Yasinta vanished after backing an Indonesian project she once opposed

In the two weeks since its release on YouTube, the 90-minute documentary has been viewed more than 13 million times. (Supplied) Link copiedShareShare articleYasinta Moiwend vanished without a trace. She could not be reached by phone, and her family have no idea where she is after she was last seen near her home in Ilwayab district in West Papua late last month. Nearly a week after her disappearance, the Indigenous community leader of the Marind people appeared on television thousands of kilometres away in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, flanked by her lawyer. Exactly how she got there has sparked a storm of rumour and controversy. Mama Yasinta, as she is widely known, gained national attention in Indonesia after appearing in the documentary Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time. The film by Dandhy Dwi Laksono and Cypri Jehan Paju Dale was viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube in just two weeks. It was also live screened some 2,000 times in Indonesia and overseas, including in Australia. In the documentary, Mama Yasinta is portrayed as one of the Indigenous figures opposing Indonesia's National Strategic Project (PSN) after forests and wetlands that had long supported her family's livelihood were taken over for development projects. Before contact with her family was lost, a video began circulating online showing the 64-year-old flipping her position and expressing support for the PSN. "We were shocked when we saw the video. Mama had suddenly changed direction," Yasinta's nephew Esau Maguo Kahol told the ABC. Yasinta Moiwend was a key figure in the documentary Pig Feast. (Supplied: Pig Feast via Jubi TV) Mr Kahol said Mama Yasinta had left the village without her family's knowledge. He also said the family had been told by locals in the area that she stayed overnight at an Indonesian military post before allegedly being taken out of the village alongside military personnel and district officials linked to the PSN. The ABC contacted the Indonesian defence ministry for comment. Esau Kahol and his family asked the people who brought Mama Yasinta to Jakarta to send her home. (Supplied) Mr Kahol said the family was also told Yasinta flew out on a private jet on May 25. Arnoldus Anda from Papua legal aid organisation LBH Papua made similar claims, citing locals. He told Indonesian media that she was picked up in a private jet belonging to the PT Jhonlin Group, accompanied by Ilwayab district head Christin Rumlus and Mandala command officers, before flying to Jakarta. PT Jhonlin Group is owned by Indonesian businessman Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, known as Haji Isam. In Pig Feast, Haji Isam is described as being involved in the government's food estate project through the PT Jhonlin Group, which cleared millions of hectares of forest in Merauke, Boven Digoel and Mappi in Papua. The ABC contacted Christin Rumlus and PT Jhonlin Group for comment, but did not receive a response. Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, also known as Haji Isam (left) received an award from Prabowo Subianto in 2025. (Supplied: Presidential Press Bureau via Pig Feast) Mr Kahol questioned both Mama Yasinta's sudden departure and her apparent change of stance, saying he suspected she may have been pressured. The ABC attempted to contact Mama Yasinta directly but was unable to reach her. Five days after she was reported missing, Mama Yasinta appeared on Indonesian television and in national media coverage. Accompanied by a lawyer, she visited Jakarta Metropolitan Office headquarters to file a complaint against Pig Feast director Dandhy Dwi Laksono and John Teddy Wakum, the director of the Merauke branch of LBH Papua, under Indonesia's Personal Data Protection Law. Yasinta Moiwend came to Jakarta Metropolitan Police headquarters with her lawyer. (Supplied: Detik.com) "Mama Sinta reported alleged fraud and the use of personal data without consent," Metro Jaya Police Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto said last week. At the police headquarters, Mama Yasinta said she objected to her image being used in Pig Feast and called for the "documentary screenings to be stopped". Mama Yasinta denied that she had been intimidated or coerced into leaving her village. (Instagram: @inilah_com) In another video circulating online, she denied claims she had travelled on a private jet or was under pressure, saying she went to Jakarta on her own initiative. "That's not true. I travelled on a regular passenger plane. I did not go to Merauke or Boven Digoel using Haji Isam's helicopter. None of that happened, it's nonsense … and I've never even met Haji Isam," she said. "I came by myself. Nobody asked me to come. The military did not pick me up. There was no intimidation. Why is everyone making such a fuss about me?" But Mr Kahol did not believe her explanation. "I believe Mama is lying. We are poor villagers. People from the village don't suddenly have enough money to travel by plane like that," he said. He said the family regretted Mama Yasinta's

Yasinta vanished after backing an Indonesian project she once opposed

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