The government of Indonesia is planning to build a military base (KODIM 1810) in the rural area of Tambrauw West Papua, the home of four indigenous tribes. The Tambrauw Youth Intellectual Forum for Peace (FIMTCD) is an advocacy group that works on issues concerning development, environment, investment and military violence. FIMTCD was formed in April 2020 to address the establishment of KODIM 1810 and now they are asking for your help to keep this base from being built.

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 community’s needs, like roads, electricity, schools, and hospitals. There are still many people who die due to untreated illnesses and there are still many school-age children who do not attend school or drop out.

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. Residents of Tambrauw have already been the victims of military violence, which will only increase with the increased number of military personnel.

Despite all of these concerns there has been no meeting between the Tambrauw Government and the indigenous people. The customary landowners have explicitly stated that they have not released their land to be used to build the KODIM base, and the land is still under their control; yet the construction process is continuing.

Click "Start Writing" to send a message to President Widodo of Indonesia and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to reject the KODIM base!