massacre of independence militias leaves at least 9 dead

The attack took place on the Nduga plateau. Climate of great tension in the region after the recent approval of a law by which Jakarta redraws the administrative borders, adding three provinces. Local communities fear that behind the promise of development lies further militarization. The conflict, of low intensity for decades, becomes more violent.

Jayapura ( / Agencies) – Nine people were shot dead this morning in the Indonesian region of Papua, in an attack that the Indonesian police attribute to separatist militias. The attack, the deadliest in recent years, would have occurred in the remote area of ​​the Nduga plateau, according to what the Jayapura security forces reported to the news agency antara.

The attack comes just days after protests over a new law changing the administrative division of the region from two (Papua and West Papua) to five provinces, with the addition of South Papua, Central Papua and the Papua Highlands. . The government claims that the new administrative realities will accelerate development, improve the delivery of public services and create more opportunities for Papuans to enter the civil service.

However, critics of the move argue that it will give Jakarta more power over this remote, resource-rich region, where a low-intensity guerrilla war for independence has been waged since the area became part of Indonesia after a controversial UN-supervised vote in 1969. Local communities, in particular, fear that the new provinces will become the pretext for further militarization and the access of non-indigenous personalities and officials to government posts.

The West Papua Liberation Army – which the Jakarta government has branded a terrorist organization – has rejected the administrative subdivision, threatening to kill the officials involved.

This week, a report by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict had stated that the West Papua Liberation Army has “unleashed an unprecedented level of violence in Papua” since the 2018 “declaration of war”, mainly due to the ability of the group to acquire more weapons. According to the report, attacks by Papuan separatists are increasingly actively confronting the Indonesian security forces and attacks against the civilian population are also increasing.