Peaceful protest in Manokwari forcibly dispersed, May 7
- Merdeka Secretariat
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Today, May 7, peaceful demonstrators in Manokwari protesting the Indonesian National Strategic Projects (PSN) were violently dispersed. The very military and police deployed to grab Indigenous lands, terrorize communities, and protect destructive extractive projects are also being used to crush the people’s basic rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
As of May 2026, over 107,000 West Papuans remain displaced by conflict and militarization. In just the past weeks, nearly 20 people were reportedly shot amid escalating military operations.
Under the banner “Papua, the Last Fortress of Earth”, the Solidarity of the West Papuan People in Motion called on students, workers, farmers, fishers, women, youth, and all sectors of society to unite against PSN projects, militarism, environmental destruction, and the theft of Indigenous ancestral lands.
More than 3.4 million hectares of land are reportedly being prepared for takeover in the name of “development.” At the same time, around 83,000 Indonesian troops and security personnel remain deployed across West Papua not to protect the people, but to secure corporate and state interests through intimidation, occupation, arrests, shootings, and killings.
When West Papuans defend their forests, rivers, mountains, and land, they are defending the future of life on Earth itself.
What is PSN?
“PSN” stands for Proyek Strategis Nasional or National Strategic Projects of the Indonesian governmentdesignates large-scale infrastructure, agribusiness, mining, energy, plantation, and transport projects as “strategic” for national economic development.
Some of the major PSN-related projects in Papua include the Merauke food estate, large-scale rice and sugarcane plantations, bioethanol projects, the Trans-Papua road network, fertilizer and industrial projects, and expansion of military infrastructure around project zones.
The PSN threatens Indigenous land rights and forests, especially in regions inhabited by the Malind, Marind, Awyu, Moi, and other Papuan peoples. Forced land acquisition, lack of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), intimidation of communities resisting projects, and increasing military deployment in PSN areas is currently happening.
FREE WEST PAPUA!
Reject PSN!
Reject militarism!
Defend Indigenous land, life, and freedom!
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