For years, West Papua’s Black citizens have been fighting for human rights, particularly independence from the Indonesian military.
In 2004, the Free West Papua Campaign was established as an attempt to alert the world to the ongoing genocide in West Papua.
Several reports of unfair treatment, abuse and discrimination have been cited in the region. From the looks of the below Twitter photo, some citizens appear to have been subjected to harsh, humiliating regimes under the authority of Indonesia’s military:
it is within our rights as police to humiliate & strip naked a Papuan as a means of effecting justice #WestPapua pic.twitter.com/YkA5naZhLZ
— ——————– (@PurePapua) June 17, 2016
Under the #WestPapua hashtag, several protesters, citizens and those in opposition of the military’s practices are taking to social media to speak out against what the region’s citizens experience daily.
Another mass arrest in #WestPapua in attempts to stop protests for self-determination https://t.co/dFp7kO8ZRF @KenRoth @hrw @amnesty
— Jen Robinson (@suigenerisjen) June 15, 2016
Beating and jailing of #WestPapua protesters by Indonesian authorities continues https://t.co/5B77iNwnaw – @SatPaper pic.twitter.com/HJpIlR860H
— Free West Papua (@FreeWestPapua) June 8, 2016
My heart is with victims & families of #Orlando shooting.
Wishing #WestPapua received same attention for their 500,000 and counting victims.— Trudi_S (@AmbaiKruo) June 13, 2016
“We are a peaceful, public campaign, whose aim is very simple: to give the people of West Papua the freedom to choose their own destiny through a fair and transparent referendum – a freedom they have always been denied,” the Free West Papua Campaign’s page states. “We work with politicians of all parties, and also with other NGOs and campaign groups, both national and international, towards this aim.”
Click here to follow the movement.
Photo: Free West Papua
