The Wire

A massive influx of troops is causing unrest in the Indonesian province of West Papua. The Robert F Kennedy Center for Human rights has reported that 15,000 extra soldiers from the Indonesian military have entered the area in response to an increase in pro-independence activities. West Papua remains an integrated part of Indonesia despite a strong and vocal independence movement. Activists have accused the troops of perpetrating human rights abuses such as violence and torture. The Indonesian military is only supposed to be deployed in situations of national defense and not in relations to domestic politics but the government is arguing that independence rebels acting along the border are a foreign threat. Students have been amongst the vocal in opposing Indonesian rule have organized a series of illegal protests telling the troops to go. Michael Atkin spoke to Jacob Rumbiak, a former student activists and an independence leader who is preparing an alternative government should independence be granted. He claims violence has escalated with the presence of Indonesian troops.