Papua unrest: separatists charged with treason
Papuan protesters, their bodies and faces painted in the banned Morning Star flag, shout at a rally marking the 50th anniversary of the region’s claim to independence in eastern Indonesia.
An independence movement in Papua, Indonesia's latest slow-boil insurgency zone, is heating up.
Leaders driving the unrest, who defiantly insist that jungly and remote Papua is a sovereign nation occupied by Indonesia, have been charged with treason, according to the AFP.
Vowing to wrench free part of a country is, by all accounts, treason. So it's certainly possible that independence agitators could be hit with life sentences, the maximum punishment for treason in Indonesia.
But the separatists, who appear to be poorly armed, are likely encouraged by the territories that have successfully seceded or secured special rights: East Timor, once Indonesian land, is now a sovereign nation; Islamic Aceh is now a special zone governed by Shariah law.
Human Rights Watch, by the way, says it's "appalling" that "modern, democratic" Indonesia would lock its own citizens up for expressing controversial views.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!