ministerial, deputy ministerial and state agency head posts are people with a military background.

He even brought members of his bloated cabinet to a military-like bootcamp at the beginning of his presidency as his way of instilling discipline. Later this month the same military-style retreat will be organized for new governors, mayors, regents and their deputies. Ironically, the public has faith in the TNI, as seen in various opinion polls that consistently rank the military as the most trusted national institution. From having the military running much of his flagship free meals program for schoolchildren to ordering the TNI to form 100 special battalions that will be assigned to farming, fisheries and animal husbandry, Prabowo’s government personifies the return of the military to civilian affairs. He might see the military style of government as more helpful to cut through the sclerotic bureaucracy in order to get things done, but we have reasons to worry about expanding the roles of the military beyond its domain as defender of the nation against external threats. It is hard to hold the military accountable given its lack of transparency and its culture of impunity, particularly when it comes to violence committed by soldiers against civilians.  We cannot dismiss concerns that the TNI’s increasing involvement in civilian affairs may pave the way for a potential return to authoritarian rule.

Two Australian journalists walk through West Papua, win journalism award

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 Syofiardi Bachyul Last updated: February 1, 2025 11:28 am 

Author: Admin Jubi Editor: Syofiardi

Jakarta, Jubi – Two journalists from Paradise Broadcasting, a new media from Sydney, Australia, who covered the use of rockets and mortars by Indonesian security forces against indigenous Papuans in the Bintang Mountains, received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism.

The Pantau Foundation appreciates the work of Kristo Langker and Kirsten Felice who crossed the forest and river on foot across the PNG and Indonesian border, without an Indonesian visa, to meet dozens of members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), to explain their ‘asymmetrical’ battle with Indonesian security forces in the Bintang Mountains.

“Salute to Kirsten Felice and Kristo Langker, two very brave young journalists,” said Yuliana Lantipo from the Pantau Foundation. “Visiting conflict areas in Papua is neither easy nor cheap, plus the security risks are difficult, especially since they are foreign nationals.”

Paradise Broadcasting was founded by Kristo Langker in 2023. He created this media specifically to contain long-form coverage, after he covered the kidnapping of a New Zealand pilot in the Central Mountains. The title is, ‘Hostage Land: Why Papuan Guerrilla Fighters Keep Taking Hostages’.

He explained how indigenous Papuans held pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens hostage in order to gain attention from outside Indonesia. This also mirrors a similar action in 1996 when guerrillas led by Kelly Kwalik held dozens of foreign biology researchers hostage in Mapenduma.

In 2024, they entered the Bintang Mountains and made the film ‘Frontier War: Inside The West Papua Liberation Army’. In ‘Frontier War’, the two journalists found four types of explosives used by Indonesian authorities when attacking Kiwirok in the Bintang Mountains in September and October 2021, namely a modified Krusik 81mm mortar made in Serbia, a Thales FZ 68 folding finned air rocket made in France, a Pindad 40mm grenade, and a plastic tail fin that has not been identified.

Kirsten Felice and Kristo Langker are in the Bintang Mountains, walking across the border between PNG and Indonesia, choosing not to apply for a journalist visa from Indonesia because of the Indonesian government’s very tough restrictions on foreign journalists entering West Papua since 1967. –Photo: Kirsten Felic

There has been a lot of Indonesian media coverage of Serbian-made mortars used by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN). Even the House of Representatives has questioned the involvement of BIN officers in Kiwirok. The two journalists found not only mortar shells but also Thales rockets.

They also got a video of Indonesian officers using a Chinese-made Ziyan drone, model Blowfish A3. The helicopter used to fire the Thales rockets was an Airbus H125M or H225M. The Indonesian government asked YouTube to block ‘Frontier War’.

In 2024, Langker and Felice deliberately chose to walk, up mountains and down valleys, after taking several flights in Papua New Guinea, walking all day, entering the Bintang Mountains.

“Crossing the PNG-Indonesia border and walking into the Bintang Mountains to cover how Indonesian authorities use rockets and mortars, as well as helicopters and drones, for what they call ‘law enforcement’ is courage in journalism.”

Their coverage was very difficult because the Indonesian state, since 1967, has restricted foreign journalists from entering all areas of West Papua (Tanah Papua). There have been many stories of how foreign journalists have had difficulty getting visas, have been arrested, detained, even those who already have travel documents, have also been arrested, at least followed, when entering West Papua.

