The celebration of a university graduation in Jakarta took an unexpected turn on September 13 when newly graduated students of Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta used the occasion to speak about one of Indonesia’s most difficult challenges: peace in Papua.
At the 141st Open Senate Session at the Harun Nasution Auditorium, representatives of the graduates delivered an appeal for an end to violence, stronger protection for civilians, greater attention to basic rights and a peaceful approach to the problems facing communities in Papua. The message came through an oration, a formal statement and a prayer for Papua.
The sequence was led by three graduates.
Dewi Sekar Candrawati delivered the humanitarian address. Wahyu Indra Triyadi read the graduates’ statement of position. Dimas Suhian led a prayer for the safety and peace of people in Papua.
Their intervention was not presented as a political campaign or a call to alter Indonesia’s constitutional framework. Instead, the graduates framed their message around human life, peaceful dialogue, professional law enforcement, inclusive development and respect for Indigenous Papuan customary rights.
For an audience watching from outside Indonesia, the moment offered a different perspective on the Papua debate. It showed how concerns about violence and development are increasingly being discussed not only by government institutions, security agencies and civil society groups, but also by young Indonesians entering professional life.
A Graduation Ceremony Becomes a Moment of Reflection
The appeal came during the fourth day of UIN Jakarta’s 141st graduation programme for the 2025/2026 academic year.
The university had adopted the theme “Strengthening Innovative, Integrity Driven Graduates Who Make an Impact on Humanity.” The theme provided the immediate context for the Papua statement.
UIN Jakarta said the graduates wanted their academic achievement to carry a social responsibility beyond the ceremony itself. Rather than treating graduation simply as the conclusion of years of study, they used the occasion to reflect on humanitarian issues affecting other Indonesians.
The choice of Papua was significant.
The ceremony took place only days after deadly violence in Papua Pegunungan, where three employees of the Jayawijaya Agriculture Office were killed in Muliama on September 9 while carrying out an agricultural assistance mission.
UIN Jakarta referred to the victims as part of the context behind the graduates’ appeal. It also noted an earlier incident at the 34th Baliem Valley Cultural Festival in Walesi, Jayawijaya, in August, where two people were injured.
The timing gave the graduation message a sense of urgency.
For the graduates, celebrating a personal achievement while violence continued elsewhere in the country created a moral question: what should an educated citizen do when confronted with suffering?
Their answer was to speak.
Dewi Sekar Candrawati Delivers the Main Address
Dewi Sekar Candrawati became the central voice of the ceremony’s humanitarian appeal.
She was not an ordinary representative. UIN Jakarta identified her as one of the best graduates from the Faculty of Sharia and Law. In the university’s 141st graduation programme, she graduated from the Constitutional Law programme with a 3.99 GPA.
Her speech connected academic achievement with social responsibility.
She argued that the happiness of becoming a graduate should not make young Indonesians blind to humanitarian realities in the country’s easternmost regions.
For Dewi, obtaining a university degree was not the end of responsibility. It created an obligation to engage with national problems.
On behalf of the graduates, she presented what they called the Humanitarian and Peace Manifesto for Papua.
The manifesto included three broad priorities: professional and measured law enforcement, faster inclusive economic development and respect for Indigenous customary rights and customary land belonging to Orang Asli Papua, or OAP.
The formulation was significant because it did not separate security from development.
The graduates were calling for law enforcement while also arguing that development must reach ordinary communities.
They were also asking that customary rights be respected while maintaining their broader understanding of Papua as part of Indonesia.
Dewi concluded her message with a statement that explicitly placed Papua within the national framework, saying that Papua is part of Indonesia’s shared humanitarian responsibility and that the Republic of Indonesia is their common home.
What the Graduates Asked For
The manifesto went beyond a general call for peace.
The graduates linked peace to the everyday conditions experienced by communities.
They called for better education, improved healthcare, stronger household economies and efforts to break cycles of poverty. They argued that development should be experienced directly by local communities rather than existing only as policy documents or government programmes.
They also emphasized the importance of local wisdom.
For the graduates, development in Papua should be accompanied by dialogue that is peaceful, inclusive, honest and equal.
That is an important part of the message.
