The bishops of the neighbouring provinces of Papua and West Papua recently met to analyze the situation and problems affecting their people. The region is plagued by violence fueled by an armed struggle for independence.
By Robin Gomes
The Catholic bishops of Indonesia’s easternmost Provinces of West Papua and Papua are urging a “better future” from the country’s authorities for their people in a territory torn by decades of struggle between Indonesian forces and separatist groups.
Seek the common good
Representatives of the five dioceses of the two provinces recently came together for a 3-day meeting to discuss several problems affecting the Papuan people and their land, AsiaNews reported. Among the issues they focused on were the territory’s special autonomy law (UU Otsus), new job and development opportunities, and improving education, which now represents an emergency that must be tackled right away.
The Catholic Church in West Papua and Papua consists of the single ecclesiastical metropolitan province of Merauke, which includes the Archdiocese of Merauke and the suffragan dioceses of Jayapura, Agats, Timika and Manokwari-Sorong. The see of Timika is currently vacant.
In a press release on 25 Feb., at the end of their meeting, the Church leaders appealed to the country’s national and local leaders, urging them to focus on the common good of the people. According to them, peace can only be achieved through dialogue and an end to the armed struggle by separatist groups.
Struggle for independence
Indonesia’s military and security forces are pitted against local pro-independence armed groups who are pushing for “a referendum on self-determination”.
The bishops urged both sides to adopt “an approach based on love and non-violence”, inviting them to realize the “importance of peaceful dialogue”. Instead of discussing the further implementation of the special autonomy that has been in place for 20 years and which expires in 2021, they want to see the parties “get back to work together.”
Indigenous residents of West Papua and are Papua ethnically similar. The two provinces became part of Indonesia controversially in the 1960s, despite the former Dutch colony declaring independence in 1961. Since then, a separatist movement has been simmering in Papua, with sporadic violence. People have been complaining of discrimination and rights abuses at the hands of Indonesian authorities.
The prospects for peace are still conditioned by the armed struggle, which has led over the years to extrajudicial killings and violence on both sides. The civilians have suffered the most, forced to flee and seek refuge wherever they can, even inside churches.
Economic development and education
The bishops of the two Papuan provinces are stressing the need for creating a future of hope for their people through opportunities for economic development through jobs and encouraging local businesses and enterprises.
The bishops complain that local businesses are owned by on-Papuan migrants from other provinces. “Regency officials,” they said, “should instead create opportunities for indigenous people, giving them the necessary skills and means.”
Another emergency, they said, is education which has been negatively impacted recently by the coronavirus pandemic.
With school absenteeism normally high, the pandemic has exacerbated the situation, making illiteracy a serious problem. “When the bases of primary education are inadequate, one cannot hope to achieve anything better from high school or universities,” the bishops said. (Source: AsiaNews)
27 February 2021, 14:40
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https://en.antaranews.com/news/168846/five-arrested-for-allegedly-supplying-firearms-to-papuan-armed-groups
2) Five arrested for allegedly supplying firearms to Papuan armed groups
26th February 2021
The five suspects comprised four, identified by their initials as RWH, DJ alias Joni, RN, and MA, who were arrested on Monday (Feb 22), and R arrested on Tuesday (Feb 23), Deputy Chief of the Papua Police Brig. Gen Pol. Matheus Fakhiri stated here on Friday.
One suspect DJ, alias Joni, is a formal personnel of the Indonesian Army, he remarked.
The police seized 42 ammunition of various calibers, two firearms, airsoft gun, and cash allegedly to be utilized to purchase more firearms.
The syndicate obtained the weapons from Makassar, capital of South Sulawesi province, Fakhiri stated.
The arrest was made after the joint team probed the person allegedly supplying firearms to the Papuan armed group. However, no further information was available as to which group were the weapons planned to be distributed.
Nabire Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Kariawan Barus revealed that the police had earlier arrested MS for the supply of firearms to the armed group. He confessed to obtaining the weapons from Sanger Talaud in North Sulawesi and recently sold a firearm in Manokwari.
Barus noted that the police had seized four firearms from MS allegedly obtained from the Philippines.
Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Pol Paulus Waterpauw earlier indicated that Nabire had become an entry gate for weapons sold to the Papuan armed groups.
The firearms were allegedly sourced from the Philippines and smuggled through Sanger Talaud in North Sulawesi. Related news: Joint team thwarted firearm trade in Papua's Nabire: Police
Related news: Police officer in Papua arrested for allegedly selling firearms
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Hence, the soldiers deployed in these two eastern provinces are mandated to be responsive in seeking solutions to problems and challenges faced by Papuan communities in their daily lives.
The soldiers are required to play the role of problem solvers for the local communities amid their central task to defend the country's territorial integrity and guard the safety of all Indonesians.
Sharing land and sea borders with Papua New Guinea (PNG), Papua and West Papua's geopolitical and geostrategic positions are indubitably important for Indonesia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Over the past few years, soldiers stationed in these two eastern provinces have been facing security threats posed by armed Papuan criminal groups operating in several districts.
Amid these security-related challenges, the soldiers continue to demonstrate their care for local communities through community services.
Several personnel of the Indonesia-PNG Border Security Task Force, for instance, assist locals through community services, such as voluntary teaching, serving mobile library, and street cleanup programs.
This month, they have worked with the residents of Yetti Village, Arso Timur Sub-district, Keerom District, Papua, to take apart building materials from an old chapel for reuse in building a new church.
