Is Britain complicit in West Papua violence?
The Indonesian military has been accused of carrying out a wave of brutal extra-judicial killings and torture in West Papua in recent months. The Workers for West Papua campaign has highlighted the complicity of countries like Britain, Australia, the US and others in the violence, calling on workers in Britain to push West Papua’s struggle for liberation from Indonesian occupation up the agenda of the trade union movement.
In October 2024, soldiers are accused of killing teenager, Pianus Sani after his body was discovered on the side of the Bilogai Village road after an arrest. A high school student is also still missing after being arrested alongside a friend. Relatives say that the two were tortured as soldiers tried to get information about West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) operations in the area, threatening to burn them alive.
In the same month Alex Sondegau, who was reportedly disabled with a mental disorder, was arrested. Photos later released show he was injured following his detention and although his body wasn’t found, his family believes that he has now died as a result of torture.
Then, in December 16-year-old Yulianus Abugau was allegedly tortured in Mamba Village, eventually dying from his injuries.
The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has called out Britain’s complicity in the violence. Indonesia’s Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC), which trains a number of military units, reportedly receives financial and professional support from the UK and Australia. The Southeast Asia Globe analyzed British government data and found payments to the JCLEC Foundation over 13 years, totalling $17.1 million, and that Britain was a leading provider of training programmes, including from London’s Metropolitan Police.
Britain also boasts a strong defense partnership with Indonesia, which is one of the world’s biggest weapons importers, including buying from the UK.
Meanwhile, the struggle for autonomy in West Papua continues. In 2020, the Indigenous peoples of West Papua formed their own united government-in-waiting which has published a vision for West Papua as a ‘green state’, stemming deforestation, pollution and human rights violations.
— Amy Hall (@amyrhall)
📰 Read more about the global arms trade in NI 553: The Arms Trade
👉 Support Workers for West Papua by submit their motion at your union’s conference or AGM. You can also ask your union to officially affiliate to the campaign.
🎧 Listen to the latest episode of The World Unspun, where Vijay Prashad talks about why the West picks weapons over diplomacy
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