Indonesia deserves a trial

West Papuan refugees.

Six decades of Indonesian military occupation in West Papua has caused deep trauma for the local indigenous people. 

In an interview with Jubi tabloid on January 12, West Papua Army Commander Damianus Magai Yogi said that "Indonesia, through its military, is prolonging the conflict in Papua. Local populations are being forced off their land so that the military, along with companies, can start exploiting the natural resources there."

Behind West Papua's special autonomy

For this quadragenarian general with a bushy beard, the two decades of special autonomy granted by Jakarta do not represent a peaceful solution for West Papua, as they have given rise to numerous murders, displacements, prosecutions and other acts of violence against indigenous Papuans.

Furthermore, with the creation of new provinces in West Papua, now six in number, the Indonesian military has not only come for security missions, but also businesses under the guise of development, resulting in tremendous deforestation and destruction of nature. Note that Indonesian military extractivism has also wiped out forests on neighboring islands, particularly Borneo and Sumatra. A total of 1.3 million hectares of rainforest have been destroyed in the last five years.

Indonesia's colonial face in West Papua

Indeed, 61 years of Indonesian military occupation in West Papua has caused deep trauma for its local indigenous people. To the extent that many West Papuans call 'Indonesia' simply as 'ABRI', which stands for the Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia. The violent behavior of the Indonesian military has made the term ABRI synonymous with violence in the West Papuan lexicon.

In the words of Papuan Baptist Pastor Socratez Yoman: "The face of Indonesian colonial regime in West Papua is perfectly described by Catholic intellectual and priest Prof. Dr. Frans Magnis Suseno: There is an impression that Papuans are treated as if they are not recognized as human beings. We remember the heinous murder of Theys Eluay in a car offered to take him home from a Kopassus (Indonesian special forces) reception ... The situation in Papua is ugly, abnormal, uncivilized and shameful, therefore closed to foreign media. Papua is a festering wound on the body of the Indonesian nation."

Indonesia should be tried

Since the first day of the Indonesian occupation, an estimated 500,000 West Papuans have been killed. This is twenty times more than the massacre that took place in Gaza. Photos of thousands of refugees from Nduga, Intan Jaya, and other conflict areas that have recently gone viral on social media reveal the agonizing face of West Papua.

An anonymous West Papua campaigner said matter-of-factly on her Twitter account: "Indonesia deserves to be tried in the International Court of Justice. Indonesia should be held accountable for its crimes in West Papua." At a meeting in Bangkok last December, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) vowed to bring the West Papua issue to the United Nations (UN) for a just and dignified resolution.