Economic development can build roads, schools, hospitals and other public facilities, but the graduates argued that the process also needs to recognize local communities and their customary context.
Their position therefore combined several themes that often appear separately in discussions about Papua: security, development, Indigenous rights and dialogue.
Wahyu Indra Triyadi Calls for Protection of Life
After Dewi’s oration, Wahyu Indra Triyadi read the graduates’ formal statement.
The statement placed protection of human life at its centre.
The graduates rejected all forms of armed violence in Papua and called for humanitarian pauses and peaceful dialogue. They also called for the fulfillment of civil rights and basic needs for displaced communities, while urging development policies to respect customary rights and distribute economic justice more evenly.
Wahyu expressed the position in explicitly humanitarian language.
The principle of hifz al-nafs, or protection of human life, was presented as a fundamental value that should stand above competing public interests.
The reference to the Islamic concept was consistent with the university’s identity.
UIN Jakarta is a state Islamic university, and the graduates presented their appeal as a meeting point between Islamic values, Indonesian citizenship and humanitarian responsibility.
That combination gave the message a particular character.
It was not simply a political statement. It was also an attempt to translate values learned in an academic and religious environment into a public position on violence and peace.
Why the Timing Matters
The graduates’ appeal came against a difficult security backdrop.
According to data cited by UIN Jakarta from the National Disaster Management Agency and reported by ANTARA News Papua Tengah, conflict in Jayawijaya, Lanny Jaya and Papua Pegunungan had resulted in 59 deaths, five people seriously injured and 139 people lightly injured. The same figures recorded 2,902 displaced people.
The reported damage extended beyond human casualties.
The conflict had affected houses, honai, education facilities, village offices, a church building, kiosks and a bridge.
For communities, this means that violence can have consequences long after the immediate incident ends.
A damaged bridge can interrupt mobility. A damaged school can disrupt education. Displacement can separate families from homes and livelihoods. Attacks affecting public servants can make it harder for government services to reach communities.
This was one of the concerns highlighted by the graduates.
They pointed specifically to the difficulties faced by civil servants, teachers, healthcare workers and field personnel working in areas affected by violence.
The message therefore linked peace with public service.
A safer environment is necessary not only to prevent deaths but also to allow schools, health services, agricultural programmes and local government operations to continue.
Security and Peace Are Not Presented as Opposites
One of the most notable aspects of the UIN Jakarta statement is that it did not frame peace as the absence of law enforcement.
The graduates called for professional and measured law enforcement while simultaneously demanding dialogue and protection of civilians.
That distinction matters in the context of Papua.
The Indonesian government has continued to emphasize security and public order in areas affected by armed violence. At the same time, development programmes and recovery efforts remain important parts of the government’s approach.
The UIN Jakarta graduates’ statement can therefore be read as a call for these elements to work together more effectively.
Security should protect people.
Law enforcement should operate professionally.
Development should address practical needs.
Dialogue should create space for peaceful solutions.
And customary rights should be considered in development policies.
That combination forms the core of their humanitarian argument.
The Government Response Mentioned in the Context
The UIN Jakarta report also pointed to steps taken by authorities to protect communities and restore conditions following conflict.
In Papua Tengah, for example, police increased night patrols following acts of terror and the burning of kiosks in Paniai.
Paniai Police Chief AKBP Roycke Hendrik Fransico Betaubun said the patrols were intended to prevent further incidents and provide a sense of security to residents.
He emphasized that police did not want communities to live in fear because of people attempting to disrupt public security.
The increased patrols were presented as a preventive measure.
This provides another important dimension to the story.
While the UIN Jakarta graduates were calling for peace and dialogue, security authorities were simultaneously taking steps intended to prevent additional violence.
The two approaches address different parts of the same problem.
A community cannot engage effectively in economic development or dialogue if residents fear immediate violence.
At the same time, security measures alone cannot address every social and economic problem.
The graduates’ statement implicitly placed both dimensions within a broader humanitarian framework.
Dimas Suhian Closes the Ceremony with a Prayer
The sequence ended not with another political statement, but with prayer.
Dimas Suhian led a prayer for the safety of the people of Papua and the achievement of peace.
