[COLUMNIST] West Papua’s resistance to Indonesian rule

Located in the greater New Guinea Island, West Papua is neighbour to the sovereign state of Papua New Guinea.

Formerly known as Irian Jaya, it was annexed by Indonesia in 1963, a move which was made formal six years later with a widely discredited vote known as the Act of Free Choice.

This vote was supervised by the United Nations (UN). Only 1,063 people voted, most of whom were selected by the military and compelled to vote in favour of Indonesian annexation.

Over the decades, ubiquitous criticism of the Indonesian government’s human rights record in the Papua region has become commonplace.

Pro-independence (also identified as separatists) have been tortured, murdered, or have ‘gone missing’, with no arrests or prosecutions carried out. (https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/13/west-papua-and-the-genocide-mosaic/).

Further to this imbroglio is the experience of conflict that local separatists face with the Indonesian authorities – even more so with the retired army general Prabowo Subianto at the helm.

Some critics have pointed out that the Indonesian military’s expansion into civilian domains carry echoes of the nation’s authoritarian past. (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/28/indonesia-president-prabow o-subianto-military-civilian-affairs).

It is of interest to note that West Papua ‘enjoyed’ less than a year of independence after the end of Dutch colonial rule in 1961.

Within months a contentious referendum organised by the Indonesian government saw West Papuan lands, forests, and mountains handed over to Indonesian President Suharto’s military regime – along with the vast reserves of gold, copper and natural gas buried beneath them. (https://newint.org/forests/2026/whos-profiting-plunder-west-papua).

To this day, in fact, Jakarta’s military has been accused of atrocities amounting to genocide against the Papuan population.

To add, last October witnessed the killing of 15 West Papuans by the Indonesian military, with only three of whom connected to the West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the free West Papua movement. (https://newint.org/forests/2026/whos-profiting-plunder-west-papua)

Reports have surfaced on the prosecution of dissidents who were accused of supporting West Papua’s struggle for autonomy.

This includes the jailing of activists for raising the ‘Morning Star’ flag; a symbol of freedom and hope for the people of West Papua.

Such a situation has led many to think that Indonesia views West Papua as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

It is ironic that West Papua is one of the most financially regressive provinces in Indonesia despite being one of the most mineral-laden locations in the world.

The basic argument brought forward by West Papuans with regards to Indonesian rule is that they are not acknowledged as being indigenous to the land they live on.

This ruling renders the people of West Papua helpless in the face of development and transmigration policies, also absolving Jakarta of any obligations under international instruments and mechanisms.

Furthermore, President Prabowo has restarted the transmigration programme and accelerated deforestation in West Papua.

His predecessor, Joko Widodo had designated Merauke – a region within West Papua rich with natural resources – a National Strategic Project, giving the state authority to expel civilians (https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/august/the-world-s-largest-deforestation-project).

It ought to be pointed out that the aforementioned location covers three million hectares of sugarcane and rice plantations, ethanol production facilities, and infrastructure (https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/updates/14119/indonesia-the-future-of-papua-hangs-in-the-balance).

Towards liberation The United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) is an organisation that aims to remove the chains of Indonesian rule from the people of West Papua; striving for the liberation of the western half of the greater New Guinea Island.

Andreas Harsono, a Human Rights Watch researcher has pointed out:

“I think the Indonesian government will increase its efforts to block the ULMWP.” (https://asiatimes.com/2018/03/west-papuas-enduring-struggle-independence/).

He added that Indonesia could even go to the extent of boycotting businesses which support West Papua.

In September of 2017, the leader of the ULMWP, Benny Wenda organised the collection of signatures as part of the West Papuan People’s Petition to be presented to the UN - a move that was banned by the Indonesian government, for rather obvious reasons.

However, the petition was smuggled out of Papua.

The petition was signed by over 1.8 million people; indicative of the territory’s overwhelming desire for independence.

However, much to the frustration of the signatories, Wenda’s efforts in securing a seat on the UN Decolonisation Committee came to naught as the move only won support from eight countries, all of which are small Caribbean and Pacific island states.

Wenda, who was granted political asylum in the United Kingdom in 2003, is adamant in his claims that for decades, the people of West Papua have been denied their fundamental right to self-determination.

"As such, the signing of the aforementioned petition was a true expression of the (West) Papuan’s desire for freedom.," Wenda exclaimed to the UN when the petition was handed over.

Indonesia’s stranglehold on matters at hand can be further observed when Yanto Awerkion, Deputy Chairman of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in Timika was arrested on the 30th of May 2017 for speaking at a local gathering in which he made the grand announcement that an incredible number of signatures were collected for the West Papuan People’s Petition.

Current Trends and Ways Forward

Recent developments on the goal of West Papuan liberation from Indonesian rule sees the Boycott Indonesia campaign launched in London.

The launch was made official on the 20th of March 2025 in which more than ninety West Papuan tribes, political organisations, as well as religious groups called for the boycott of products implicated in the Indonesian occupation.

This was the first major West Papuan boycott ever announced.

The campaign identified several target brands that are deemed to be complicit in ecocide in the region.

The first set of campaign targets, associated with West Papuan palm oil, are Hershey’s, KitKat, Smarties, Aero, Oreo, Ritz, Pantene, and Herbal Essences (https://www.freewestpapua.org/2025/03/25/boycott-indonesia-campaign-launches-in-london-uk/).

The involvement of external players in the West Papuan region leaves us with a pressing question: who is really reaping the rewards of ecocide?

Last year, Greenpeace Indonesia investigated the deforestation of the Merauke region, which targets an area of 560,000 hectares – equivalent to the size of Bali.

A consortium of ten companies is set to work on the project. Nine out of the ten are connected to two corporate groups with long track records in the palm oil industry (https://www.greenpeace.org/southeastasia/publication/68196/inside-meraukesugarcane-project/).

As the incessant struggle for West Papuan independence intensifies, there is a collective need to look at the issue objectively.

Vested interests must be called out immediately. To retain a semblance of legitimacy – considering the harrowing silence on the current genocide in Gaza – the UN must exhaust measures to intervene in the West Papuan ecocide.

It is imperative that representatives from both sides - Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto and leaders from the tumultuous province - come to the negotiating table and stop the needless bloodshed that has become the hallmark of the relationship between Jakarta and West Papua.

It comes without saying that we have a collective obligation to be advocates for peace in this world.

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* Arief Arman is a Research Fellow at the Peace, Dialogue and Xenophobia Studies (PEDIXS) Centre in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).