18 Dec 2014

Military plans for Papua a worry

6:33 am on 18 December 2014

The head of the newly formed United Liberation Movement for West Papua says the nature of Indonesia's deployment of security forces to the Papua region indicates it's a war zone.

Octo Mote says current killings and human rights abuses in Papua region indicate that Indonesia still takes a hardline militaristic approach to daily issues there.

Indonesia's new president, Widodo, is facing criticism for various national defence appointments of former or current generals with links to atrocities.

Mr Mote says the allocation of so many generals to command positions in Papua is out of proportion to its small population.

"This is the island where you get the most of Indonesian generals will be based. Because two major generals for the commander of the armed forces and police; and then two other brigadier generals for chief of staff police and military; and then you have a brigadier general who leads the battalions."

Fishing boats on Biak, West Papua

Fishing boats on Biak, West Papua Photo: Supplied