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JPIC
Timika (Fides News Agency) – “The recent drone attack on a Catholic church in Intan Jaya has claimed civilian lives and severely traumatized the local population. As Friars Minor of the Justice and Peace Commission, we express our deep concern about the increasing violence against places of worship and unarmed residents. We reaffirm that the protection of human life, the dignity of indigenous communities, and the sanctity of religious sites must be respected without exception. We call for an independent investigation and the immediate provision of safety and humanitarian aid to all affected families,” Father Alexandro Rangga (OFM), head of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Friars Minors of Indonesian Papua, told Fides.
On May 17, a bomb exploded in the courtyard of St. Paul's Catholic Church in the village of Mbamogo, in the Intan Jaya regency of Central Papua province after Sunday Mass. Four civilians (all indigenous Papuan Catholics) were injured in the explosion. Numerous worshippers were in the churchyard at the time of the explosion. According to several eyewitnesses, the explosive device was detonated by a drone. Hundreds of civilians fled into the forests, exacerbating tensions in the region. The Indonesian military (TNI) has denied any involvement, calling it a possible "provocation" intended to sow chaos and increase tensions between the military and the population. The Central Papua police have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances and those responsible.
Father Yanuarius Yance Yogi, a local Catholic parish priest, coordinated the evacuation of the injured and expressed his concern for the safety of worshippers. Tino Mote, president of the Catholic Youth of Central Papua, called for a transparent investigation and appealed to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to intervene "with serious peace measures." The faithful of the Catholic community in the Diocese of Timika are deeply shocked. The region has been scarred for decades by conflict between Indonesian security forces and Papuan separatist groups. Father Alexandro Rangga, head of the Justice and Peace Commission, expressed his concern about the widespread violence: “Shootings, security operations against civilians, the deaths of children, women, students, and members of indigenous communities, as well as the recent bombings near places of worship, have not only triggered a wave of refugees but have also caused deep wounds and pain. This situation shows that Papua is trapped in a cycle of suffering and has not yet found a path to true peace.”
“The ongoing conflict has robbed the Papuan people of their sense of security, their future, and their right to life,” he adds. “Papuan children and women are the face of humanity; they are a wounded image of God himself, who should live and grow up in a peaceful environment, receive a proper education, and live without the shadow of violence and the noise of weapons.”
The Franciscans reject the militarization of civilian areas: “The excessive presence of armed forces in civilian areas,” he notes, “has so far caused trauma, fear, displacement, and new vulnerabilities for the communities. We call for an independent investigation of all incidents involving civilian casualties, with full respect for the principles of justice and ensuring the moral and material accountability of those responsible. As stated in the Encyclical ‘Pacem in Terris,’ true peace is founded solely on truth, justice, love, and freedom. Without justice, peace becomes enforced silence.” “We call on all believers to intensify their prayers for peace in Papua, to show solidarity with the victims, and to become peacemakers within the community,” the Franciscan concluded. “We believe that Papua is not a cursed land, but a land of life. Papua must not be a place of endless war. Papua is our common home.”
Currently, a low- to medium-intensity conflict is raging in the Indonesian province of Papua (also known as Itia Jaya), concentrated mainly in the region’s central highlands. Indonesian military operations have intensified in recent years, causing massive population displacement: since the beginning of 2026 alone, over 105,000 internally displaced persons have been registered, mostly indigenous Papuans fleeing into the forests. The local population accuses the military of killing civilians, burning villages, attacking churches and schools, and severely violating human rights. The military denies this, claiming to be fighting only armed separatists.
While the political group Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) is active on the ground, armed separatists carry out attacks and ambushes against security forces, infrastructure, and sometimes even miners, whom they consider "intruders." The main demands of the Papuan population are independence or at least greater autonomy within the framework of recognition of their Melanesian identity, which is distinct from Indonesian identity. Indonesia, for its part, considers the province of Papua an indivisible part of its territory and views the movement as a separatist and terrorist threat. A key factor in this resource-rich region is the control over natural resources (copper, gold, timber, gas, etc.), which are exploited by large multinational corporations with concessions from the Indonesian central government, without benefiting the local population. Another factor in the conflict is the central government's decades-long policy of transmigration (the migration of people from Java and other Indonesian islands). This has reduced the indigenous Papuans to a minority and exacerbated tensions over land and resources. In this complex situation, there are allegations of torture, human rights violations, enforced disappearances, and impunity on the part of the security forces. The Catholic and Protestant churches in Papua play a vital role in protecting human dignity and human rights, as well as in promoting dialogue and peace. The Indonesian province of Papua, the western part of the large island of New Guinea, was a Dutch colony until 1962, before being integrated into Indonesia in 1969 through a referendum in which only about 1,000 elected representatives participated without a popular vote. Since then, independence groups have been waging a political struggle and advocating for the demands of the local population. (PA) (Fides News Agency, 21/5/2026)