The closing was consistent with the tone established throughout the ceremony.
The graduates had not presented themselves as negotiators or policymakers. They were young Indonesians completing university education and using a public moment to express concern about fellow citizens facing violence.
That distinction is important.
Their statement does not establish a new policy for Papua.
It does, however, demonstrate how the issue is being perceived among a generation of educated Indonesians who are about to enter professional and civic life.
Education as a Form of Social Responsibility
The UIN Jakarta event also raises a wider question about the role of universities in national life.
Universities traditionally focus on knowledge, research and professional preparation.
But graduates eventually enter society as lawyers, civil servants, entrepreneurs, journalists, teachers, researchers and community leaders.
The UIN Jakarta graduates’ message suggests that their education should also equip them to respond to national challenges with a sense of responsibility.
Dewi’s earlier graduation message at the Faculty of Sharia and Law similarly emphasized that a degree should not be treated merely as a personal achievement. She argued that education carries an obligation to provide benefit to society.
That idea became tangible during the September 13 ceremony.
Instead of keeping their graduation celebration entirely focused on themselves, the graduates used part of the event to draw attention to people far from Jakarta.
The distance between the capital and Papua is considerable, geographically and socially.
The message from UIN Jakarta attempted to narrow that distance through empathy.
What the Appeal Could Mean for Papua
The graduates’ call for peace does not offer an immediate solution to the complex security and development problems facing Papua.
There is no single policy capable of resolving every issue.
But the appeal highlights several areas that are likely to remain important.
First is civilian protection.
Communities need to be able to live, work, travel and access public services without fear of violence.
Second is development.
The graduates specifically connected peace with education, healthcare, household economic resilience and poverty reduction.
Third is dialogue.
They argued that peaceful, inclusive and equal communication should accompany policy decisions.
Fourth is recognition of customary rights.
For development projects to generate lasting benefits, local communities need to see that their social and customary context is being respected.
These are not necessarily competing goals.
They can reinforce each other when implemented carefully.
A Message from Jakarta to Papua
There was a symbolic dimension to the ceremony.
Papua is often discussed in national political and security debates from Jakarta, while communities in Papua experience the consequences of those debates at a much more immediate level.
The graduates’ appeal attempted to change the tone.
Instead of beginning with institutions, political positions or competing narratives, they began with human life.
Instead of asking who won an argument, they asked how violence could end.
Instead of treating development as a purely economic issue, they linked it to dignity, customary rights and daily living conditions.
That does not eliminate disagreement.
Nor does it resolve the security challenges facing the region.
But it provides a civic message that is relatively simple: violence should not become normal, and development should ultimately improve people’s lives.
Conclusion
The peace appeal from UIN Jakarta graduates came during a moment that would normally be devoted entirely to celebration.
Instead, the 141st graduation became a platform for reflection on Papua.
Dewi Sekar Candrawati delivered the Humanitarian and Peace Manifesto. Wahyu Indra Triyadi read the graduates’ statement rejecting armed violence and calling for humanitarian pauses, dialogue and protection of civilians. Dimas Suhian closed the sequence with a prayer for the safety and peace of Papua’s people.
Their message was broad but clear.
They called for professional law enforcement, civilian protection, inclusive economic development, better education and healthcare, respect for Indigenous customary rights and peaceful dialogue.
They also placed those aspirations firmly within an Indonesian national framework, describing Papua and humanitarian responsibility as part of the country’s shared future.
For Papua, the real test will not be whether another peace statement is delivered in Jakarta.
It will be whether communities in the highlands, valleys, towns and remote settlements can experience greater security, reliable public services, economic opportunity and meaningful participation in development.
The graduates cannot deliver those changes themselves.
But their appeal reflects an increasingly important principle: education should not end with a diploma.
It should produce citizens willing to protect human life, engage constructively with difficult national questions and contribute to a future in which peace becomes more than an aspiration.
For Papua, that future will depend on many actors: government institutions, security forces, local leaders, customary communities, religious organisations, universities and young Indonesians themselves.
The UIN Jakarta graduates have added their voices to that conversation.
And on a day meant to mark the beginning of their professional lives, they chose to begin with a message of peace.
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