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As a note, the thread is neither for or against Papua in any way, just a note that will, if you read and follow the advice, might very well save you a lot of serious problems.
This forum doesn't do politics, and neither should foreigners in Indonesia.

Agreed.

Valid in any most countries in the region.

Sadly, there seems to be movements based abroad dedicated to doing this, even going as far as sending people over to Indonesia to deliberately put them in danger.
I see one of these movements congratulating the deportees on what they did, but it would be very much in the interest of these groups to see their pawns dead so they can use them as evidence of how nasty Indonesia is.
I tend to find political extremists, the far left in this case but it could just as easily be actions from the far right, like to use people and are more than happy to put them in extreme danger as they can gain political points from their deaths.

Before anyone from any country decides to make a trip into a dangerous area, perhaps it would be in your interests to realise you're worth more to your political leaders dead than you are alive.

Without any political point being made about Papua from myself either way (This forum is non-political), potential activists might like to consider the rebels have firearms, have murdered a good number of civilians already, and are reasonably likely to open fire on the security forces in an attempt to force a bloodbath. The bad bit for you is, if you get caught up in one of these events or even local terrorists shoot you in the hope security forces will get the blame, you're reasonably likely to end up on a slab whilst your gloating leaders pretend to mourn your demise but are actually rubbing their hands together in glee as they use your corpse to make their political points.

Nasty business, but it happens so I very strongly recommend avoiding such stuff for your own safety.

I see Australian groups on social media still talking about taking action in Papua, a bloody silly idea at best.
If you intend to go, book your flight home in a coffin because we now have gangs of students running around burning down buildings with people still in them. They aren't aiming at the police, more out to cause as much random violence as possible.

Fred. I agree with all that you have written. It makes me sick to my stomach when any foreigner meddles in Indonesian politics because they are no different to the underground gangs of foreigners that pop up from time to time, a lot of whom are enjoying the hospitality of Indonesian penjara penjaraÌý
And I would like to add the following:
I am disgusted at the arrogance and ignorance of some repeat some of my compatriots (Australians). But our reputation is both the worst and the best, here in Bali.
I am especially disgusted because most Australians, especially the expatriates, adore this country. And we contribute, each according to what we can, to its improvement. Australian expatriates have built roads, employ locals, built water-ways, and the list goes on. And we do understand that we get more than we give to Bali, in the form of genuine love and friendship.
But when I hear about the stupid antics of some Australians I feel ashamed, to the point of; when asked "dari mana?" I always reply "Australie lahir Yunani", because no matter how we try and no matter what we do, our existence here is soiled by those few senseless, meddling, trouble-making, drunks.
So please compatriots, leave all your bad sh't at home and do as our parents taught us "Carry and extra hankie, wear clean undies and put your best foot forward"Ìý
This is Bali.!Ìý

GRRREAT post, IMHO!Ìý Ìý

Former Australian PM Tony Abbott provided the best example of why foreigners should stay out of Indonesian politics.Ìý

Hashtag:Ìý #KoinUntukAustralia

Ubudian,
For some reason, I cannot get to the link that you have provided, but I did get to the BBC page on YouTube. So I decided to put up links to the relevant YouTube pages. For the record, I was shocked at that ex-PM's remarks at the time but I did not know how hurtful those remarks were to Indonesians. Looking back, we are lucky that there wasn't a backlash, apart from normal democratic protests and that is a credit to the people of Indonesia.
Here are the links:


Theo

I openly object to drug dealers on the grounds they kill people and destroy society so, in my humble opinion, any country that objects to Indonesia dumping the trash can go take a long walk off a short cliff, that including the UK and the "British granny" (read killer drug dealer).
I suppose the above works with the thread's subject, so why not.

Fred. I disagreeÌý They should take a short walk off a long cliffÌý
TheoÌý

Theo, the most significant backlash event I can recall is when the OZ government got caught bugging the hand phone of SBY's wife.Ìý

The funny reality though is that Indonesia and Australia are like a married couple.Ìý They have their good days, and their bad, but in the end, the tight bonds between them always manage to survive, and even grow stronger.

Cheers!

Here's the link to #KoinUntukAustralia

Ubudian.
Thanks.
It makes interesting reading/ brings back (bad) memoriesÌý