31.08.19: West Papuan activists have released video footage showing occupying Indonesian State security forces opening fire during a demonstration at the Regency’s Office (colonial administration) in Deiyai on August 28th, 2019.

Initial reports by West Papuan activists stated that 6 protesters had been shot dead and around a dozen were wounded. That number has now been revised. Latest reports indicate that 7 West Papuan demonstrators were shot dead by the security forces and over 30 were injured.

The Indonesian State denied that a massacre took place despite eyewitness reports to the contrary and insisted that reports from West Papuan activists were a ‘hoax’. They claimed that one TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) member was killed by protesters armed with traditional bows and arrows and that they responded with deadly force killing 2 West Papuan protesters. The Indonesian State are notorious for propagating false narratives concerning unrest in occupied West Papua. Conveniently for the State, an internet block is still in place in West Papua, meaning that video and photographic evidence from West Papuan activists in Deiyai have taken longer to filter out than usual.

The distressing video clearly shows two TNI members firing from the Regency’s Office while unarmed West Papuans are in close proximity with their hands in the air. The TNI members do not appear to be under any kind of attack. Demonstrators can be heard screaming in fear. The video also shows a group of protesters who have fled into the jungle tending to their dead and wounded comrades. Gunshots can be clearly heard in the distance. The video concludes with photos of dead and wounded West Papuans.

Despite the brutal actions by the Colonial Indonesian State, the uprising that began on August 19th, 2019 is continuing, with protests and resistance still taking place in both West Papua and Indonesia.

Papua Merdeka!

Free West Papua!