Indonesia stops a movie about Papua forests – level 2

01-06-2026 07:00

A new movie named Pestabby is causing a big political problem in Indonesia. The movie shows that the government is taking away forests and land from the local people of Papua.

The government wants to build big new farms for rice and sugar. This land is very important to the native people because it is their home and has their holy places. Indonesian soldiers and police stopped people from watching the movie at universities and other places. They say the topic is dangerous. The filmmakers say that the secret police are watching them.

The government doesn’t want international journalists to travel to Papua. But trying to stop the movie made it very famous. Now, many people know about it, and thousands of people are buying tickets to see it.

Difficult words: native people (the original people who lived in a place first, before others came), holy (connected to God), secret (police who work quietly without people knowing about them).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.

News in Levels · Indonesia stops a movie about Papua forests – level 2

Why are the native people of Papua upset about the government's plan to build big new farms for rice and sugar on their land?

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