An American pilot was killed in Indonesia’s Papua. Why? - Asia Specific podcast, BBC World Service

Earlier this month, an American pilot landed a light plane. in a remote part of Papua in the far east of Indonesia. He was immediately shot dead by a group of men who then burned the plane. It seems shocking, but not surprising. for those who have watched the conflict in Papua for many decades. So today we're asking, is there any end in sight. for one of the longest running insurgencies in Asia? I'm Mariko in Singapore and this is Asia Specific from the BBC World Service. Twice a week we bring you Asia Pacific stories unpacked by those who know them best.

Well, I have two journalists who have reported. on the Papua conflict for a very long time. Johnny Blades is the Pacific reporter for Radio New Zealand. Welcome to Asia Specific, Johnny. Kia Ora. Thanks. Thanks for having me. I also have Abraham Utama, who is an investigative reporter for. the BBC's Indonesian language service. He's travelled to Papua every year.

since he started covering the conflict about ten years ago. Thank you so much for coming on a pod. Hi, Mariko. It's great to be invited to this podcast. So, Johnny, if you can just explain. about this incident that happened in Papua involving this American pilot, can you just tell us what we know so far? Sure, sure. So on July the 2nd, um, an American pilot called, uh, Nicholas Gosselin flew.

a small aircraft owned by a company called Associated Mission Aviation. into a small airfield in Yahukimo Regency of Papua. Highland Papua province. After he had landed, he was attacked by, uh, pro-independence militants based in the area. His seven passengers managed to escape unharmed, but he was shot dead and his plane was burnt.

And then the West Papua National Liberation Army, of whom this small band of fighters belonged to, uh, put some media out, photos and video, claiming responsibility for the attack. They said that the pilot had flown into an area which is a no fly zone, that they had warned about several years ago. The West Papua National Liberation Army, who goes under the acronym TPNPB,

had accused this airline of transporting Indonesian military personnel. Um. However, this has been rejected by the company and Indonesia's government. Uh, the TPNPB also said they had killed the pilot. because it was a message to the US and the United Nations. The US, of course, played, uh, quite a pivotal role in Indonesia, taking over West Papua back in the 1960s.

The, uh, New York Agreement of 1962, in which the Dutch essentially handed over control. of the former West of the former Dutch New Guinea. to Indonesia, uh, under Sukarno at that time. And the Papuans were not consulted at all. So there's some real kind of bad history there for the Papuans. Uh, Indonesia's government has rejected all, all this,

but, uh, they have retrieved the body of the pilot a few days later. And they, of course, continue their pursuit of what they call. the armed criminal gang that's there. Can you tell us a bit more about this group? You said TPNPB and how long they've been around, what they stand for and so on. It's sort of the militant wing of the OPM, uh, the Free West Papua movement, which has been around since the 60s, since the,

uh, you know, the incorporation of West Papua into Indonesia. Uh, that has been something that has always drawn resistance. from, uh, many Papuans. Uh, you know, some say all West Papuans and their hearts are OPM, but they don't necessarily show it. But the TPNPB is an armed guerilla kind of force. Abraham, as Johnny said, uh, we're doing this episode because of the killing of the American pilot,

but you follow this really, really closely. But you would probably also be quite aware that many. of our audience probably aren't too familiar with this conflict. So to those of us who haven't followed it closely, can you just explain the history and why they're fighting. the Indonesian government in Papua? Yeah. The West Papua National Liberation Army wants. an independent state of West Papua.

That's their goal. After the New York Agreement in 1962, the Netherlands withdrew all their officials from West Papua. The changes happen. All the officials positions were filled by Indonesians. and West Papuans were not happy because of this. Because they believe they have their own voices. They can make their own country outside Indonesia and the Netherlands.

And after the new agreement in 1962, there have been many incidents where. the rebel groups or the National Liberation Army of West Papua. attacks Indonesian military. And. Yeah, the purpose is only one. They want independence. But when you say they want independence, what exactly are they asking for? Are they asking for talks?

What's the specific demand here? There are three specific demands by the West Papua National Liberation Army. The first one is for the Indonesian military to withdraw all the troops, Indonesian troops from the West Papua region. The second, they want the United Nations to take control of the conflict, to be the third party of this conflict. And the third one, they want a referendum for all West Papuans,

which, as Johnny mentioned earlier in 1969, the act of free choice that was held by the Indonesian government. only gave rights to vote to only 1025 individuals. So the third uh, demand from the West Papuan Liberation Army. is a referendum involving all West Papuans.

Um, Johnny, I'm just curious to know. why this American pilot was flying this plane to Papua. Has there been any other incidents involving. a foreign pilot in the area? There's a number of small airlines, uh, who travel in and out of that region. And AMA was just one of them. Uh, but the problem is, um, it's widely thought that these small airlines. will sometimes transport Indonesian military or their equipment.

