Benny Wenda: A Controversial Figure
04 February, 2025

Benny Wenda: A Controversial Figure

/ 3 days ago

Since 2017, Benny Wenda has faced significant opposition from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). The tension began when he, as the Chairman of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), declared Papuan independence without securing the agreement of TPNPB. Sebby Sambom, the spokesperson for TPNPB, firmly rejected Benny’s unilateral decision, emphasizing that it contradicted the original goals of their struggle.

In 2014, TPNPB played a key role in co-founding ULMWP in Vanuatu. However, by 2016, they began noticing Benny’s increasing interference. He gradually assumed control over the movement, sidelining other factions. He even established a security organization, which Sebby saw as an attempt to undermine TPNPB’s influence. According to Sebby, Benny’s actions deviated from the collective mission of Papuan liberation, leading to an irreparable rift.

Between 2016 and 2017, Benny formed the West Papua Revolutionary Army, a move that signaled his intention to dominate ULMWP. TPNPB perceived this as a betrayal. Consequently, in 2017, TPNPB officially withdrew from ULMWP. Sebby asserted that Benny had no genuine commitment to the Papuan struggle and accused him of working in the interests of foreign capitalists from the European Union, the United States, and Australia.

Following TPNPB’s withdrawal, Benny established the West Papua Army in 2019. This rival organization, in Sebby’s view, served only to weaken the broader resistance movement. “Benny and his group are destroying our struggle,” Sebby stated.

Political experts have also weighed in on this internal conflict. Marinus Yaung, a political analyst from Cendrawasih University, observed that tensions within the movement had been brewing since Benny took control of ULMWP. He suggested that Benny’s leadership style alienated other factions, particularly TPNPB. Similarly, Muradi from Padjadjaran University noted that Benny’s annual declarations of Papuan independence were largely symbolic and lacked substantive impact.

Benny Wenda’s Past and Legal Troubles

Benny Wenda’s history is marked by controversy. On December 6, 2001, a separatist group attacked the Abepura Police Station in Jayapura, Papua. Indonesian authorities identified Benny and his brother, Matias Wenda, as key orchestrators of the attack. They allegedly mobilized around 500 Jayawijaya residents near the Papua New Guinea border. This group also carried out the massacre of six migrant woodworkers in December 2001.

In June 2002, Indonesian police arrested Benny for inciting violence and organizing secret meetings to target security forces. During his arrest, authorities confiscated several items, including multiple passports, TPNPB documents, homemade bomb-making materials, bows, and arrows. He was detained in Jayapura but managed to escape on October 29, 2002, by prying open a bathroom window. After fleeing to Papua New Guinea, he sought asylum in the United Kingdom.

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