Jayapura, Jubi – Hundreds of students at the University of Science and Technology Jayapura (USTJ) in Padang Bulan, Abepura District, Jayapura City, Papua, raised the Morning Star flag on a flagpole on the university campus on Wednesday afternoon, 30 September 2026.
The students raised the flag to mark the 64th anniversary of the signing of the Rome Agreement on 30 September 1962.
As the Morning Star flag flew, the students gathered holding banners and placards calling for, among other things, United Nations Human Rights Council intervention in West Papua, self-determination for West Papua and accountability from the Vatican over the Catholic Church’s social teachings.
They also held and displayed Morning Star and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) flags.
Students took turns addressing the crowd, while fellow students and police officers watched. Police entered the USTJ campus grounds during the protest.
“We will not take down the Morning Star flag because it represents the many people who have died — children who have been shot, mothers who have been shot, and forests and land that have been taken. We will let it fly until sunset,” one speaker said.
“The Catholic Church must be held responsible for the signing of the Rome Agreement, which has caused people to suffer all this time,” another speaker said.
The speaker said the students would not take down the Morning Star flag and claimed that anyone who removed it would be a “coloniser”.
“Whoever dares to take down this Morning Star flag is committing a crime against humanity in Papua. The Indonesian Red and White flag flying in Papua is illegal,” the speaker said.
Dozens of Jayapura City police officers entered the USTJ campus. Police also brought a water cannon vehicle and several crowd-control units onto the grounds.
The students were still at the campus as of Wednesday afternoon, continuing to deliver political speeches. (*)