On September 13, 2021, an armed group led by Lamek Taplo attacked an Indonesian military and police post in Kiwirok District, Bintang Mountains Regency, near the border with Papua New Guinea. This was the peak of tensions between Lamek Taplo’s group from Kiwirok and the Indonesian side. A day-long gunfight resulted in the death of a Papuan militant and the injury of an Indonesian soldier.

The mob also burned dozens of properties and public facilities in Kiwirok and Okyop, including several houses, several government offices, eight schools, two clinics, a hospital, a bank, and the Kiwirok market. Papuan militants also attacked the Kiwirok hospital, burning the hospital and its dormitory as well as two small clinics. They allegedly beat three female nurses and two male nurses. The body of nurse Gabriella Meilani was found two days later.

The TPNPB said they only attacked security posts and helped “secure nurse Gerald Sokoy,” who fled during the attack and was picked up by local authorities two weeks after the attack and returned home.

The attack prompted the Indonesian side to launch airstrikes, including helicopters and drones, on Kiwirok. On October 10, the Indonesian military deployed Air Force helicopters to drop 14 Serbian-made mortars on Kiwirok, and the Indonesian commander in Papua, Major General Yogo Triyono, acknowledged the bombing but denied that the bombs were directed at civilians.

According to local human rights organizations, about 1,000 families have fled Kiwirok to Oksibil, the district capital. An estimated 180 families have fled across the border into Papua New Guinea. Many lack food, shelter and medical assistance.

On October 25, militants shot dead an Indonesian policeman in a shootout in Kiwirok. Yogo Triyono stressed that the Indonesian government needed to engage in “political dialogue” to resolve security issues in Papua. He said his soldiers were also “tired of the shootouts.”

The two young journalists were born in Sydney. Kristo Langker, 24, is now studying music at the University of Sydney. Kristen Felice, 25, an alumnus of Australia’s Torrens University, works as a video journalist.

Oktovianus Pogau Award

Oktovianus Pogau was a Papuan journalist, born in Sugapa in 1992. Pogau died at the age of 23 on January 31, 2016 in Jayapura. This award is given every year to commemorate Pogau’s courage. Suara Papua was also involved in the creation of the award in 2017, but the assessment and announcement were carried out by the Pantau Foundation.

In October 2011, Pogau reported on violence against hundreds of indigenous Papuans during the Third Papuan Congress in Jayapura. He recorded the sound of gunfire. Three Papuans died and five were imprisoned on treason charges. The anxiety that not many Indonesian media reported on the violations prompted Pogau to establish Suara Papua on December 10, 2011.

Yuliana Lantipo, who works as an editor at Jubi in Jayapura, said, “I first met Octo in Yogya in 2008 when he was invited by a student organization in Yogya as a speaker at a seminar.”

“At that time he was still a high school student, but he had become a speaker everywhere with his articles published in several media. I saw him as a brave young man who was critical of government policies. Kirsten and Kristo’s courage reminded me of Octo,” he said.

The Pogau Award jury consists of Andreas Harsono (Jakarta), Alexander Mering (Pontianak), Coen Husain Pontoh (New York), Made Ali (Pekanbaru), and Yuliana Lantipo (Jayapura). (*)

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KNPB: Papuans have been victims of Indonesian militarism since 1963

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Aryo Wisanggeni

Last updated: January 29, 2025 2:35 pm

Author: Larius Kogoya

Editor: Aryo Wisanggeni G

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papuan people have continued to be victims of militarism practices carried out by the Indonesian government since 1963. This was stated by the First Chairman of the West Papua National Committee, Warius Sampari Wetipo at a national seminar entitled “Realizing the Spirit of People’s Resistance for the Right to Self-Determination for the West Papuan People” which took place in Makassar City, South Sulawesi Province, on Monday (27/1/2025).

Warius Sampari Wetipo said that the KNPB was born because of militarism in the Land of Papua which has never stopped since May 1, 1963. According to him, in practice, military operations in the Land of Papua have never stopped since May 1, 1963, when the West Papuan nation was annexed by Indonesia.

Since then, massive and structured military operations have occurred throughout Papua. Although the Indonesian government has not officially announced the implementation of martial law in Papua, the security forces have continued to carry out various military operations there.

