The struggle for the morning star continues

Green Left Weekly = essential, this is their report on the indigenous struggle in West Papua, same story human rights abuse, ecocide, enclosure and resistance by brave people.

Indonesian military forces have stepped up their campaign of repression in West Papua in recent months. But leaders of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) continue to defy Indonesian demands to surrender.

The campaign for West Papuan independence has been amplified by the continuing repression and lack of improvement of living standards under the current “special autonomy” system.

An eyewitness report from West Papua Media Announcements (WPMA) posted on Pacific.scoop.co.nz on June 16 described a large military mobilisation in the mountainous Puncak Jaya region in central West Papua.

The report said the Indonesian military and the paramilitary Mobile Brigade (Brimob) have engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation since March, as part of their efforts to capture OPM leaders.

The report cites numerous incidents of lawless behaviour by the security forces, including arbitrary arrest, torture, extortion, forced labour and rape. Numerous homes and churches have been burned down.

A June 1 report from WPMA said seven people were killed when the “Indonesian military stormed several villages in the Jambi, Sinak Ilu and Tingginambut districts of Mulia” that day, using “rockets, bazookas and grenades”

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