page_title: Free Papua Movement
section_title: 2000 onwards
hierarchical_section_title: Free Papua Movement / Activities / 2000 onwards
caption_attribution_description: English: Free West Papua Protest in the Melbourne CBD on August 2012 asking for the release of Filep Karma, the freedom fighter serving 15 years in jail for raising the Morning Star at a rally in 2004. The campaign is also calling on the release of all West Papuan political prisoners.
context_page_description: The Free Papua Movement is an umbrella term for the independence movement established during 1965 in the West Papuan or West New Guinea territory which is currently being administrated by Indonesia as the provinces of Papua and West Papua, also formerly known as Papua, Irian Jaya and West Irian.
  The movement consists of three elements: a disparate group of armed units each with
  limited territorial control with no single commander; several groups in the territory that conduct demonstrations and protests; and a small group of leaders based abroad that raise awareness of issues in the territory whilst striving for international support for independence.
  Since its inception the OPM has attempted diplomatic dialogue, conducted Morning Star flag-raising ceremonies, and undertaken militant actions as part of the Papua conflict. Supporters routinely display the Morning Star flag and other symbols of Papuan unity, such as the national anthem "Hai Tanahku Papua" and a national coat of arms, which had been adopted in the period 1961 until Indonesian administration began in May 1963 under the New York Agreement.
context_section_description: In 2009, an OPM command group led by General Goliath Tabuni (Puncak Jaya Regency) was featured on an undercover report about the West Papuan independence movement.
  On 24 October 2011, Adj. Comr. Dominggus Oktavianus Awes, the Mulia Police chief, was shot by unknown assailants at Mulia Airport in Puncak Jaya regency. The National Police of Indonesia alleged that the perpetrators were members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) separatist group. The series of attacks prompted deployments of more personnel to Papua.
  On 21 January 2012, armed men, believed to be members of OPM, shot and killed a civilian who was running a roadside kiosk. He was a transmigrant from West Sumatra.
  On 8 January 2012, OPM conducted an attack on a public bus which caused the death of three civilians and one member of an Indonesian security force. Four others were also injured.
  On 31 January 2012, an OPM member was caught carrying 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of drugs on the Indonesian – Papua New Guinea Border. It was alleged that the drugs were intended to be sold in the city of Jayapura.
  On 8 April 2012, Indonesian media sources alleged that armed members of OPM carried out an attack on a civilian aircraft flown by Trigana Air on a scheduled service after it landed and was taxiing towards an apron at Mulia Airport on Puncak Jaya, Papua. Five armed OPM militants suddenly opened fire on the moving plane, causing it to go out of control and crash into a building. One person who died, Leiron Kogoya, a journalist for Papua Pos, had suffered a neck gunshot wound. Amongst those wounded were the pilot, Beby Astek, and co-pilot, Willy Resubun, both wounded by shrapnel; Yanti Korwa, a housewife who was hurt by shrapnel on her right arm, and her four-year-old infant, Pako Korwa, who was afflicted by shrapnel on his left hand. In response to the allegations, West Papuan media source denied that the OPM was responsible for the attack, alleging that the Indonesian military had attacked the plane as a part of a false flag operation.
  In December 2012, an Australian would-be mercenary that were trained in training arranged by a military/police training firms in Ukraine, was arrested in Australia for planning to train the OPM. He later pleaded guilty to training in the use of arms or explosives with the intention of committing an offence against the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978.
  On April 26, 2018, a Polish OPM sympathizer and a far-right nationalist was arrested in Wamena along with four Papuans who police described as linked to “armed criminal groups" and was charged for treason. He later sentenced five year in prison.
  In 2018, armed groups with ties to OPM killed 31 civilian construction workers at Nduga area, Papua.  The construction workers had allegedly filmed the group at an Independence celebration and raising the Morning Star flag - considered illegal acts by Indonesian authorities. The construction workers are building a part of Trans Papua, a highway construction project that aims to connect remote communities in Papua by land. During the incident, an Indonesian soldier was also shot and killed. A few days after the incident, the OPM allegedly sent an open letter to Indonesian president Joko Widodo, demanding for Papuan independence, rejecting central government infrastructure building projects, and demanding the right for foreign journalists and aid workers to enter Papua. In reprisals to obtain the dead workers bodies Indonesian military allegedly carried out airstrikes on at least four villages and used white phosphorus, a chemical weapon banned by numerous countries and international organizations. This was however denied by the Indonesian government.
caption: Free West Papua protest in Melbourne, August 2012
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