Nduga massacre
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19 civilians
1 soldier
West Papua National Liberation Army| Nduga massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Papua conflict | |
| Location | Nduga, Papua, Indonesia (now Highland Papua) |
| Date | December 1, 2018 |
| Deaths | 20: 19 civilians 1 soldier |
| Perpetrator | West Papua National Liberation Army |
The Nduga massacre (Indonesian: Pembantaian Nduga) was a shooting of construction workers that occurred on 1 December 2018, in Nduga Regency, Papua (now in Highland Papua), Indonesia.[1] The shooting is considered to be part of the Papuan conflict. The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) acknowledged responsibility and the Indonesian government labeled the attack a massacre.[2]
Papua province, the location of the massacre, has seen low-level insurgency since its incorporation into Indonesia. While the rest of the former Dutch East Indies were recognised in 1949 as part of the new country of Indonesia, the Dutch held onto Western New Guinea until handing it to Indonesian administration in 1963.[3] It was incorporated as a province of Indonesian through the contentious Act of Free Choice in 1969. Activists who objected to incorporation into Indonesia independence groups including the West Papua Liberation Organization, the OPM and the TPNPB. The conflict is further fueled by economic disadvantage and poverty of Native Papuans, immigration of other ethnic groups (Transmigration program) and human rights violations by Indonesian forces.
Following his election in 2014, Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, embarked on reforms intended to alleviate grievances of Native Papuans. These include ending the transmigration program[4] and starting infrastructure spending in Papua, including building Trans Papua roads network.[5] The Indonesian military says there has been local opposition to the road project since the commencement of construction and by February 2018 the government's response to letters asking that the construction be stopped, has been to deploy additional troops for sweeping operations.[6] The bridge where the attack occurred is a part of the planned network.
Attack and massacre
Workers from Istaka Karya, an Indonesian construction company were constructing a bridge over Yigi river (Indonesian: Kali Yigi) in Yigi district, Nduga Regency. They took work leave at 1 December, as the day has usually been considered unsafe to work, due to activities of Papuan separatists celebrating the declaration of Papuan independence of Free Papua Movement on that day. One of the workers allegedly took photos of one such celebration in nearby field, which angered the armed group and triggered the attack.[7][8]
At the evening, the armed Papuan separatist group attacked the workers' camp and took 25 workers as hostages. The following day (2 December 2018), the armed group took the workers to a nearby hill and proceeded to shoot the workers. 19 workers were confirmed dead, 2 workers were missing (as of 5 December 2018) and 4 workers managed to escape by pretending to be dead.[9] The survivors managed to flee to a nearby Indonesian Army post, where further shooting killed one soldier.[2]
Indonesian authorities claimed that the armed group responsible for the murders numbered around 40 people and was led by Egianus Kogoya.[10] During the evacuation process, the Indonesian National Armed Forces alleged that the rebel soldiers attacked their evacuation helicopters. In return, the armed group alleged that the Indonesian military used bombs and explosives during the evacuation process, which the military denied, but they did acknowledge the use of grenade launchers on infantry assault rifles.[11]