Indonesia 2024: No Vote Will Free Papua

Indonesia 2024: 

No Vote Will Free Papua

When Joko Widodo was elected president in 2014, many Papuans hoped for change. Jokowi, a civilian outsider, promised a humanist approach to a region brutalized since Indonesia’s 1963 occupation. But after nine years, those promises ring hollow.

Empty words, no justice. Jokowi pledged to resolve human rights abuses, allow foreign media access, open dialogue with pro-independence groups, and welcome a UN visit. None of this happened. His trips to Papua were political theater. His legacy? More soldiers, more silence, more suffering.

Same game, different faces. On February 14th, Indonesians will vote again. Prabowo, Ganjar, Anies—three faces of the same colonial system. Human rights and poverty in Papua have become campaign soundbites, not commitments. Sixty years on, Papuans still live under occupation, still die under military boots.

No president can fix colonialism. “For Papuans, nothing will change as long as we remain under Indonesia,” said a young activist. Indonesian human rights lawyer Veronica Koman echoed the sentiment: Prabowo means repression, Ganjar maintains the status quo, Anies might change things—but don’t count on it.

Papuans want freedom, not elections. Ambrosius Mulait puts it plainly: “Anies, Prabowo, Ganjar—stop using Papuans to sell your politics. We don’t need your colonial elections. We need independence.”

Until then, every ballot cast in Jakarta means nothing in Jayapura.