September 7, 2025 | 10:31 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 2025 music festival Pestapora has been hit by a wave of rejection from several musicians after it was revealed that PT Freeport Indonesia was involved as a sponsor of the event. Several bands canceled their performances on the second day of the festival, which took place on Saturday, September 6, 2025.
The punk band Sukatani was one of those who withdrew. The announcement of their cancellation was made through their official Instagram account @sukataniband, a few hours before their scheduled performance. "We have decided not to perform at Pestapora 2025. See you on another occasion. Thank you," they wrote.
To Tempo, Sukatani's guitarist, Muhammad Syifa, conveyed the reason behind the decision. "Yes, we canceled because of Freeport's involvement alone," he said. Syifa described the mining company as an extractive corporation that damages the environment, ecosystem, culture, and society in Papua. "There are also many human rights violations committed by Freeport."
The Yogyakarta-based punk rock band, Rebellion Rose, also chose to cancel their performance. However, they still took the stage to respect the audience who had already bought tickets. "On stage, we will share stories and deliver speeches that enrich awareness together about the stance we have taken," wrote the @rebellionrose_official account.
Committee Decides to End Collaboration with Freeport
In the midst of the bands' withdrawals, the Pestapora committee announced the termination of cooperation with PT Freeport Indonesia. "Pestapora ensures that for the second day on September 6, 2025, and the third day on September 7, 2025, we are no longer bound and affiliated with PT Freeport Indonesia," wrote the official @pestapora account.
The Director of the Pestapora Festival, Rizky Aulia alias Kiki Ucup, apologized for the commotion that arose. "We ensure that we did not receive a single penny of funding from PT Freeport Indonesia," he said. He added that the contract with Freeport was terminated since Friday night, September 5, 2025.
Tempo has tried to contact the Vice President of Corporate Communications of PT Freeport Indonesia, Katri Krisnati, for a response. However, Freeport declined to give a statement.
Diverse Responses from Musicians
In addition to Sukatani and Rebellion Rose, several other musicians took different steps. Rapper Yacko still performed on the Hip Hop Stage, but stated that all fees from Pestapora would be donated to the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI). "Environmental and human rights issues in Papua are also women's issues. 100 percent of my fee has already been donated to WALHI," she wrote.
The surf-rock band, The Panturas, also chose to perform but promised to donate all proceeds from their souvenir sales at the festival to WALHI.
It is known that several bands have decided to cancel their performances at the Pestapora 2025 festival. This decision was made due to the suspected involvement of PT Freeport Indonesia in the country's largest music festival.
Bands that decided to cancel their performances include Sukatani, Efek Rumah Kaca (ERK), The Jeblogs, Negativa, Leipzig, Kelelawar Malam, Rebellion Rose, Rekah, Xin Lie, Ornament, and Centra. These bands announced their cancellations on their official social media accounts, almost simultaneously.
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