Jayapura – The 2014 bloody Paniai Tragedy was once again remembered by Papuan students in the study city of Manokwari, West Papua, by holding a prayer service, lighting candles and reading out a statement.

The commemoration of 12 years since the bloody Paniai tragedy, a human rights violation that occurred on December 8, 2014, which has still not been resolved, was facilitated by the Manokwari Central Highlands Student Association (IPMPT) public relations bureau on Monday afternoon December 8.

The event took place at the Paniai 01 Amban Dormitory, facilitated by field coordinator Selpius Gobai with the theme "Fighting forgetting, preserving memory, demanding justice for the sake of humanity".

Paniai Regional Coordination Committee Chairperson Marinus Kudiai revealed that the bloody Paniai tragedy in the town of Enarotali resulted in four students being killed, several others being injured and caused deep trauma for the people of Paniai.

"Twelve years after the tragedy, the law enforcement process has yet to provide certainty or justice for the families of the victims and the people of Paniai", he said.

This commemoration was held as an effort to maintain the collective memory of this humanitarian incident, to reaffirm the insistence on a fair and transparent legal resolution and strengthen the solidarity of students and the Papuan community in safeguarding issue of human rights.

The series of activities after the opening of the event included showing a video reel and documentation of the tragedy, reading a brief chronology of the Paniai Tragedy and lighting 1,000 candles as a form of respect for the victims.

The activity was also marked by speeches, poetry readings, short stories and expressions of student solidarity. The emotions expressed during the commemoration were a form of respect for the victims, as well as a form of concern for the resolution of human rights violations which to this day remain in limbo.

Gobai also read out a statement consisting of six demands.

1. The Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia must immediately re-examine the dossier on the Paniai gross human rights violation and name new suspects for prosecution in the bloody Paniai case.

2. The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) chairperson must immediately write to the Attorney General requesting a re-examination of the dossier on the Bloody Paniai incident.

3. The Attorney General must immediately order the public prosecutor to take legal action over the court acquittal [of Major Isak Sattu in December 2022] in bloody Paniai case.

4. The Komnas HAM chairperson must immediately wrote to the Attorney General to order the public prosecutor in the Paniai case to take legal action over the 2022 acquittal.

5. Law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Indonesia must take immediate responsible for all cases of human rights violations in Paniai and Papua in general.

6. Former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo must immediately take responsibility for fulfilling his promise made at the Mandala Jayapura stadium on December 28, 2014, that he will immediately resolve cases of human rights violations in Paniai district and throughout Papua.

Gobai closed with the statement, "The Papuan people are always victims of human rights violations. The bloody Paniai tragedy will never be forgotten. We are committed to continuing to speak out for justice, supporting human rights advocacy efforts, and maintaining solidarity with the families and people of Paniai".

[Slightly abridged translation by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mahasiswa Peringati 12 Tahun Tragedi Paniai Berdarah".]

Source: https://suarapapua.com/2025/12/08/mahasiswa-peringati-12-tahun-tragedi-paniai-berdarah/