Two Indonesian military officers have been killed by independence fighters in Papua as violence continues to flare in Indonesia's easternmost provinces.
An additional 400 troops had been deployed to the contested region after President Joko Widodo called for a crackdown, with Indonesian authorities arresting Papuan independence leader Victor Yeimo over accusations of masterminding civil unrest.
More than 30 civil society groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called for Mr Yeimo's release, while the West Papua Liberation Army has said some of their members were killed and villages attacked by the Indonesian military in recent days.
It comes just weeks after Indonesian authorities officially branded Papuan independence fighters and members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) as terrorists, a label that critics said could aggravate violence and rights abuses by security forces in the contested region.
Indonesia's chief security minister, Mahfud MD, said the new label was aimed at those pushing for separation in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, collectively known as West Papua by independence activists.
"The government see any Papuan organisations or people committing massive violence can be categorised as terrorists," the minister said.
"Terrorism is any action that uses violence or threats of violence to create an atmosphere of terror or widespread fear that can cause mass casualties or cause damage or destruction," he added.
Indonesia's counter-terrorism laws give authorities enhanced powers, including holding suspects for several weeks without formal charges.
The Indonesian government and military did not respond to the ABC's request for information about the total number of troops in West Papua.
Could Australian-trained troops get involved?
The designation of members of the Free West Papua Movements as terrorists – after they were earlier branded as Armed Criminal Groups or KKB by Indonesia – has allowed for the increased deployment of an elite counter-terrorism squad trained by Australia into the contested region.
Senior Police Commissioner Ahmad Ramadhan said the unit, called Detachment 88, "will certainly be involved" in handling terrorism cases against Papuans.
Detachment 88 receives some training from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) through a joint Australian-Indonesian law enforcement facility based in Jakarta.
The facility also provides training to Indonesia's National Police (INP) forces.
"The AFP provides capacity building assistance in support of the INP, including Detachment 88," an AFP spokesperson told the ABC.
"The AFP delivers training programs in a manner that reflects and supports Australia's strong support of human rights."
The unit has come under fire in the past by Papuans, who claim it is a "death squad" that has been involved in torture and extra-judicial killings in the region.
Jason MacLeod, the founder of the Make West Papua Safe campaign, said he was "not against the training" of Indonesian forces by AFP, but said Australia needed to do more to ensure Detachment 88 members were not committing crimes in the contested region.
The AFP told the ABC it would not comment on the deployment of Detachment 88 since it "is a matter for the Indonesian authorities".
Richard Chauvel, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne and expert in Australia-Indonesia relations, said the issue of Australia training Indonesian troops that may be deployed to Papua "is sensitive on both sides".
"Both pro-independence Papuan leaders and their support groups in Australia and elsewhere, have tried to campaign on this issue," Dr Chauvel said.
"Because of the publicity that's generated by that, that's an issue of potential embarrassment to the Australian Government."
'The number of troops is out of control'
Yuliana Langowuyo, a lawyer and director of the Franciscan Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) in Papua, feared the label would lead to more violence.
"There have been many personnel here in Papua … And now after this terrorist label, there will be a new troop coming, the Special Detachment 88," Ms Langowuyo said.
Dr Chauvel however did not believe the label on its own "will change the nature of the violence", which has been steadily increasing since 2018, but he said it did serve to further entrench military activity in Papua and West Papua provinces.
"I'd see it much more in terms of legitimising Indonesian military operations," Dr Chauvel said.
"Calling them terrorists is extending and really hardening of the language from calling them KKB, or armed criminal groups."
Indonesian security forces have for years been dogged by allegations of widespread rights abuses against Papua's ethnic Melanesian population, including extrajudicial killings of activists and peaceful protesters in their efforts to crush armed independence groups.
In recent weeks, security forces ramped up military operations in a remote district where armed groups killed soldiers and teachers, and torched several schools.
ABC with AFP/Reuters
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2) Papua Rebel Groups Kill Two Indonesian Soldiers as Tensions Heighten
STAFF WRITER WITH AFP MAY 19, 2021
Two Indonesian soldiers were killed in an attack authorities blamed on Papua rebel groups, as recent heightened tensions in the restive region saw at least a dozen deaths on both sides.
Indonesia’s security forces have been intensifying a military crackdown in the Papua highlands following the killing of the province’s intelligence chief by rebel groups in late April. His death angered Jakarta who moved to officially designate Papuan separatists “terrorists.”
Chief Security Minister Mahfud MD said rebel groups killed two patrolling soldiers in Dekai district in Yahukimo regency on Tuesday. “The attack shows that the terrorist groups continue to commit violence in Papua,” he told a Jakarta press conference on Wednesday.
