The family of a prominent West Papua activist has lost contact with its matriarch who has been missing in the occupied territory for almost two weeks.
Free West Papua campaigners have gone a step further, claiming Indonesian military have kidnapped and threatened Yasinta Moiwend, a Marind tribeswoman, affectionately known among environmental circles as Mama Yasinta.
The alleged disappearance focuses on Indonesian censors banning a recent documentary-style film which features Moiwend, a revered figure in Papuan society.
The film, Pesta Babi, which focuses on the Merauke sugarcane megaproject, attempts to reveal an anecdotal claim that Indonesia is destroying West Papua's ancestral forest for profit.
Considered moderate, the film does not discuss the belief that most West Papuans seek freedom and independence from Indonesia.
West Papuan activists say Indonesia has done everything they can to destroy the documentary.
However in an alleged twist, Ms Moiwend was said to have traveled to Jakarta to file a police report against the head of the Merauke legal aid institute, allegedly claiming her personal data and image had been used in the film without her permission or consultation, and that she requested that screenings be stopped.
In a series of social media video posts, Ms Moiwend had publicly distanced herself from Pesta Babi, saying she was unfairly exploited by the filmmakers.
It cannot be ascertained whether these allegations were of her own free will or made under duress.
One of Moiwend's adult children suspects there was pressure placed on their mother's life after she was widely discussed in the Indonesian media in connection with the film.
A video statement about Moiwend's whereabouts was sent to Indonesian media six days after her disappearance.
"We from Mama Yasinta's family want to clarify that starting from Sunday, May 24, 2026, we lost contact with her," one of Ms Moiwend's daughters said.
The Head of the Greenpeace Forest campaign team, Arie Rompas, confirmed Ms Moiwend's family made the video.
According to one of Ms Moiwend's daughters, the family suspects there were parties which had established communication and planned to take the environmental activist out of her village in Kampung Wogekel, located in the South Papua province, without their knowledge.
The daughter said the family had suspected Ms Moiwend was sent by boat to Merauke.
However, the family also received information two days after their last contact that Ms Moiwend was on a jet plane to the Central Papua province.
According to Ms Moiwend's daughter, the family only learned of these developments after several military personnel and district officials returned from Merauke to Kampung Wanam in a helicopter.
She also conveyed Ms Moiwend has planned to meet with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
The family has allegedly requested the Witness and Victim Protection Agency, the National Commission on Human Rights, and the National Commission on Violence Against Women to monitor Ms Moiwend's whereabouts.
"Until now, we do not know Mama's condition - whether she is safe in Jakarta or (if she's) being intimidated," Ms Moiwend's daughter said.
United Liberation Movement of West Papua chairman, Benny Wenda, said the 62-year-old activist has "clearly been kidnapped" by the colonial Indonesian National Armed Forces.
"Against her will, the Indonesian state has forced Mama Yasinta to issue a statement retracting her involvement in the film," he said.
"For West Papuans, this is not a new phenomenon.
"Indonesia has always used any means they can to divide our spirit: bribery, threats, arbitrary arrests, beatings and torture.
"Those who they cannot silence they simply kill.
"Mama Yasinta is just like the elders who were forced at gunpoint to vote against West Papuan independence during the act of no choice."
Ms Moiwend has actively voiced opposition to the expansion of the food industry in South Papua, conveying concerns of the Indigenous community about the impact forest would have of living on their ancestral land.
