Hundreds of students and civilians marched in Jayapura, Papua on April 27 demanding the withdrawal of Indonesian troops from Papua, as clashes broke out between protesters and security forces.
According to local authorities, around 800 protesters rallied in three separate locations before converging in the city center. Demonstrators called for the removal of military forces from all six provinces of Papua and demanded an end to decades of violence and repression.
Police spokesperson Cahyo Sukarnito said officers used tear gas and water cannon after some protesters allegedly threw stones. Five police personnel were reported injured, while no protester injuries were officially confirmed.
Video footage circulated by Merdeka West Papua Support Network showed riot police in protective gear carrying batons as they moved toward demonstrators. After the clashes subsided, protests reportedly continued peacefully, with regional lawmakers arriving to hear protesters’ demands.
The protest followed reports of a military operation earlier this month that killed 15 civilians, including women and children. Indonesia’s human rights watchdog later confirmed the deaths and called for a review of military operations in the region. The Indonesian military has yet to publicly acknowledge the civilian casualties.
The reported killings have intensified anger in Papua, where residents have long accused Jakarta of relying on military force to suppress dissent and protect commercial interests.
Papua, the western half of the island of New Guinea administered by Indonesia, has been the site of a decades-long independence struggle. Indigenous Papuans and liberation groups reject Indonesia’s control over the territory, arguing that the 1969 “Act of Free Choice” (conducted under heavy military presence and involving a limited number of handpicked voters) did not reflect genuine self-determination.
Since then, armed and unarmed resistance movements have sought independence, while rights groups have documented extrajudicial killings, forced displacement, censorship, and mass arrests.
The main armed resistance force today is linked to the West Papua National Liberation Army, while diplomatic efforts are advanced by the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, which campaigns internationally for a referendum on independence.
Papua is rich in timber, gas, and minerals, including the massive Grasberg Mine, one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines, jointly controlled by the Indonesian state and Freeport-McMoRan. Activists say military deployments often serve to secure extraction projects while Indigenous communities face land dispossession and ecological destruction.
