Interim President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Benny Wenda has condemned the mass displacement of West Papuans as Indonesian military operations intensify across the region, calling it evidence of President Prabowo Subianto’s violent agenda.
“Thousands of my people are being forced to flee their homes this Christmas,” Wenda said, citing military incursions in Yahukimo, Maybrat, and Intan Jaya.
“Entire regions, like Oksop, have been emptied. Families are hiding in the forest, starving and terrified, while the military acts with total impunity.”
According to Wenda, over 83,000 West Papuans are currently displaced, with 1,200 deaths linked to forced displacements since 2018. Human rights defenders report increasing violence, including civilian killings and abuses targeting people with dreadlocks—an attack on cultural identity.
Wenda slammed Prabowo’s international efforts to project a reformist image, dismissing environmental promises and prisoner amnesties as “pure smokescreens.”
He compared Prabowo’s actions to those of former dictator Suharto, accusing the president of orchestrating genocide.
“Prabowo’s new independent military command for West Papua’s five provinces is an excuse to deploy more troops, set up more checkpoints, and escalate human rights abuses,” Wenda said.
“West Papua is effectively under martial law.”
He also criticiSed the continued division of West Papua into new provinces, claiming it paves the way for intensified militariSation and deforestation.
“How can the world trust a man whose history is soaked in blood from West Papua and East Timor? This Christmas, thousands of my people will spend the holidays hiding in the bush, victims of Prabowo’s brutality,” Wenda said.
The ULMWP has called on the international community to hold Prabowo accountable and demand an end to military operations in West Papua.
