Disruptions and intimidation targeting screenings of a documentary on indigenous people in Papua are increasing across Indonesia, raising concern among rights groups and Church leaders over shrinking space for dissent and free expression.

Watchdoc, the human rights documentary collective behind Pig Feast: Colonialism of Our Time, reported at least 21 incidents of "serious intimidation" since the film's release in April.

The incidents include phone calls from security officers, direct monitoring by intelligence personnel, demands for organizers' identities, and forced shutdowns of events by uniformed and non-uniformed actors.

The group believes the actual number is higher because many organizers choose not to report incidents publicly.

The documentary, directed by veteran journalist Dandhy Dwi Laksono and anthropologist Cypri Jehan Paju Dale, follows the struggle of the Malind, Yei, Awyu, and Muyu peoples against large-scale plantation and food estate projects in Southern Papua.

Despite the pressure, requests for community screenings have surged, reaching nearly 5,000 as of May 12.

Catholic schools, parish youth groups, and Church-linked social justice ministries in several dioceses have expressed interest in hosting screenings as part of pastoral education on indigenous rights and care for creation.

"The young people wanted to understand what is happening in Papua," said Father Charles Ame Talu, parish priest of Jesus of Divine Mercy in Aeramo, the Archdiocese of Ende, Flores, after requesting a screening in his parish.

In Jakarta, Franciscan priest Father Vinsensius Darmin Mbula, who oversees St. Francis High School, said they will hold a screening on May 23 for students and educators.

"We consider this important for education and for raising young people's awareness of social and humanitarian issues," he said.

"This is also our way of resisting the silencing that is growing around this film, which we see as a restriction on freedom of expression."

"This is the moment when we need strong solidarity from the Indonesian public to demand accountability from the government, the corporations, and the military for what has been happening in Papua," anthropologist Dale said.

The Indonesian public should ask the government "to stop the large-scale schemes of destruction carried out through plantation and mining concessions backed by military operations" in the Christian-majority Papua region.

He said the film has become a target because it exposes uncomfortable truths.

"Pig feast is disliked by those in power because it exposes to Indonesians – and to the world – the anatomy and modus operandi of systematic violence whose impacts amount to genocide and ecocide."

According to Dale, the current wave of intimidation is not merely an attack on civil liberties.

"What is at stake is not only free speech in Indonesia, but the very survival of Papua."

He emphasized the need for moral leadership from faith communities.

"If there is ever a moment when we need the concrete involvement of the Church and religious communities, it is now," he said.

House Speaker Puan Maharani said the issue would be discussed in parliament, acknowledging that the film's themes are "sensitive."

Source: https://www.ucanews.com/news/forced-shutdowns-of-papua-film-sparks-disquiet-in-indonesia/11329