Lest We Forget 
 

The Biak Massacre is a painful chapter in West Papua’s long struggle for dignity, human rights, and self‑determination. In July 1998, amid hopes raised by Indonesia’s Reformasi era, West Papuans sought to peacefully assert their political aspirations after decades of contested rule and the widely criticised 1969 “Act of Free Choice.
 

On 1 July 1998, peaceful demonstrators gathered at a water tower in Biak City, raising the Morning Star flag, a symbol of West Papuan identity. For days, men, women, and children sang, prayed, and called for an independence referendum, believing the changing political climate might finally allow their voices to be heard without violent repression.
 

In the early hours of 6 July, Indonesian security forces surrounded the sleeping demonstrators and opened fire without warning. Survivors described chaos, shootings, beatings, and mass arrests. Many detainees were reportedly taken onto naval vessels, and in the following days, bodies bearing signs of torture and execution washed ashore, despite official claims they were tsunami victims from Papua New Guinea.
 

The true death toll remains unknown, as no independent investigation was allowed and many people disappeared. The Indonesian government has never fully acknowledged the massacre or prosecuted those responsible, and the international response at the time was muted. For the Victoria West Papua Association Inc, remembering Biak is an act of solidarity and resistance to historical erasure—serving justice, healing, and education, and reinforcing their commitment to support West Papuans’ ongoing pursuit of peace, justice, and self‑determination.