This document provides summaries of fact checks on media access, political freedom, human rights, and violence in West Papua, Indonesia. It debunks myths about mass killings and genocide, and finds that most violence is due to crime and separatist groups killing more than security forces. On media access, most journalist visa applications are approved, and foreign diplomats routinely visit. West Papua enjoys democratic elections and autonomy. While human rights issues remain, reports of mass killings are unfounded, and the government has taken steps to address cases. Crime is the leading cause of homicides, with separatists killing more than security actors based on studies.

1. #FACTCHECK
WESTPAPUA
Media Access,
Political
Freedom,
Human Rights,
& Violence
Essential FactChecks
about West Papua.
FactCheck Media Access to West Papua |
FactCheck Political Freedom | FactCheck
Human Rights | FactCheck Violence |

2. #FactCheckWestPapua
MEDIA
ACCESS,
POLITICAL
FREEDOM,
HUMAN
RIGHTS, &
VIOLENCE
ESSENTIAL FACTCHECKS
ABOUT WEST PAPUA

3. ©FactCheckWestPapua
In this small publication of #FactCheckWestPapua, we
present our findings and fact checks on media access,
political freedom, human rights, and violence in West Papua.
We hope you find these interesting and of value. Please help
spread the word!
#FactCheckWestPapua
#FactCheckMediaAccess
#FactCheckPoliticalFreedom
#FactCheckHumanRights
#FactCheckViolence

4. It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open,
into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.
- Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

5. PROLOGUE
The provinces of Papua and West Papua in Indonesia,
oftentimes better known as Tanah Papua, the Land of Papua
or simply West Papua is a fascinating region. Much have been
achieved since a few decades ago.
Over the years, we have recorded West Papua’s poverty
rate steadily decreasing, school enrolments up, more
healthcare facilities available and affordable, infrastructure
built: roads, bridges and ports to name a few, democracy
taking a root and then blossoming and the human
development index making gradual improvements.
Challenges, however remain. In the security aspect,
violence is disproportionately high as compared to the
national average. Effective and efficient governance is still a
work in progress. Mistrust and misunderstanding within West
Papua as well as between the provinces and Jakarta abound.
Some of those issues are rooted in genuine problems that
need to be addressed by everyone involved. However, some
of the issues are based on hearsay, rumors and
misinformation.
In this small publication of #FactCheckWestPapua, we
present our findings and fact checks on media access,
political freedom, human rights, and violence in West Papua.
We hope you find these interesting and of value. Please help
spread the word!

6. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Media Access 7
2. Political Freedom 13
3. Human Rights 17
4. Violence in West Papua 24

7. 1. MEDIA ACCESS
FOREIGN JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA
CAN ACCESS WEST PAPUA
“Foreign journalists are allowed to and can visit Papua
as freely as they can any other parts of Indonesia.”
President Joko Widodo, 2015
Contrary to popular belief, the provinces of Papua and West
Papua in the easternmost part of Indonesia are open for
foreign journalists and foreign diplomats. Here are the
facts.
Foreign correspondents and Indonesian journalists
residing in Indonesia do not need a special permit to
cover or visit any part of Indonesia including Papua or
West Papua.
Foreign journalists residing in Indonesia need only to
notify the Indonesian police of their plans to visit outside the
province where they reside.
For those foreign journalists residing outside of
Indonesia, they need to apply for a visa. Like any other
7

8. country, non-citizens need to obtain a visa to visit. The
Indonesian visa regime applies to all international visitors
including journalists.
Any foreign journalists intending to visit and report in
Indonesia must obtain a journalist visa.
Let’s have a look at the statistics for journalists visa
requests from 2015 to 2020, recorded by Indonesia’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
More than 90 percent of all the applications for a
journalist visa was granted. Out of the total 2444
applicants, 2246 were granted a visa. The rest were either
postponed or rejected for administrative and other reasons.
Australian Senator George Brandis, Attorney-General visited Papua,
Indonesia, 9-12 August 2016. Image: papuanews.org
8

