Aida Ulim, Jayapura – The Central Executive Board of the West Papua National Committee (BPP-KNPB) has stated that it opposes Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto delivering a speech tomorrow at the General Debate session at the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on Tuesday September 23.
This opposition was conveyed by the BPP-KNPB during a press conference and open consolidation in response to the dynamics of the problems in the country, especially the human rights situation and the exploitation of natural resources, at the Waena 3 State Housing Company (Perumnas) in Heram District, Jayapura City, Papua, on Monday September 22.
Central KNPB General Chairperson Agus Kossay said that the KNPB rejects Prabowo delivering a speech at the United Nations because he is not worthy of speaking at the forum. According to Kossay, Prabowo has a track record as a perpetrator of past gross human rights violations and is a humanitarian criminal, especially in Papua.
"Papua is in a humanitarian crisis so we reject and emphasise that Prabowo is not worthy of speaking at the UN forum because of his track record as a perpetrator of gross human rights violations and a humanitarian criminal", said Kossay.
He said that Prabowo's presence at the UN session will only be used to cover Indonesia's colonialism in Papua and to polish the image of the militaristic regime that continues to kill its own people.
The KNPB is urging UN member states, especially Melanesian and Pacific countries, not to be silent, but reject and condemned Prabowo's presence in international forums.
The KNPB also again urged the Indonesian government to immediately respond to international pressure and open access to independent monitoring and the international media into West Papua.
In addition to this, the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) were asked to consistently express their deep concern over the human rights violations in Papua, bearing in mind that at the 2023 PIF Summit the forum reiterated the call for Indonesia to open access to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
"Since 2018 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has asserted the existence of a pattern of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force in Papua, meanwhile under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism in 2022, more than 10 UN member states urged Indonesia to open international access and stop impunity", he said.
Kossay said that they are demanding that Indonesia immediately end colonialism which had led to a prolonged humanitarian crisis, stop all operations by the military (TNI) and police (Polri) and open a space for democracy for the Papuan nation to determine its own destiny.
Because, if the violence continues, the Papuan people have no other choice but to organise themselves and put up resistance along with the KNPB in order to maintain the rights, land and existence of the nation, as well as ensuring violations of the law are not left without accountability.
"The KNPB emphasises that this violence is clear evidence of Indonesia's colonialism that oppresses the people of Papua. Indonesian legal mechanisms have proven to be a blunt tool against all TNI-Polri actors, while these [military] operation have been pursued as annihilation with all of the state's forces including the military, police and civilian apparatus, to conquer the Papuan people", he said.
Meanwhile, KNPB Human Rights Law Commissariat Chairperson Lince Tabuni said the series of human rights violations that have occurred in Papua have resulted in more than 1,313 people forced to evacuate due to operations carried out by the military and police.
According to Tabuni, almost all cases involved TNI-Polri officers and were never legally processed, as if to strengthen the real face of colonialism that oppresses the people of Papua.
"Overall, military operations in [the regencies of] Intan Jaya, Puncak, Maybrat, the Bintang Highlands and Yahukimo during July to August forced around 1,313 residents to flee, houses were torched, and churches turned into military posts. From all of this we the KNPB reject Prabowo attending the UN 2025 session", said Tabuni.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "BPP-KNPB Tolak Prabowo Berpidato Di Sidang Umum PBB 2025".]
Source: https://jubi.id/polhukam/2025/bpp-knpb-tolak-prabowo-berpidato-di-sidang-umum-pbb-2025/
