Four Papuan political prisoners have been sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment on treason charges.

But a West Papua independence advocate says Indonesia is using its law to silence opposition.

In April this year, letters were delivered to government institutions in Sorong West Papua, asking for peaceful dialogue between Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto and a group seeking to make West Papua independent of Indonesia, the Federal Republic of West Papua.

Four people were arrested for delivering the letters, and this triggered protests, which became violent.

West Papua Action Aotearoa’s Catherine Delahunty said Indonesia claims the four, known as the Sorong Four, caused instability.

“What actually caused instability was arresting people for delivering letters, and the Indonesians refused to acknowledge that actually people have a right to deliver letters,” she said.

“They have a right to have opinions, and they will continue to protest when those rights are systematically denied.”

Category of ‘treason’
Indonesia’s Embassy based in Wellington said the central government had been involved in the legal process, but the letters fell into the category of “treason” under the national crime code.

Delahunty said the arrests were in line with previous action the Indonesian government had taken in response to West Papua independence protests.

“This is the kind of use of an abuse of law that happens all the time in order to shut down any form of dissent and leadership. In the 1930s we would call this fascism. It is a military occupation using all the law to actually suppress the people.”

Delahunty said the situation was an abuse of human rights and it was happening less than an hour away from Darwin in northern Australia.

The spokesperson for Indonesia’s embassy said the government had been closely monitoring the case at arm’s length to avoid accusations of overreach.

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The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) claims more than a dozen civilians have been killed in the Papuan highlands, including three men who were allegedly tortured and a woman who was allegedly raped.

However, the Indonesian government claims the accusations “baseless”.

ULMWP president Benny Wenda said 15 civilians had been killed, and the women who was allegedly raped fled from soldiers and drowned in the Hiabu River.

A spokesperson for the Indonesian embassy in Wellington said the actual number was 14, and all those killed were members of an “armed criminal group”.

The spokesperson described the alleged torture and rape as “false and baseless”.

“What Benny Wenda does not mention is their usual ploy to try to intimidate and terrorise local communities, to pressure communities to support his lost cause,” the spokesperson said.

The ULMWP also claimed four members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) were killed in drone bombings in Kiwirok on October 18.

‘Covert military posts’
According to the Indonesian embassy spokesperson, those killed were involved in burning down schools and health facilities, while falsely claiming they were being used as “covert military posts” by Indonesia.

“Their accusations were not based on any proof or arguments, other than the intention to create chaos and intimidate local communities.”

The spokesperson added the Indonesian National Police and Armed Forces had conducted “measured action” in Kiwirok.

West Papua Action Aotearoa spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said Indonesia’s military had become more active since President Prabowo Subianto came to power in October last year.

“The last year or so, it’s depressing to say, but things have actually got a whole lot worse under this president and a whole lot more violent,” Delahunty said.

“That’s his only strategy, the reign of terror, and certainly his history and the alleged war crimes he’s associated with, makes it very, very difficult to see how else it was going to go.”

Delahunty said the kidnapping of New Zealand helicopter pilot Phillip Mehrtens in 2023 also triggered increased military activity.

Schoolchildren tear gassed
Meanwhile, a video taken from a primary school in Jayapura on October 15 shows children and staff distressed and crying after being tear gassed.

The Indonesian embassy spokesperson said authorities were trying to disperse a riot that started as a peaceful protest until some people started to burn police vehicles.

They said tear gas was used near a primary school, where some rioters took shelter.

“The authorities pledge to improve their code and procedure, taking extra precautions before turning to extreme measures while always being mindful of their surroundings.”

Jakarta-based Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono said the level of care using tear gas would have been much higher if the students were not indigenous Papuan.

“If it is a school with predominantly settler children, the police will be very, very careful. They will have utmost care,” he said.

“The mistreatment of indigenous children dominated schools in West Papua is not an isolated case, there are many, many reports.”

‘Ignored by world’
Despite the increased violence in the region, Wenda said the focus of Pacific neighbours like New Zealand and Australia remained on the Middle East and Ukraine.

“What has happened in West Papua is almost a 60-year war. If the world ignores us, our people will disappear,” he said.

