Massacre Location
One survivor said: “The attack on July 6th took place in the morning, when we were under the water tower. During the initial attack the troops assembled around us in a U formation. There were Brimob police in riot gear, army troops(Kopasgad), a company of soldiers from the local Kodim barracks, as well as Navy personnel. ...
We Have Come to Testify
This record and illustrated book contains songs and spoken testimonies delivered over Melanesian beats and soundscapes. The illustrations by Michael Kumnick have been drawn based on the testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the 1998 Biak massacre in West Papua, as given at the 2013 Citizen’s Tribunal. The events as told by the survivors echo...
The Biak Tribunal: Trailer Video
“From July 2 to July 6, 1998, when the military opened fire, the morning star flag flew over the thirty-five-meter-tall water tower near the harbor in Biak town. (Biak is the name of the island, the district, and the district capital.) The demonstration was led by a Jayapura-based provincial government employee named Filip Yopy Karma…The...
Verdict Announced
The Citizens Tribunal announced its findings on Monday, 16 December, 2013. Our findings were featured in The Guardian and by ABC News 7:30 in a special broadcast: Searching for the truth about a massacre in West Papua
Citizens Tribunal to Release Findings
“Fifteen years ago today – 6 July 1998 – a massacre was taking place,” said Prof. Nicholas Cowdery, on Saturday in his Opening Statement to a Citizens Tribunal held at the University of Sydney. “The massacre took place in the dawn hours and later during the day. It was carefully planned and executed by Indonesian...
IRIAN JAYA MASSACRE: CHURCH TEAM TO INVESTIGATE BIAK KILLINGS
IRIAN JAYA MASSACRE: CHURCH TEAM TO INVESTIGATE BIAK KILLINGS By Lindsay Murdoch IRIAN JAYA (November 17, 1998 – Sydney Morning Herald/Kabar Irian)—Church and human rights groups are arranging to send a team of investigators to the remote island of Biak in Irian Jaya to investigate a massacre and atrocities allegedly committed by Indonesian soldiers. The...
Full Video Footage from the Tribunal
View full video footage from the Tribunal held at the University of Sydney on Saturday, July 6th.
Mama Tineke Returns Home
Mrs. Tineke Rumakabu, a victim of the extreme violence of the Biak massacre, was divorced by her first husband because of the shame he felt after her rape and torture. Mama Tineke then had to leave her village and children. In January 2013, I first met Mama Tineke. She now lives with her new husband...