Um, in this case, I don't think the airplane involved. in this terrible incident was actually, uh, transporting Indonesian military. But the problem is this has happened. Yeah, quite a few times in recent years. And so New Zealand, this is where, you know, there's quite a bit of skin. in the game here because of course, in early 2023, uh, there was a New Zealand pilot flying a small aircraft.

for a commercial airline who got kidnapped by this same group, the TPNPB. And what's the response from the Indonesian government. when things like this happen? I mean, have we heard from the government or the military. in response to this killing of the American pilot, Johnny? They have said that this is, you know, um, the armed criminal group doing what it does. And they have rejected rejected accusations by the TPNPB. that these airlines are involved with, uh, transporting military,

but they give very short shrift to any kind of, uh, suggestion. that there's going to be mediation or negotiation towards independence. It's just not going to happen, you know what I mean? Um, and they are escalating the number. of Indonesian military forces in the region significantly. under President Prabowo, who hasn't been in office that long. Uh, I know, uh, Abraham will be able to tell you more about that,

but he is a former controversial military leader himself. And so since the previous president, Jokowi, left office, uh, we've seen a more hardline approach to Papua. I think, I think it's fair to say. The military has become stronger in the era of Prabowo. And Prabowo has a plan to build three new (commands). Military (commands) in Papua and Prabowo.

also built many new battalions in Papua and many other regions. in Indonesia to help what he called development programs. And for many Papuans, this move from Prabowo Subianto is very concerning. How do people in Papua feel about, you know, these rebel groups, the killing of this American pilot, but also about the Indonesian government or military?

I mean, would you say those pro-independence groups, do they represent the majority of the the people's views or not, Abraham? There are many aspirations within Papuan peoples. about independence or freedom. Freedom doesn't necessarily mean to build a new country. Freedom can mean freedom from economic problems,

freedom from fear of military presence. So there are people in West Papua who believe that there is a peaceful way. to achieve that freedom, which is not necessarily mean a new country. But there are also people who believe that the West Papua Liberation Army. has protected the natural resources in the region,

because if there is a Liberation Army in particular region in Papua, companies cannot go into the region because there will be conflict. So for some people in in the region, they believe. the Liberation Army protects their natural, natural resources. But yeah, uh, the society is divided. Can you explain, Johnny, how involved New Zealand,

but also, you know, other neighbouring countries like Australia. or Papua New Guinea where you've been many times, how involved are they? Do they raise issues of this Papua conflict with the Indonesian government? Um, in diplomatic talks. There's very little action by neighbouring countries. The governments of neighbouring countries are very sensitive about it. in terms of they don't want to upset relations with Indonesia.

I should say Jakarta is very sensitive about it. They do, from time to time, raise human rights issues, uh, sometimes at the government to government level, but also through the, the Pacific Islands Forum, the preeminent political grouping of all the Pacific Island countries, plus Australia and New Zealand. They have, uh, they resolved a few years ago to push Jakarta to allow. the UN human rights commissioner to be able to access Papua.

and to do some proper monitoring and reporting of an assessment. of the human rights situation, because there's no doubt. that the human rights violations have been long and many and persistent. And that's what we hear from church groups and Indonesia. based human rights defenders regularly, but Jakarta has really dragged the chain. on that and has not allowed that to happen. This conflict has been going on for many decades, and it sounds like this the core of the dispute sovereignty.

It's not exactly resolvable without some major shift. from various stakeholders, which doesn't seem to be happening. So is there a way to stop this cycle of violence that, as you said, we've been seeing for many years now? It really requires the international community to push Indonesia to perhaps, you know, start start a dialogue, start opening up spaces for Papuans to have true empowerment.

As for ruling their own area, you know, whether that be autonomy within, they've got the autonomy statute, but it hasn't worked out that well for it. But to also have some sort of a, you know, control or some sort of a ownership. on the resource extraction that goes on in West Papua. Perhaps we didn't quite cover this before, but West Papua is incredibly resource rich. You know, you've got huge tracts of forestry which are being cut.

at a great pace to as as Abraham said, to have things like this huge food estate or. there's huge oil palm projects there, and Indonesian companies. and sort of state sponsored companies are making huge amounts of money. And then you've also got the world's biggest gold mine, the Freeport mine, which is up in this mountainous area and or at least near this area. that we've been talking about with the pilot being killed. And there's liquefied natural gas.

There's all sorts of resources which outsiders are making huge amounts. of money from, and Papuans are just bystanders. Abraham, both you and Johnny have talked. about those human rights allegations by the Indonesian military. and government every time those allegations are made, how does Jakarta respond to those allegations? Jakarta always denied any wrongdoings. For example, last June,

just in one week in Intan Regency, there were five killings of civilians. Hundreds of residents took to the streets to protest. They want the military to be withdraw from the Regency. But again, Jakarta and its military commander denied any wrongdoings. They said that the civilians that got killed were not civilians.

They were combatants. They were part of the National Liberation Army. But that's the most difficult part. from all of the situation, The TPNPB, the National Liberation Army, and the Indonesian military. always claim, has their own claims about killings, shootings. But independent observers,

independent journalism cannot go into the highlands, cannot go into the rural areas where the armed conflict is happening. Well, it seems like it's a bit of a forgotten conflict. Thank you so much for putting the spotlight on it, Johnny and Abraham. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mariko. You've been watching Asia Specific from the BBC World Service. with me, Mariko Oi in Singapore. If you have any questions or thoughts on what we covered in this episode.

or any other stories from the region, please leave us a comment below. You can also get in touch with us on email: AsiaSpecific@bbc.co.uk. and click like and subscribe so you never miss an episode. See you next time.