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| West Papua's funeral procession for Filep Karma . . . banned
Morning Star flags in defiance for the man who strove for “justice, democracy, peace and non-violent resistance" against Indonesian rule. IMAGE: Twitter screenshot APR |
By DAVID ROBIE
A TRAGIC day of mourning. Thousands thronged the West Papuan funeral cortège today and tonight as the banned Morning Star led the way in defiance of the Indonesian military.
There haven’t been so many Papuan flags flying under the noses of the security forces since the 2019 Papuan Uprising.
Filep Jacob Semuel Karma, 63, the “father” of the Papuan nation, was believed to be the one leader who could pull together the splintered factions seeking self-determination and independence.
- READ MORE: Papuan ex-political prisoner Filep Karma found dead on Jayapura beach
- Filep Karma’s death as reported in Tabloid Jubi – Bahasa Indonesian
- Papuan activist dies in ‘apparent diving incident’ in Jayapura
- Filep Karma: A Papuan human rights hero and huge loss to the Pacific
- Other Filep Karma reports
It is still shocking a day after his lifeless body in a wetsuit was found on a Jayapura beach.
Police and Filep Karma’s family say they had no reason to believe that his death resulted from foul play, report Jubi editor Victor Mambor in Jayapura and Nazarudin Latif from Jakarta for Benar News.
“I followed the post-mortem process and it was determined that my father died from drowning while diving,” Karma’s daughter, Andrefina Karma, told reporters.
But many human rights advocates and researchers aren’t so convinced.
