The OPM commander cuts sago trees in the jungles of West Papua. Along with coconuts, sago is critical to survival in the jungle.Sago is the main ingredient of many Papuan dishes, including the famous papeda.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
An OPM soldier poses during a military drill.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
An West Papuan woman cries while singing the outlawed West Papuan independence song, “Hai Tanahku Papua” (“Oh My Land Papua”). Singing the anthem is forbidden under Indonesian law. Openly singing it is considered an act of treason, and can result in prison terms of 15 to 20 years.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
Senior OPM commanders sing the outlawed West Papuan independence song, “Hai Tanahku Papua.”
Credit: Rohan Radheya
A senior OPM Commander salutes his superior during an military drill.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
OPM soldiers sing the outlawed West Papuan independence song, “Hai Tanahku Papua.”
Credit: Rohan Radheya
OPM soldiers stand guard during a military drill at one of the several OPM headquarters in the jungles of West Papua.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
TPN-OPM commanders cross the rivers on the way to their headquarters deep inside the Jungles of West Papua.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
Jos N., a former bodyguard of the late Brig.General Seth Rumkorem, founder of the military wing of the OPM
Credit: Rohan Radheya
Chief Commander Richard Joweni posing with his bodyguards. Joweni is one of the most senior commanders within the OPM. He has been leading a guerrilla campaign against the Indonesian army for more than 40 years. His demands are a withdrawal of Indonesian troops and a transition of power back to West Papuan leaders.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
The morning star symbol on the uniform of an OPM soldier.The morning star, better known as the West Papuan independence flag, is banned under Indonesian law.Displaying the morning star can carry prison terms of 15 to 20 years.
Credit: Rohan Radheya
The Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) was first created in the 1960s by a group of comrades who called themselves West Papuan Freedom fighters. The organization was created to fight the Indonesian Army, which had occupied large parts of West Papua after the Dutch colonialists withdrew.
The movement grew rapidly in the late 1970s with fighters joining its ranks in all major provinces of West Papua. Their operations mainly consisted of attacking Indonesian patrols. Over the years it started to carry out more sophisticated attacks on foreign mining companies, such as blowing up pipelines in the Grasberg mine in Freeport.
It carried out assaults on civilian aircrafts in Timika, targeted foreign migrant workers, and kidnapped foreigners and journalists during the infamous Mapenduma incident.
The militant wing of the OPM allegedly had ties to former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddaffi, who had also supplied weapons to the group. Some senior OPM Commanders underwent training in Libya in the 1990s.
The diplomatic wing of the OPM also received support from the government of Senegal in the 1990s and were permitted to open a mission in Dakar.
