Biak massacre
| Biak Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Papua Conflict | |
| Location | Biak, Indonesia |
| Coordinates | 8°35′15″S 125°20′31″E / 8.5875°S 125.342°E |
| Date | July 2–6, 1998 (UTC+9) |
| Target | Pro-independence civilians, members of the Free Papua Movement |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 40–150 |
| Perpetrators | Indonesian Armed Forces, Indonesian National Police |
| Motive | Indonesian nationalism, Anti-Christian sentiment |
The Biak massacre was the killing of West Papuan pro-independence demonstrators on the island of Biak, Papua Province, Indonesia, in 1998.
On the morning of 2 July 1998, unarmed villagers, including Nobel Peace prize nominee and political prisoner Filep Karma raised the West Papuan Morning Star flag at a water tower. In the afternoon, Indonesia police and military fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowd but was unsuccessful. This resulted in a stand-off that lasted several days until the morning of 6 July where the Indonesian security forces surrounded and fired upon the crowd.
According to Elsham Papua, a local human rights organization, 8 people were killed and a further 32 bodies were found near Biak in the following days. The Free Papua Movement claimed that around 150 people were killed.
To this day, no one has been charged with the killings and the massacre is not officially recognized. No government or international enquiry has reported on it.