20.10.2011

Military action in West Papua: Two dead, several injured

From October 26 to November 3, the GKI-TP, the UEM member church in the Province of Papua, Indonesia, plans to hold its 56^th Synod and to elect a new church leadership. But whether and how the Synod can be held is now uncertain. Yesterday, on October 19, the Indonesian military intervened against the Third Papuan People’s Congress which was held, with thousands of participants, in Jayapura, the provincial capital. The Congress had discussed about the future of the region.After the reading of the final declaration, the Indonesian military, which had surrounded the venue of the Congress, arrested two Papuan leaders. Later, shots were fired into the crowds, and soldiers beat many participants. There are no official casualty figures, but the Jakarta Post speaks of at least two people who were killed. Many houses were also searched by soldiers looking for members of the OPM (Papuan Freedom Fighters). The venue for the planned synod had to be closed due to the military action. The United Evangelical Mission (UEM) asks for prayers for peace in Papua, where the situation there has become increasingly tense, and for the GKI-TP, which has to hold its Synod under such difficult circumstances.