Delahunty said there had been a weak response from the international community as Indonesia used drones to bomb villages.

“The reign of terror that is taking place by the Indonesian military, they’re getting away with it because nobody else seems to care.

“If you look at the recent Pacific Islands Forums, it’s very disappointing, it came up with a very standard statement, like ‘it would be good if Indonesia would invite the human rights people from the UN in’.

“We close our eyes, Palestine rightly gets our support and attention for the genocide that’s being visited upon the people of Palestine, but in our own region, we’re not interested in what is happening to our neighbours.”

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The video — which can be seen here – shows an indigenous Papuan man with his hands tied behind his back in an open fuel drum filled with water being kicked, punched and sliced with a knife by a group of men, some of whom are wearing Indonesian military uniforms.

In an email response, the Indonesian Embassy in New Zealand said: “The incident is deeply regrettable.”

“The government of Indonesia is committed to its long-standing policy of respecting and promoting human rights as well as its strict policy of zero impunity for misconducts [sic] by security forces,” it said.

“The investigation to the matter is currently taking place.”

The embassy said “since this is an ongoing investigation” it will not be able to comment further.

‘Speak up’ — campaigners
Meanwhile, West Papua solidarity groups in Aotearoa are calling on the New Zealand government to register its concerns with Indonesia after the torture video surfaced online.

West Papua Action Aotearoa spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said New Zealand must speak out against ongoing human rights abuses in Papua.

“Well we are calling on the New Zealand government to speak up about this,” she said.

“The very least they can do is to challenge Indonesia about this incident and its context which is the ongoing state military violence against civilians.”

The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) president Benny Wenda is calling for a UN human rights visit to West Papua.

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A national network of groups supporting freedom and justice for West Papua has called on Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta to condemn Indonesian charges of treason against accused West Papuan Victor Yeimo.

They have called for the release of Yeimo, who this week rejected charges against him in a court hearing in the Papuan provincial capital of Jayapura.

Spokesperson Catherine Delahunty, a former Green Party MP, described the charges against West Papua National Committee (KNPB) international spokesperson as “trumped up” and said Yeimo had suffered a “serious health crisis”.

“In addition to taking a strong position in support of Ukraine at this terrible moment we are asking Nanaia Mahuta to stand up for human rights in our neighbourhood,” she said in a statement.

“Last week Victor Yeimo was charged with treason for participating in an antiracism peaceful protest on August 19, 2019.

“He also spoke against the abuse of West Papuan students, which included hours of being harangued and called ‘monkeys’ before being beaten and arrested.

“That is his only ‘crime’, but for that he has been detained for ten months, suffered a serious health crisis and is now in court facing trumped up charges of treason,” Delahunty said.

Yeimo charged with makar
In Jayapura, the preliminary court hearing against Yeimo was held at the Jayapura District Court in Abepura, Papua, on last Monday, reports Suara Papua.

During the hearing, the public prosecutor read out the indictment in which he charged Yeimo under the makar (treason, subversion, rebellion) articles.

The defence believes that the charges are excessive because what happened in August 2019 was a response to the racism which was “rooted in the nature of the Indonesian population against Papuans”.

The prosecution said that during the protest actions which ended in riots on August 29, 2019, there was verbal as well as written involvement of the defendant along with his colleague the chairperson of the KNPB, Agus Kossay, in demonstrations which were facilitated by the chairpeople of the Student Executive Council (BEM) in Jayapura.

“They [the chairpersons of the West Papua National Parliament (PNWP), the Federal Republic of West Papua (NRFPB), the West Papua National Coalition for Liberation (WPNCL) and the Free West Papua Campaign (FWPC), together with the defendant], called for, and took part in committing the act of makar with the maximum [aim] of all or part of the country’s territory [separating from Indonesia],” said prosecutor Andrianus Y. Tomana in reading out the charge sheet in the courtroom.

According to the prosecutor, Yeimo was being indicted for crimes under Article 106 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) on the crime of makar, Article 110 Paragraph 1 of the KUHP on criminal conspiracy to commit a crime, and Article 110 Paragraph 2 on endeavoring to mobilise people or call on people to commit a crime.

