This blog was written by our partner, Yokbeth Felle, with contributions from the WITNESS team.<\/em><\/p>\n Baca versi Bahasa Indonesia di sini<\/a>.<\/p>\n Across West Papua, the struggle for justice is ongoing\u2014and often silenced. In the face of repression, community-led documentation efforts have become a lifeline for truth, memory and resistance. From hidden archives to grassroots films, this piece explores how Papuans are reclaiming their narratives and building tools for long-term accountability. WITNESS has supported these grassroots efforts through training, resources, and partnerships that help communities document safely and effectively.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Extrajudicial killings, land dispossession, environmental destruction and systemic racism have become part of everyday life in West Papua, one of the most militarised and heavily surveilled regions in Indonesia. Human rights violations are widespread: press freedom is under attack, internet access is often restricted, and journalists and activists face intimidation, arrest and violence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These are not isolated incidents\u2014they form a consistent pattern of state repression and neglect. In the face of these abuses, Papuan communities have turned to documentation as both a tool of resistance and a means of survival. Whether through testimonies, protest footage, or hidden archives, these acts of memory ensure that the truth lives on.<\/span><\/p>\n Protest in West Papua demanding justice and an end to racism. Credit: Yokbeth Felle | Date and location undisclosed.<\/p>\n Since the era of President Soeharto\u2019s New Order from 1967-1998, West Papua has experienced decades of state violence, repression, and militarization. This legacy continues today under President Prabowo Subianto himself, a former general shaped by Soeharto\u2019s military apparatus whose administration has intensified military operations in the central highlands, resulting in mass displacement, trauma, and ongoing human rights violations. Against this backdrop, efforts to document, resist, and advocate for justice have become even more urgent.<\/span><\/p>\n In response to decades of abuse, advocacy institutions such as <\/span>Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Papua (Papua Legal Aid)<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>ELSHAM Papua (Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy in Papua)<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Franciscan Order (JPIC OFM Papua)<\/span><\/a> were established to provide legal and humanitarian support. Alongside these formal efforts, communities across West Papua have taken to the streets to protest, speak out, and share their testimonies. As technology became more accessible, particularly in the early 2000s, more activists and journalists began using mobile phones to document their stories, share evidence of abuses, and assert their presence in the public record, often at great personal risk.<\/span><\/p>\n These parallel efforts, formal advocacy, grassroots resistance, and everyday documentation, have collectively shaped a powerful and evolving ecosystem of truth-telling, resilience, and collective memory in the face of ongoing silencing.<\/span><\/p>\n Since 1999, JPIC OFM Papua has consistently documented human rights violations in West Papua through its annual report titled <\/span>Memoria Passionis Di Papua<\/span><\/i><\/a>. Each edition adopts a\u00a0 different thematic focus, tailored to the specific violations and events of that year. Most recently, in April 2025, JPIC OFM launched its 43rd volume, titled \u201c<\/span>Tong Bicara Tapi Tong Jalan Terus<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u201d (<\/span>\u201c\u200b\u200bWe Speak [our concerns], yet You Proceed [undeterred<\/span><\/i>]). The report\u00a0 comprises analytical reflections by six authors on the state of human rights, socio-political conditions and socio-economic realities in West Papua throughout 2024. During the launch, Philosophy and Theology lecturer, Ignasius Ngar from Fajar Timur Jayapura, remarked that\u00a0 the work of JPIC OFM constitutes a deliberate and crucial attempt to sustain the collective memory of a people whose present realities are anything but peaceful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This comment invited a deeper reflection: why is the act of preserving collective memory so critical in the context of West Papua?<\/span><\/p>\n Infographic from Amnesty International\u2019s report \u201cDON\u2019T BOTHER, JUST LET HIM DIE\u201d<\/em> shows 95 unlawful killings in Papua (2010\u20132018), mostly involving security forces and marked by widespread impunity.<\/p>\n Preserving collective memory in West Papua is vital in the face of ongoing political repression and erasure. Papuans continue to struggle for self-determination under what many see as a colonial relationship with the Indonesian state. Decades of military violence have left deep intergenerational trauma, while the loss of ancestral lands severs cultural and spiritual ties. As non-Papuan settlers assert dominance, indigenous identity is increasingly marginalised. Systemic racism further devalues Papuan lives and voices. In this context, to document is to resist\u2014to say: <\/span>We were here. This happened. And the world must not look away.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n One emblematic case is the <\/span>2019 racist incident involving Papuan students in Surabaya<\/span><\/a>, who were called <\/span>\u201cmonkeys<\/span><\/i>\u201d and subjected to chants such as \u201c<\/span>Expel the Papuans<\/span><\/i>.\u201d According to information collated by the non-governmental organisation, <\/span>TAPOL<\/span><\/a>, at least 61 civilians were killed, including 35 indigenous West Papuans\u201430 of whom died from bullet wounds likely inflicted by Indonesian security forces. Over 284 civilians were injured, many avoiding hospitals due to fear of arrest. A total of 22,800 civilians were displaced\u2014including more than 11,000 from Wamena and 6,000 Papuan students who returned home from across Indonesia. The crackdown also resulted in 1017 arrests, leading to 157 political prisoners and\u00a0 22 individuals charged with treason.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know I have the legal right to resist all forms of racism. This country provides the space to learn, and I have studied its constitution, slogans and Pancasila. But why is my struggle for equality, humanity, social justice and freedom met with guns and imprisonment? I believe the right to speak and be heard is a constitutional and human right. I have exercised this right peacefully, without harming anyone. I believe that resisting racism is both a right and a duty for everyone who cares about social justice and human rights.\u201d \u2013 West Papuan Activist (name undisclosed)<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThe Urgency of Documentation<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nFrom Protest to Proof: The Rise of Community-Led Documentation<\/b><\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nMemory as Resistance: Why We Record<\/b><\/h3>\n
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