Jayapura – Responding to various cases of human rights violations, Papuans from various components of society held simultaneous demonstrations in various cities in Indonesia, including provincial and regional capitals in the land of Papua, on Monday April 27.
Simultaneous actions in the city of Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, in Wamena, the capital of Papua Highlands province, in Nabire, the capital of Central Papua province, and in several other regions, took up the main theme of "Papua is a Military and Humanitarian Emergency Zone".
In Wamena, the mass action was centred at the offices of the Papua Highlands provincial People's Representative Council (DPRP). In a speech, the chairperson of the Papuan Indigenous Forum who was also responsible for the action, Yusup Yikwa, emphasised that the masses are taking up the demand to immediately stop acts of violence against civilians in the land of Papua.
Yikwa said, as is the case at actions held in various cities in Papua and Indonesia, in Wamena the protesters also emphasised that Papua is currently a military and humanitarian emergency zone.
"We ask the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, to immediately withdraw non-organic military troops from Papua", he said.
Yikwa explained that during the action the forum also asked the governors, the DPRP, the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP), Regency Legislative Councils (DPRK) throughout the land of Papua as well as the people's representatives in the national House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) for the Papua electoral district (Dapil) to immediately meet with the Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai in response to the current worrying situation in Papua.
"We also ask governors in all parts of Papua, the DPR, the MRP and the DPD and the DPR to immediately come together and meet with the Minister of Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia to urge the President of the Republic of Indonesia to open access to Papua for international journalists and humanitarian teams from the UN", said Yikwa.
He emphasised that if the conflict between the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police (Polri) does not stop immediately and continues to cause casualties, public trust will quickly vanish.
"We Papuans even declared a motion of no confidence in the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia] and the preamble to the UUD 1945 [Indonesian Constitution] which states that the state is obliged to guarantee and protect all Indonesian people", he said.
Yikwa continued, saying the protesters are urging Prabowo to immediately hold a meeting between the Indonesian government and the TPNPB through peaceful dialogue to find the best solution to break the chain of violence and suffering of the Papuan people, which has occurred from the 1960s to the present.
"If this aspiration is not followed up, we will consolidate the Papuan people from the seven traditional territories to reject all legal products of the NKRI, Special Autonomy and others", asserted Yikwa.
According to Yikwa, Indonesia is present in Papua only to extract natural resources without providing a sense of security and peace for the Papuan people. "We are ready to determine our own future", shouted Yikwa.
Papua Justice and Human Integrity Foundation (YKKPM) Director Theo Hesegem asked the Indonesian government to invite the UN high commissioner for human rights to make an official visit to Papua. The government must also immediately open access for foreign journalists to cover the human rights situation in Papua.
"We also ask President Prabowo Subianto to immediately withdraw non-organic troops from throughout Papua. The next step is to immediately start an inclusive dialogue between the Indonesian government and Papuan representatives who are fighting for independence", said Hesegem.
Hesegem also urged the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to immediately carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the incident in Kembru district, Puncak regency, Central Papua, which occurred last Tuesday on April 14.
"The Kembru incident caused the death of 15 innocent civilians. We ask all parties involved in the conflict, including the TNI and TPNPB, not to carry out attacks that do not differentiate targets and guarantee the protection of civilians", said Hesegem.
Meanwhile, the repressive actions of security forces in the city of Jayapura during a simultaneous demonstration which was initially permitted to use one route, but was then blocked and forcibly dispersed in front of Denzipur Waena, was regretted by several parties.
Selpius Bobii, a human rights activist who is also a former Papuan political prisoner (tapol), said he regrets this incident. According to Bobii, the obstruction of today's mass action shows the true face of the country. While they wanted to convey their aspirations properly, the security forces instead responded to them aggressively.
Despite the efforts of those responsible for the action to negotiate, an agreement was not reached resulting in protesters and security forces pushing and shoving each other. The situation changed when warning shots were fired into the air and tear gas released to disperse the protesters.
"Today the Papuan people took to the streets to protest crimes against humanity in the land of Papua, more specifically following the bloody tragedy in Dogiyai and Puncak. There were mass actions that conveyed their aspirations under pressure from combined TNI and Polri forces. There were also peaceful rallies that were forcibly disbanded by the combined TNI and Polri forces", he explained in a written statement to Suara Papua, on Monday afternoon.
Bobii noted that since the start of the action at around 7.30 Papua time, the protesters had gathered in front of the Mimika dormitory in Waena, Heram district, Jayapura city.
"Initially the police allowed the long march to go to Abepura using one lane of the main road. However, when they arrived in front of the Den Zipur Waena, the protesters were stopped by a blockade by [the police para-military Mobile Brigade] Brimob and Dalmas [crowd control] officers. Meanwhile, the TNI was on standby fully armed", he explained.
The protesters were forcibly dispersed. The same fate was suffered by those at the Uncen [Cenderawasih University] campus, at the Perumnas [State Housing Company] 3 in Waena. "The police fired tear gas and firearms to brutally disperse the protesters", he said.
Students giving a speech in front of Uncen Abepura, said Bobii, were also forcibly dispersed. Tear gas was released in the middle of residential areas and as a result, many residents were affected by the repressive actions of the security forces.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Rakyat Papua Desak Presiden Prabowo Tarik Militer Non Organik".]
Source: https://suarapapua.com/2026/04/28/rakyat-papua-desak-presiden-prabowo-tarik-militer-non-organik/
