01 December marks West Papua Independence Day, this year marked sixty-one years since the West Papuans first raised their flag, the Morning Star, as the symbol of their forthcoming independence from Dutch colonial rule. In previous years, the Indonesian military and police have responded with increased violent oppression around this day, arresting and killing those they perceive as pro-independence activists. West Papua Independence Day was marked by solidarity events around the world, including in Aotearoa New Zealand.

At the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly in September 2022, a minute was recorded. This Minute expressed the grave concern of the international ecumenical fellowship regarding the situation in Tanah Papua, the West Papuan provinces of Indonesia. The Indigenous Papuan people (the vast majority of whom are Christians) continue to suffer serious and systemic violations of their physical security and human rights, including arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings as well as sexual and gender-based violence, while independent journalists, international humanitarian organizations and human rights monitors are allowed at best restricted or no access to the territory.

The World Council of Churches urges all member churches and partners to increase their awareness, accompaniment and support for the people and churches of Tanah Papua in the midst of this longstanding and worsening crisis.

Marking the 2022 Indipendence Day, the Pacific Council of Churches has launched a call for a boycott of all Indonesian products and programmes by the Indonesian Government until Indonesia facilitates a visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) to investigate reported human rights abuses – including torture, extrajudicial killings, and systemic police and military violence. The call for boycott was endorsed by the PCC Executive Committee last month, in response to information of a similar call at the Methodist Church in Fiji’s Annual Conference in August this year.

“We recall that when God sent Moses to Pharaoh to call for the end of oppression and slavery of the Israelites and Pharaoh refused to listen, God sanctioned Egypt ecologically. In echoing the cry for social, cultural, political, economic and ecological justice by our West Papuan sisters and brothers and in response to the call for solidarity and support from the West Papua Council of Churches, this call for the boycott of Indonesian products and Indonesian Government programmes (economic, cultural, etc) is being launched today.”