In reply, Yeimo admitted that he had been involved as a participant in the anti-racist demonstration on August 19, 2019. However, the protest happened without problems and after it finished the protesters returned home.

‘I was arrested because of racism’
“I was arrested only because of the racism case, indeed I was involved and it’s true there were speeches.

“But it was not just me that gave speeches, the DPRP [Papua Regional House of Representatives] spoke, the governor spoke, all of the Papuan people spoke at the time. So if I’m being tried, why aren’t they being tried?” he asked.

Yeimo explained that he attended along with other Papuan people in order to oppose and to fight against the racism and this opposition was conveyed peacefully at the Papua governor’s office.

Delahunty said the Yeimo case had attracted a strong response from UN Special Rapporteurs, but in letters to the West Papua Action Network the New Zealand government only said it was “concerned” and that its officials “raise the case”.

The European Union Commission has called for Indonesia to allow their high commissioners to visit West Papua, specifically naming the Victor Yeimo case as a human rights issue.

“Our Foreign Minister needs to support the growing international calls for justice for Victor,” Delahunty said.

“She needs to condemn this outrage and call for the treason charges to be dropped and Victor Yeimo to be immediately released.”

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By Michael Andrew

As Timor-Leste celebrates 20 years since the landmark vote that determined its independence from Indonesian rule, activists are urging the New Zealand government not to repeat mistakes from the past and back West Papuan independence until the last minute.

West Papua Action Auckland’s Maire Leadbeater said the New Zealand government largely ignored the “shocking violence” in Indonesian-ruled Timor-Leste in favour of fostering bilateral and military ties.

“The government sort of stuck with it’s very quiet do nothing say little approach,” she said.

READ MORE: Timor-Leste turns 20: Colonial past feeds problems of neocolonial present

Heavily involved in the Timor-Leste independence campaign, Leadbeater said it wasn’t until the violence and international pressure reached critical levels that the New Zealand government started to openly support the idea of an independence referendum.

Parallels have been drawn between Timor-Leste’s journey to independence and the ongoing movement in West Papua, which has culminated in violent protests and demonstrations over the past fortnight.

The protests were sparked when an Indonesian militia attacked West Papuan students in Sarabuya, pelting them with stones and calling them “monkeys.”

Papuan deaths and injuries have already been reported after Indonesian authorities deployed military personal to quell the demonstrations. The internet has also been shut down to prevent pro-Papuan support from spreading, prompting condemnation from rights and media groups the world over.

While the New Zealand government has stayed relatively quiet on the issue, Leadbeater said now is the time for it to speak up and condemn human rights violations rather than wait until they get worse.

“They don’t want to be left again do they, not changing until the absolute [last minute] and allowing the awful things to occur?”

WPAA has written an open letter to Jacinda Ardern urging her to condemn the racism that started the protests and end the internet blackout which is preventing journalists from reporting covering the story.

The current protests are the latest developments in the West Papuan quest for independence, which has been fought since the 1960’s when Indonesia claimed the former Dutch colony as its province through a widely discredited referendum.

Activist and former Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty said that the protests are a critical development in the struggle for West Papuan self-determination.

“This is not a moment for neighbouring countries to be silent. This is a moment that neighbouring countries should urge Indonesia to stop human rights abuses.”

While the government could not change Indonesia’s internal policy, she said Ardern should at least encourage Indonesia to allow a visit from the UN Human Rights Commission.

This would ensure the bloody process by which Timor-Leste gained its independence would not be repeated in West Papua, she said.

“I hope that East Timor is not the future for West Papua in the sense that hundreds of thousand people were murdered in the process of East Timor getting its independence.

“There is still this unspoken and unrepentant history really in the sense that there has never been recognition of how bad it was.”

Indonesia invaded Timor-Leste on December 9, 1975, nine days after it declared independence from the outgoing Portuguese administration.

Known as Operasi Seroja, it was largest military operation ever carried out by Indonesia.

It resulted in a number of Timorese casualties, with reports of Indonesian military indiscriminately killing civilians in the occupied cities.

The soldiers involved in the invasion are celebrated as heroes in Indonesia. According to news site KBR, the special forces unit involved in the invasion of Dili, the nanggala team, was honoured at the presidential palace two weeks ago for its service during the operation. 

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