WORLD BEYOND WAR:

The government of Indonesia is planning to build a military base (KODIM 1810) in the rural area of Tambrauw West Papua without consultation or permission from the Indigenous landowners who call this land their home. To stop its development, local activists are launching a comprehensive advocacy campaign and they need our help.

The Tambrauw Indigenous Community residents live in safety and peace. There has never been an armed resistance, no armed groups nor any major conflicts have disturbed the peace in Tambrauw. More than 90% of the people are traditional farmers or fishermen who depend on the environment for their survival.

Construction of a military base does nothing to meet the growing needs of the community (such as roads, electricity, schools, and hospitals) and instead will only increase violence, exploitation of its people, and devastation of the environment and agriculture. Additionally, it is believed that the purpose of KODIM 1810 is to protect mining interests in the area and not for military defense, which is a violation of the rule of law.

So how can you help?

1. Sign the letter campaign to send a message to President Widodo of Indonesia and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to reject the KODIM base!

2. Make a donation in support of the Indigenous community’s advocacy campaign to stop the construction of the military base on their homeland. With your support, they will hold a Community Conference that will bring together Indigenous elders from across the district to gather and unify opinions of all indigenous peoples in a common political stance. Due to the rural and remote locations they live in, there is a high expense and much coordination of logistics to gather them in a central location. Their collective position and response will then be conveyed to the Indonesian military (TNI), the Regional Government, as well as the central government in Jakarta, and other parties.

All donations made will be split evenly between the Tambrauw Indigenous community and World BEYOND War to fund our work opposing military bases. Specific expenses for the community include transportation of elders coming from distributed remote areas, food, printing and photocopying of materials, rental of a projector and sound system, and other overhead costs.

Help close military bases and support these Indigenous activists by donating in support of our $10,000 fundraising goal.

And then share the letter campaign with your networks to raise awareness of this egregious violation of the Tambrauw Indigenous people’s land ownership rights. Act now! Flood the Indonesian government’s inboxes with messages to stop this base.

Alex McAdams, Development Director, World BEYOND War,