Priest Yanes, representing members of the Mahanaim Chapel congregation, expressed gratitude to the army personnel for their community service that would expedite the construction of the new Mahanaim Church.
"We dismantle the old chapel to reuse its usable building materials for our new church building. We are optimistic that its construction process would be accelerated to facilitate devout members of the congregation in their worship," he affirmed.
Another community service was also offered by several personnel from the 756/WMS Infantry Battalion's security task force.
The personnel offered a mobile health service to people residing in Beanekogom Village, Tembagapura Sub-district, Mimika District.
The task force's commander, Major Marolop Edison Bala Hutapea, stated that the health service is routinely conducted as part of the task force's community services to ensure that locals are in good health.
"The TNI (the Indonesian Military) is mindful of the difficulties faced by the residents," he remarked, adding that he had constantly reminded the soldiers stationed at all security posts to maintain an emotional connect with the locals.
Sincerity in conducting community services and tending to the needs of local communities would make the TNI security posts useful to them, according to Hutapea.
In February, the Indonesia-PNG Border Security Task Force's 312/Kala Hitam Infantry Battalion personnel, along with villagers, repaired a rotting wooden bridge in Towe Hitam Village, Towe Sub-district, Keerom District.
Situated near the land border of Indonesia and PNG, the villagers' daily activities depend exceedingly on the bridge. Decay in the wood of the bridge was on account of aging, according to Ariyanto.
"We always hear the villagers complaining about the bridge's condition while crossing it. Hence, we discussed with several villagers on how we could together repair it," the task force's commander, Lt Col. Dedy Ariyanto stated.
Repairing the wooden bridge is part of the security border task force's community services to ensure safety during the mobility of local residents and goods in the village, he emphasized.
Meanwhile, early this year, several soldiers from the 11/MA Combat Engineering Detachment (Denzipur) had also offered assistance to construct the Asy-Syifa Islamic Boarding School in Sidomulyo Village, Semangga Sub-district, Merauke District.
The army personnel's community service mirrored the Indonesian Military's (TNI's) care for enhancing the quality of education for children in Papua, according to Asy-Syifa Islamic Boarding School Principal K.POH Ach Sholeh.
Related news: Soldiers offer mobile health service to Papuans in Tembagapura
Related news: Jayapura-Wamena road temporarily closed for repairs: BPJN
Sholeh expressed gratitude to the combat engineering detachment's personnel that had partaken in the efforts to build the Islamic boarding school that was developed from a Quran recitation learning center.
The TNI is expected to continue to uphold its unity with the local tribal, community, and religious leaders, he stated.
In demonstrating their care for the development of human resources in Papua and West Papua, several soldiers, especially those stationed near the Indonesia-PNG border areas, are also assigned to serve as voluntary teachers at schools.
To this end, several members of the Indonesia-PNG Border Security Task Force in Merauke District, Papua Province, have adeptly shouldered this responsibility.
They have extended voluntary assistance to teachers at 12 elementary schools in the sub-districts of Sota, Neukenjerai, Eligobel, and Ulilin in Merauke District since July 2019.
They teach reading, writing, and mathematics to students, Commander of the task force at the Army Strategic Reserves Command's (Kostrad's) MR 411/PDW Infantry Battalion Major Rizky Aditya noted.
In recognition of their valued contribution to community development in Papua and West Papua, all soldiers actively involved in offering community services are worthy of receiving awards from the government.
Related news: Five arrested for allegedly supplying firearms to Papuan armed groups
Related news: BPJN-Wamena team examines condition of Transpapua highway's roads
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"We appeal to Mr President to revoke the government's investment permit for the alcoholic beverages industry in Papua," Filep Wamafma noted in a press statement received by ANTARA here on Saturday.
Wamafma cautioned against a spike in crime rate following liquor intake in the country's easternmost province.
The DPD member pointed out that the government's investment permit for the liquor industry in the provinces of Papua, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, and North Sulawesi is stipulated in Presidential Regulation No.10 of 2021.
The presidential regulation on investment that President Joko Widodo had signed on Feb 2, 2021, is issued to follow up on the job creation law that the House of Representatives (DPR) had passed last year.
"Referring to the presidential regulation, the liquor industry may obtain investment from both foreign and domestic investors," Wamafma stated.
Investment in the liquor industry could also come from cooperative units and small and medium enterprises, he remarked.
ANTARA noted that alcohol consumption remains a grave problem in Papua, although the production, distribution, and sale of liquor have officially been prohibited in the province since 2016.
To respond to this challenging reality, the local police continue to crack down on liquor producers, distributors, and sellers there.
The Papuan government has also effectively prohibited the production, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages since 2016, in accordance with Regional Government's Regulation Number 15 of 2013.
The regulation is aimed at safeguarding Papuans from the detrimental impacts of alcohol consumption in the form of loss of consciousness and engaging in acts of domestic violence and crime.
Alcohol consumption has also led to deadly traffic accidents in the province. In 2019, the Papua police reported that death toll from traffic accidents in Papua had reached 72.
The 2019 fatality rate was higher than that of 2018 during which the figure stood at 58, and the Papua police claimed that alcohol consumption has become one of the causative factors apart bad driving habits of certain motorists and drivers (RRI, 2019).
Related news: Indonesian soldiers deserve accolades for community services in Papua
Related news: Soldiers near Indonesia-PNG border help residents to construct church
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