9. In the past five years, more than 82 percent of all the
applications for journalist visa to visit Papua was granted.
US Ambassador, Joseph R. Donovan visiting Papua, Indonesia, 8-11
March 2017. Image: id.usembassy.gov
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi talking with ministers from Pacific
Island Countries at the Indonesia-South Pacific Forum, March 2019.
Image: kemlu.go.id
9

10. Out of the total 101 applicants, 83 was granted journalist
visas. The majority of those applications rejected were for
administrative reason.
In August-September of 2019, due to the breakout of wide
spread riots in some parts of Papua, for safety reasons, the
authorities suspended the issuance of journalist visas.
Besides Indonesian and foreign journalists, foreign
ambassadors and diplomats routinely visit many parts of
Papua and West Papua.
Australia’s Attorney-General George Brandis visited Papua
in August 2016. The ambassadors of the United States,
Germany, the United Kingdom were among members of the
diplomatic corp and international organizations that
routinely visited Papua and West Papua while posted in
Indonesia. Melanesian Spearhead Group’s (MSG)
ministers have also visited Indonesia including Papua.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi hosting ministers from PICs at the
Indonesia-South Pacific Forum, March 2019. Image: kemlu.go.id

11. 11

12.
Foreign and domestic journalists routinely cover elections in many
parts of Papua, Indonesia. Image: bbc.com, GettyImages
Foreign and domestic journalists routinely cover elections in many
parts of Papua, Indonesia. Image: Jubi
12

13. 2. POLITICAL FREEDOM
A VIBRANT AND FREE DEMOCRACY
WITH SIGNIFICANT PLURALISM IN
POLITICS AND THE MEDIA
“Indonesia has made impressive democratic gains since
the fall of an authoritarian regime in 1998,
establishing significant pluralism in politics and the
media and undergoing multiple, peaceful transfers of
power between parties.”
Freedom House, 2020
Since 1998, Indonesia has enjoyed democratic gains
which has significantly contributed to the country’s
political and security stability.
Although there are a number of challenges that the
government is working to address such as corruption, cases
of discrimination and violence, Freedom House in its 2020
report gave a high score for Indonesia. Here are some of
assessments:
13

14. On the presidential election of 2019, Freedom House
found that the current head of government, other chief
national and local authority were elected through free
and fair elections.
“Limited voting irregularities were reported, but the
contest was largely considered free and fair by
international election monitors.”
Freedom House, 2020
The current national legislative representatives were
elected through free and fair elections. Local legislative
The then presidential candidate Joko Widodo addressing the crowd
at a rally at the GBK Stadium, Jakarta in 2019. Image: tempo.co.id
14

15. representatives in Papua and West Papua provinces were
also elected through free and fair elections.
With a total population of about 3.9 million people,
millions of Papuan registered voters, including thousands
residing overseas, participated in the 2014, 2017 and
2019 presidential, legislative and regional elections.
Ninety four percent of all eligible voters in Papua
participated in the 2019 election. In West Papua, 88%
turned out to vote.
On top of the vibrant and free political and democratic
environment, Papua and West Papua enjoy vast autonomy
to set and implement their own independent
development policies, strategies, actions and programs.
Voters at a polling station in West Papua, 2019. Image: tempo.co.id
15

16. The two provinces enjoyed a net transfer from the central
government of more than Rp 47 trillion (US$3.4 billion). Net
transfer is the balance between the receipt of local provincial
incomes (taxes, customs and duties) and its expenditure.
In 2019 alone, Papua and West Papua received US$898
million as part of a comprehensive program to boost
development of the provinces.
Holtekamp Bridge, Papua inaugurated by President Joko Widodo in
2019. Image: kompas.com
16

17. 3. HUMAN RIGHTS
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND THE
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP
AUTHORITATIVELY DEBUNKED THE
MYTHS OF MASS KILLINGS AND
GENOCIDE OF THE ETHNIC PAPUAN
POPULATION
“Neither of the reports provides any evidence of intent
on the part of the Indonesian government or military
to destroy the ethnic Papuan population as such in
whole or in part. Nor have there been killings of
civilians on anything like that scale....”
International Crisis Group, 2006
False and baseless reports of mass killings or even
genocide in the provinces of Papua and West Papua since the
1960s in many social media platforms and sometimes in the
mainstream media unfairly portrays the real human rights
situation in Papua.
17

