Music is not just entertainment. It is a universal language, born from the cries of the people, our wounds, our laughter, and our resistance that cannot be silenced by repressive regimes. Music should not be reduced to a cheap commodity that is only traded in the name of sponsorship. It is a weapon, a tool of struggle, and a space of freedom that should fight against all forms of oppression. These values continue to be upheld and cherished by several musicians performing at this year’s Pestapora.
Over the past few years, Pestapora has stood out as a major music festival drawing thousands of young people in Indonesia. It is touted as a forum for musical diversity, a place where musicians and audiences meet in artistic euphoria, where the voices of freedom, expression, and resistance should be able to flourish. However, this year, the event was tainted not by the performances, but by the presence of a major sponsor that infiltrated the heart of the festival: PT Freeport Indonesia.
What does it mean when a music festival that is touted as a space for youth expression opens its arms to a company that for decades has been a symbol of exploitation, environmental destruction, and oppression of the indigenous Papuans ? What is the meaning of musical freedom if the stage is built on dirty money that continues to seize land and destroy forests?
Because of this, several musicians chose to withdraw from Pestapora 2025, including Hindia, Feast, The Panturas, Sukatani, Petra Sihombing, and Bilal Indrajaya. They chose to withdraw not because of technical issues, but because of their conscience. They refused when the music stage,that should have been a space of freedom, co-opted and exploited by companies that have been destroying the environment, companies that have been synonymous with the seizure of customary lands, and the long-standing suffering in Papua.
PT Freeport Indonesia is the largest gold and copper mining company in Indonesia, operating in Papua since the late 1960s. Behind its big name lies a long history of modern colonialism: customary lands have been seized, mountains have been torn apart, rivers have been polluted, and indigenous peoples have been marginalized from their own living spaces.
Starting with Mount Grasberg, a sacred mountain for the Amungme indigenous people, which was flattened into a mine. In just a few years, the mountains that once stood majestically have disappeared and been replaced by giant mining pits that gape like skyscrapers in Jakarta. Every day, hundreds of thousands of tons of rock are extracted, processed, and discarded as waste.
Freeport itself has caused severe environmental damage, starting with tailings waste: Freeport has dumped more than 200,000 tons of tailings (mine waste) per day into the Ajkwa River. This river, which was once a source of water, fish, and life for the community, has now turned into a stream of toxic mud that is destroying the ecosystem. In addition, Papua’s tropical forests, rich in rare animals and plants, have been destroyed. Endemic animals have lost their habitat, and the fertility of the customary land has been lost.
The Amungme and Kamoro indigenous peoples are the most visible victims. Their ancestral lands have been seized without free consent, they have been pushed to the margins, and they have been left to live in poverty amid the wealth of minerals being shipped overseas. Furthermore, since its inception, Freeport has operated under the shadow of weapons. Its presence is guarded by armed forces that bring conflict, intimidation, and even violence against local communities.
Freeport’s presence at Pestapora is not just a logo on the stage backdrop. It is a strategy to whitewash its image. A subtle attempt to mask the wounds in Papua with the beat of music and the cheers of the crowd. A cunning way to trade the suffering of indigenous communities for the glitz and glamour of the stage. And when musicians continue to stand on that stage, without resistance, they have consciously or unconsciously become part of that propaganda.
Music should be the language of resistance. Since long ago, songs have been the voice of the people’s cries, resistance against tyrannical power, and dreams of a more just world. But now, when giant corporations control the stage, that voice has lost its bite. Pestapora, once praised as a festival of freedom, has turned into a festival of compromise. It is no longer about music and resistance but about accommodation and silence.
We refuse to forget that Freeport is not just a company. It is a symbol of modern colonialism. Mountains have been flattened, rivers polluted by toxic waste, indigenous lands surrendered, and the Papuan people forced to live under the shadow of environmental destruction. Sponsorship at a music festival will never erase the blood and tears; it will remain a wound forever.
We reject stages bought by dirty money. Music cannot be bought; resistance cannot be sponsored. Pestapora should belong to the people, not be a tool for Freeport’s image. As long as Papua is being plundered, the environment destroyed, and the people’s voices silenced, we will not remain silent.
Reference:
- https://www.tempo.co/tag/freeport
- https://www.tempo.co/investigasi/malapetaka-limbah-freeport-883850
- https://www.tempo.co/ekonomi/kementerian-lingkungan-hidup-temukan-47-pelanggaran-freeport–959267
