Churches urge Indonesia to halt Papua military operations

The call comes amid ongoing violent conflict in the predominantly Christian region, which is a province of Indonesia. A past referendum to determine Papua’s future after Dutch colonial rule was considered to have been rigged in favour of Indonesia.

The Papuan Council of Churches and 44 organisations of the Coalition for Civil Society Transformation in Papua (Ko Masi) issued a statement on February 20 calling for “the immediate withdrawal of all members” of the army. Army personnel engaged in civilian duties, “such as teachers, media personnel and others”, should also be withdrawn, the statement said.

The ecumenical statement also demanded that the military and the pro-independence group, the West Papua National Liberation Army, uphold international humanitarian law in areas of armed conflict.

The statement called for independent monitoring of human rights violations. It also called for a halt to palm oil projects that are fuelling conflict with indigenous people.

“Stop all national strategic projects that destroy and rob the living space of indigenous people in Papua,” the statement added, referring to a project to clear 2 million hectares in South Papua for crop cultivation, including palm oil plantation.

Reverend Benny Giyai, moderator of the Papuan Council of Churches, said the troop deployment has displaced thousands of Papuans, and the armed conflict has rendered more than 100,000 people refugees.

According to data from the advocacy group Imparsial, the number of soldiers in Papua is 16,900, most of whom are from units with combat qualifications.

The National Commission on Human Rights recorded 115 cases of violence in 2025, with 130 deaths and 88 injuries, with the majority of victims being civilians – an increase from 85 cases with 71 deaths in 2024.

FULL STORY

Church, civil society urge Indonesia to halt military operations in Papua (UCA News)