“The state committed crimes through Operation Trikora, Operation Mandala, Operation Wibawa, Operation, Tumpas, Operation Sadar, Operation Ketupat, Operation Senyap, Operation Koteka. Until now we still hear about Operation [Peace] Cartenz, Operation Nemangkawi, Operation Elang, and so on. Papua is a military emergency zone or Military Operation Area,” said Warpo Wetipo when interviewed further via the WhatsApp application service on Tuesday (28/1/2025).

Wetipo stated that since 2018 there have been sweeps of residents’ homes, burning of churches, schools, shootings of civilians by TNI/Polri officers in various regions of Papua. Mass evacuations occurred in Nduga Regency. After that, armed conflict between the TNI/Polri apparatus and the armed group of the West Papua National Liberation Army or TPNPB occurred and spread to various regions in Papua.

“The armed conflict between the TPNPB and the TNI/Polri continues to spread in various regions in our homeland, such as in Intan Jaya Regency, Yahukimo, Pegunungan Bintang, Maybrat, Puncak Jaya, Timika, Paniai, Dogiyai, Lanny Jaya, Puncak Jaya, and most recently in Yalimo and Tambrauw Regencies. The Papuan people are the main victims,” ​​said Wetipo.

The large-scale evacuation caused civilians to lose their homes, lose their relatives. A number of elderly people and babies who died in the middle of the forest died. The refugees also lost their livestock, could not farm, and lost their livelihoods.

The Central Executive Board of BPP KNPB together with the KNPB Makassar Regional Consulate held a national seminar entitled “Realizing the Spirit of People’s Resistance for the Right to Self-Determination for the West Papuan People” in Makassar City, South Sulawesi Province, on Monday. The seminar was attended by students, university students, youth, and KNPB delegates from Manado, Gorontalo, and Tomohon.

The seminar was also attended by representatives of student organizations that are members of the Cipayung Group, human rights and democracy activists, LBH Makassar, FRI-WP, KNPB activists, AMPTPI and AMP.

Activist of the Indonesian People’s Front for the Liberation of West Papua (FRI-WP) Makassar Region, Arul reviewed the history of President Soekarno issuing the Trikora Declaration in the Yogyakarta Square on December 19, 1961, one of the contents of which was the dissolution of the Dutch puppet state of Papua. The decree also ordered a general mobilization led by Soekarno.

“The impact was a massive military invasion in the West Irian region (West Papua). The independence of the West Papuan nation was castrated on December 19, 1961,” he said.

According to Arul, the political economic conspiracy of America, the Netherlands, and Indonesia during the struggle for West Irian has sacrificed the people and nation of West Papua, because the people and nation of West Papua were never involved in the negotiations. “That indicates that the meeting was only carried out by the devil, the devil, and witnessed by ghosts,” said Arul.

Another FRI-WP Makassar activist, Nyora, said that the problem in West Papua, his party saw not only genocide, ecocide and ethnocide. According to him, the main problems faced by the Papuan people are colonialism, racism, and capitalism in the Land of Papua.

“In short, Indonesia practiced colonialism in West Papua. The next, racism is very fertile in Indonesia. The practice of racism has been implemented since the beginning, since the West Papuan Nation was annexed into the Republic of Indonesia,” said Nyora.

Nyora revealed that the Indonesian nation as a new colonial nation feels superior to the Papuan nation. In every decision regarding political, economic, legal, social, and cultural status, the Papuan Indigenous People are never involved as subjects.

“That’s where racism is embedded. Indonesia considers the Papuan nation to be backward, ancient, primitive, stupid, weak, poor. That’s the nature of colonialism,” he said.

The condition of the people in Papua is getting worse, because of the problem of capitalism. Nyora said that Papua is economically controlled by foreign capitalism and Indonesia is only a errand dog. This condition often causes indigenous people to experience agrarian conflicts which become serious problems and give rise to new conflicts.

“Indonesia is only a errand dog for foreign capitalists. Even customary land is capitalized by local capitalists and bourgeoisie,” said Nyora.

Public advocate LBH Makassar, Rasak said that LBH exists to advocate and provide legal protection for victims, especially the weak who need legal assistance. LBH Makassar accompanies victims on various issues, including Papuan activists who express their opinions and protest in the form of demonstrations.

“We were once interrogated by Indonesian security forces, ‘why are you advocating for Papuan issues and so on’. For LBH Makassar, advocating for the weak, the oppressed/colonized is necessary, [they] have their fundamental rights protected,” said Rasak. (*)