Indonesia, West Papua – Southwest Papua Senator Paul Finsen Mayor interrupted a Regional Representatives Council (DPD) plenary meeting in Jakarta on 14 January 2026 to deliver a pointed message from the Papuan people (see photo on top).
Senator Mayor spoke out against the Indonesian government's plans to establish new territorial development battalions in West Papua, emphasising that basic services rather than military infrastructure should be the priority for the special autonomous region. "Papuans need schools and hospitals, not Army headquarters," he told the assembly, reminding members that education and health were designated as primary concerns under Papua's special autonomy framework.
The senator's concerns come as new research reveals the staggering scale of Indonesia's military presence in West Papua. According to an investigation by Project Multatuli, at least 83,177 organic military and police personnel are currently deployed across the region, comprising 56,517 TNI (military) personnel and 26,660 Polri (police) personnel. This figure does not include non-organic troops brought in under the Operational Control (BKO) mechanism on rotating assignments or intelligence personnel.
The research reveals a stark disparity regarding the heavy presence of military members. According to police data, there are 24 separatist groups in West Papua with 1,438 members possessing 361 firearms. This means the number of organic security forces in West Papua is 58 times greater than the number of armed separatists. With West Papua's population at 5.8 million, there is one soldier for every 103 residents and one police officer for every 219 residents. This ratio by far exceeds national figures of one soldier per 696 residents and one police officer per 607 residents elsewhere in Indonesia.
The Indonesian Army maintains the largest presence with 38,790 soldiers across three Military Commands (Kodam), with plans to establish two additional Kodams in 2026. The government has also designated West Papua as one of three "centres of gravity" for Indonesia's defence, alongside Jakarta and Aceh, signalling further military expansion ahead. This includes the relocation of Kopassus Group 6 with three battalions from Jakarta to Mimika, where PT Freeport Indonesia conducts its copper and gold mining operations.
Senator Mayor also conveyed the rejection by indigenous Papuan communities of government plans to establish palm oil plantations in the region. He requested that DPD Chairperson Sultan B Najamuddin forward these concerns directly to President Prabowo Subianto and the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. Najamuddin confirmed that the council would accommodate the input and was seeking a meeting with the President.
The senator's intervention follows a December meeting where regional leaders presented their own development priorities to the President. Pegunungan Bintang Regent Spei Yan Bidana submitted 24 strategic policy recommendations focused on sustainable development and the welfare of indigenous Papuans. Among his proposals, the regent called for peaceful and dignified dialogue with the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to resolve the armed conflict that has persisted for 64 years. He also urged investment in integrated boarding schools in every regency, universities in each of West Papua's customary regions, and 24-hour electricity through renewable energy sources.
The regent's proposals emphasised protecting indigenous rights, revising the Papuan Special Autonomy law to better serve indigenous Papuans, and positioning West Papua as a global ecological buffer zone given its status as one of the world's biodiversity centres.
In December 2025, President Prabowo announced his plans to develop palm oil, sugarcane, and cassava plantations across West Papua as part of national energy self-sufficiency goals. Soldiers from the newly established Territorial Development (TP) battalions are already clearing land for a planned 2.6 million-hectare food estate in Merauke, including one million hectares for sugarcane plantations and bioethanol factories, further diminishing customary lands and forests. Three more battalions have recently been established in the Papuan regencies of Biak, Waropen, and Supiori.
The Project Multatuli investigation draws parallels with Indonesia's 23-year occupation of Timor-Leste, noting that despite overwhelming military superiority, Indonesia was never able to completely suppress resistance there. Researchers question the rationale behind such massive military expansion and whether it can achieve its stated objectives, concluding that the approach risks repeating historical failures at enormous human and financial cost.