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Singapore: West Papua community leaders want the Indonesian government to stop calling armed separatists “terrorists” amid fears the tag leaves security forces “free to shoot anyone”.
Joko Widodo’s government launched a manhunt for pro-independence fighters last month, deploying hundreds of troops to its contested easternmost territory after Indonesia’s intelligence chief was killed in an ambush on April 25.
The latest conflict has come with West Papua’s special autonomy status due to expire this year, sparking fresh calls for independence.
Papuan activists with their face painted in the colours of the separatist Morning Star flag rally in Jakarta last year.