18. There are a number of issues and cases of human rights
abuses in Papua, which the government is committed to solve
and some has been solved, but the scale of the cases are
nowhere near what some wrongfully claims in the media.
Let us dispell some of these “mass killing” and “genocide”
claims.
First, a number of news and reports incorrectly quote
Amnesty International for the non-existent estimate of
some 100,000 Papuans killed by security forces.
This claim has been refuted by Amnesty International,
which published the following statement:
“Some reports incorrectly quote Amnesty International
as estimating that some 100,000 Papuans were killed
by Indonesian security forces in the 50 years since
1963. Amnesty International has never published a
total death toll from security operations in Papua.”
Second, the false claim that security forces committed
genocide of up to 500,000 Papuans in the last 50 years
continues to be wrongfully reported. This was originally
claimed by a group of students in Yale Law School and and
Sydney University and widely circulated by pro-separatist
circle.
Source: Footnote 38 of Amnesty International’s 2018 publication
“Don’t Bother Just Let Him Die”: https://www.amnesty.org.au/wp-
content/uploads/2018/07/Dont-Bother-Just-let-Him-Die.pdf
18

19. In 2006, the highly respected International Crisis
Group published a report debunking the genocide myth.
In its report “Papua: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions”.
The ICG stated with authority that the reports “… do
not provide any evidence of intent on the part of the
Indonesian government or military to destroy the ethnic
Papuan population as such in whole or in part. Nor have
there been killings of civilians on anything like that
scale.”
19

20. “But neither report - Indonesian Human Rights Abuses
in West apua: Application of the Law of Genocide to
the History of Indonesian Control”, authored by a
group of students at Yale Law School, nor “Genocide in
West Papua? The role of the Indonesian state
apparatus and a current needs assessment of the
Papuan people” by Sydney University’s John Wing and
Peter King - makes a strong case and the Yale report is
marred by many factual errors.”
President Joko Widodo shakes hand with freed prisoner Kimanus
Wenda. Four others freed prisoners look on, from left: Jefrai Murib,
Apotnalogolik Lokobal, Numungga Telenggen, and Linus Hiluka at a
ceremony in Abepura Prison in Jayapura, Papua, May 2015.
20
Source: International Crisis Group “Papua: Answers to Frequently
Asked Questions”, 2006

21. And third, despite not yet meeting expectations of the
international community, progress on human rights cases in
Papua has been made.
In 2015, President Joko Widodo released five ethnic
Papuan prisoners. The Guardian reported in May 2015:
“The five political prisoners – convicted over a 2003
raid on an Indonesian military weapons arsenal –
were granted clemency by Widodo in a ceremony at
Abepura prison, in the provincial capital Jayapura.”
And more recently, on the case of the racist incident in
Surabaya in 2019, an Indonesian court has found two
men guilty of racially abusing a group of Papuan students
in August 2019. The Union of Catholic Asian News reported
the following:
“Syamsul Arifin, a civil servant, and Andian
Andriansyah, a YouTuber, were found guilty of calling
the students “monkeys”, “pigs” and “dogs” during a
confrontation on August 16, 2019, in Indonesia’s
second largest city of Surabaya in East Java.”
On the death of Reverend Yeremia, on 19 September
2020, the Indonesian Government established a Joint Fact-
Finding Team (JFFT) to bring justice to the case.
21

22. As a result of the fact-finding effort, on 21 October 2020,
8 military personnel have been determined as suspects in the
case.
The Indonesia National Commission on Human Rights
(Komnas HAM) has also conducted its own independent
fact-finding mission with findings that were consistent to
that of the JFFT.
The JFFT also found that armed criminal groups were
heavily involved in the Intan Jaya Case.
Mahfud MD, Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security
formed a Joint Fact-Finding Team to shed light and solve cases of abuse.
22

