Church organizations, along with civil society groups, have urged the Indonesian government to halt its militaristic approach in the Papua region and its food and palm oil projects that are fueling conflict with indigenous people.
The call comes amid the ongoing violent conflict in the predominantly Christian region.
The Papuan Council of Churches and 44 organizations of the Coalition for Civil Society Transformation in Papua (Ko Masi), in a statement following a meeting in the provincial capital, Jayapura, on Feb. 20, called 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Army personnel engaged in civilian duties, "such as teachers, media personnel, and others," should also be withdrawn, the statement said.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, and the government open access for journalists and foreign media to Papua, including for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to directly monitor human rights violations.
"Stop all national strategic projects that destroy and rob the living space of indigenous people in Papua," they said, referring to the project to clear two million hectares in South Papua for crop cultivation, including palm oil plantation.
They also urged the government "to immediately open a dialogue" with the Papuan people.
Speaking with UCA News on Feb. 23, 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.
Many of them live scattered in remote, hard-to-reach areas, experiencing limited access to food, health services, and pastoral care, the council said.
One of the worst-hit is Nduga Regency in the Papua Highlands Province, with 20,000 refugees.
Giyai said research by the state-run Indonesian Institute of Sciences has identified four drivers of problems in Papua: racism and marginalization, failed economic and educational services, political issues on the legality of Indonesia's occupation, and the impunity of military and police who commit violence.
"However, we see no signs of improvement at this time," he said.
Meanwhile, Faisal Ramadhani, the head of Operation Peace Cartenz, tasked with addressing the conflict, said on Feb. 22 that they had recently increased their troop deployment to Yahukimo Regency in the Papua Highlands, from 80 to 150, bringing the total to 250.
Ramadhani said the increase was to address the escalating "security disturbances," specifically in Yahukimo, where 23 cases were recorded in the two months of this year, up from three in the same period last year.
According to data from the advocacy group Imparsial, the number of soldiers in Papua is 16,900, most of whom are units with combat qualifications.
Christian-majority Papua has been marred by conflict and deaths since the 1960s, when Indonesia annexed the territory after the end of Dutch colonial rule.
A referendum to determine Papua's future was considered rigged in favor of Indonesia.
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.