Dorian Malovic, Jakarta – "Papua has been living a nightmare of unimaginable violence for over half a century. No one cares about the tragic fate of the Papuan minority, who suffer from the injustices of the ruling powers and the Indonesian military, who accuse them of being separatists," said Father Alexandro Rangga.

Speaking by phone from Jakarta, the 37-year-old Franciscan, originally from Flores and living in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesian Papua for 20 years, summarized the tragedy and violence the Papuan minority has suffered since their territory's annexation in 1969, largely hidden from the world.

Papua lives under constant tension

"Majority Christian and Catholic," Father Rangga noted, "the Papuans hope to hear a message of support and hope from Pope Francis, who is attuned to issues of injustice, migration, and environmental destruction." Closed off to journalists and UN diplomats seeking to investigate human rights abuses by the Indonesian military, Papua remains tense.

While neighboring Papua New Guinea, with a population of 10 million, gained independence from Australia in 1975, Indonesia forcefully took control of the other half of the island, Papua, home to 6 million people, in 1962, officially annexing it in 1969 after a sham referendum endorsed by the United Nations.

A militarized province

"It's Indonesia's original sin against this province, rich in natural resources," lamented a Jesuit priest recently returning from Papua. The wealth from copper, gold, nickel, gas, and precious timber does not benefit the people of Papua, who remain the poorest in Indonesia.

Underdevelopment and discrimination have fueled an independence conflict that has displaced 100,000 people and claimed 150,000 lives. For five decades, the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) has waged a low-intensity guerrilla war against the Indonesian military, which tightly controls the region.

"Since 2001, there's been a special autonomy law, but it's had little impact on local populations who demand a fairer share of the mining profits. What's happening is both a genocide and an ecocide, while the military presence has never been stronger," asserted Ayu Utami, a Catholic writer and human rights activist in Jakarta. She believes "Papua is a disaster because the government only approaches the issue through a security lens. The army should be withdrawn to pacify the region, but local oligarchs, politicians, and generals are in collusion."

Delivering messages to the pope remains a challenge

For weeks, the Justice and Peace Commission in Jayapura has been trying to send a message to Pope Francis about the humanitarian catastrophe in Papua. However, an Indonesian priest, speaking anonymously, revealed there are "obstacles and significant pressure, even from within the Catholic hierarchy, to prevent the pope from receiving these messages or addressing the Papuan issue."

A book written by 34 Papuans, including priests, detailing the history of Papuan Catholics and translated into Italian, was meant to be presented to Pope Francis in Jakarta by the Bishop of Jayapura, but this was prohibited. "We still have hope," said Father Rangga. "For the Papuans, even a simple mention of their existence by the pope would be a form of recognition of their suffering and a political success that could improve their future.

Source: https://international.la-croix.com/world/papuans-cry-out-to-pope-francis-for-hel