23. At present, the Attorney General Office, Komnas HAM,
and relevant stakeholders are jointly working together to
solve past human rights cases.
23
Three soldiers from the elite Kopassus special forces unit court-
martialled and sentenced to prison sentences for their involvement in
murders in 2013. Source: South China Morning Post: https://
www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1304794/indonesia-jails-more-elite-
soldiers-over-prison-murders

24. 4. VIOLENCE IN WEST PAPUA
UNIVERSITAS GADJAH MADA (UGM)
AND THE LOWY INSTITUTE
CONDUCTED SEPARATE STUDIES THAT
CONCLUDED: THE LEADING CAUSE OF
VIOLENCE AND DEATHS ARE CRIMES
AND SEPARATISTS KILL MORE AND
BETTER THAN SECURITY ACTORS
“In Papua province the leading cause of homicide was
crime, which constituted 43.5% of murders. Deaths
related to separatism came second, constituting 18%
of all homicides from 2010-14. Police and military
casualties were counted in this category.”
The Interpreter, Lowy Institute, 2018: ‘A new take on
violence in Indonesian Papua’
In 2018, the Lowy Institute published their findings on
violence in the provinces of Papua. The researchers examined
the 2008-15 National Violence Monitoring System (NVMS)
24

25. which is a database of Indonesian district and provincial level
newspapers.
“What we have discovered thus far is revealing: crime
kills more Papuans than the state; both crime and
insurgency are extremely localised; and security actors
tend to ignore violence unless they are targeted. A
threadbare state is more apparent than a policy state
in 2018, as well as in 2014.” - Lowy Institute ‘A new
take on violence in Indonesian Papua’, 2018”
Furthermore the study concluded the following on
murders by separatists:
“Separatists kill more and better than security actors.
Separatist violence killed more than security actor
violence. Between 2010 and 2014, separatist attacks
led to 122 deaths; security actor attacks, 43.
If we merge killings by police and military into a sole
‘state killing’ category, across all categories only 5% of
2014 homicides were perpetrated by state actors,
which is a small amount given prevailing views of the
situation.”
Lowy Institute ‘A new take on violence in Indonesian
Papua’, 2018
25

26. Similarly, in 2020, researchers from the Gadjah Mada
University (UGM) did a study and surveyed cases of violence
in West Papua in the past decade.
Gabriel Lele, a UGM researcher found 204 cases of
violence in the provinces of Papua between 2010 and 2020.
These cases involved community members, security
personnel and armed criminal groups.
“We want to map cases of violence in Papua to find its
pattern. The conflict is multi-dimensional. Not just
vertical, many cases are horizontal violence. - Gabriel
Lele, UGM”
The magazine Gatra reported the UGM’s study as follows:
“Through direct field observation and a survey of the
local media, the UGM team found that the majority of
cases, 118, were carried out by armed criminal groups.
Forty two cases were carried out by members of the
local commnity, 28 cases by the military or police
while 16 cases were of unknown origins.” - gatra.com,
‘UGM Petakan Kekerasan di Papua, Jalan Damai Jadi
Harapan, 27 November 2020’
The Gatra article reporting on the UGM study can be
found here: https://www.gatra.com/detail/news/496571/
26

27. milenial/ugm-petakan-kekerasan-di-papua-jalan-damai-
jadi-harapan
And the Lowy study “A new take on violence in Indonesian
Papua” can be found here: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/
the-interpreter/new-take-violence-indonesian-papua
Kompas TV reporting the burning of the Parliament building (DPRD)
in West Papua by rioters in 2019. Source: Kompas TV
. https://
regional.kompas.com/read/2019/08/19/09163131/live-streaming-
video-pembakaran-gedung-dprd-papua-barat-dan-kerusuhan-di

29. #FACTCHECKWESTPAPUA
In this small publication of #FactCheckWestPapua, we
present our findings and fact checks on media access,
political freedom, human rights, and violence in West Papua.
We hope you find these interesting and of value. Please help
spread the word!
#FactCheckWestPapua
#FactCheckMediaAccess
#FactCheckPoliticalFreedom
#FactCheckHumanRights
#FactCheckViolence