Four other security forces were wounded in a separate attack on the same day in Serambakon district in Bintang mountains regency, he added. “The government is committed to completely quell the groups in Papua,” he said.
Rebel group spokesman Sebby Sambom said Wednesday the separatist movement was responsible for the killing of the two soldiers.
At least three soldiers and nine rebels have died in military and police attacks after the death of Papua’s intelligence agency chief on April 25, according to Indonesian officials.
Papuan separatists have claimed responsibility for his killing, with President Joko Widodolast month ordering security forces to crack down on the rebels.
Indonesian security forces have been dogged for years by allegations of widespread rights abuses against Papua’s ethnic Melanesian population, including extrajudicial killings of activists and peaceful protesters.
A former Dutch colony, Papua declared itself independent in 1961, but neighboring Jakarta took control two years later promising an independence referendum. The subsequent vote in favor of staying part of Indonesia was widely considered a sham.
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3) Police Say Not all KKB Papua Members Be Legally Processed
Translator: Dewi Elvia Muthiariny
Editor: Petir Garda Bhwana
19 May 2021 08:58 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian police asserted that not all members of the armed criminal group or KKB in Papua who surrender to the police would face sanctions.
The Police Chief’s Assistant Operations, Inspector General Imam Sugianto, explained that the Nemangkawi Task Force would first explore the track records of those who surrendered.
“We will investigate it first, discover their involvement. If they conduct a crime, they will be legally processed,” said Imam when confirmed on Tuesday, May 18, 2021.
However, if their role in the rebel group was not prominent, they will be involved in developing Papua. “If anyone surrenders, they will be invited to develop Papua together and move forward,” said Imam.
Three members of the armed criminal group led by Lekagak Telenggen reportedly surrendered on May 15, 2021. They declared their loyalty back to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
The three people identified as YAW, MM, and OM surrendered to the Indonesian Military (TNI) when the Infantry Battalion (Yonif) Task Force 715/Mtl was patrolling in Kampung Tanah Merah, Papua.
Also Read: Repeating History in Papua
ANDITA RAHMA
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4) VP Ma'ruf Amin Plans Papua Visit; Overseeing Welfare Program
Translator: Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor: Laila Afifa
19 May 2021 17:47 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin on Wednesday revealed his plan to pay a visit to Papua and West Papua. The plan aligns with the ‘quick win’ program intending to fast-track the development and welfare of Papuans.
“I also plan to conduct a visit to Papua and West Papua soon after the [program] is approved by the President so as to avoid any misperceptions; [the perception] as if the handling in Papua tends to be more about security,” said the Vice President on gathering of vice presidential secretariat held virtually on May 19.
He assured that there are no misperceptions regarding the constructions in the two regions.
The VP emphasized that the government’s program for the two most eastern Indonesian regions are based on the approach towards welfare and to improve trust to the government.
Ma'ruf Amin also guaranteed that the government will always protect the residents of Papua and made sure that the major development programs there are conducted properly.
Read: Repeating History in Papua
FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA
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5) TPNPB supporters are not us: Papua New Guinea clarifies
News Desk May 19, 2021 12:30 pm
CNN Indonesia, Jakarta – The Papua New Guinea (PNG) government is investigating a video depicting a group of people in military uniforms who claim to be from East Sepik Province in PNG and express their support for the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).
Papua New Guinea Military commander Maj. Gen. Gilbert Toropo said that the group in the video was not the people nor the security forces of Papua New Guinea.
PNG’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Soroi Eoe also said in a written statement on May 11, 2021 that the group’s statement of support to the TPNPB constituted a criminal act.
Toropo said the group’s action could be considered treason for forming armed forces outside the PNG Military. Therefore, he said, the PNG government would enforce the law on the people involved in the video.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ambassador to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands Andriana Supandy said he and the Indonesian Embassy staff in Port Moresby had talked to the PNG government regarding the video.
“In a response towards the emergence of a video that discredits the Republic of Indonesia, the PNG government has assigned their officials to carry out an investigation in the East Sepik Province,” Supandy said in a written statement on Saturday, May 15, as quoted by Antara.
“The local government worries about potential security threats as the people in the video wear military uniforms while carrying guns,” he added.
Supandy further said that the video did not affect the bilateral relations between the two countries as both governments had committed to uphold the Treaty of Mutual Respect, Friendships, and Cooperation signed in 1986.
“The Papua New Guinea government respects the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia over its territory and considers that the issues in the provinces of Papua and West Papua are the Indonesian government’s home affairs,” Supandy said.
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6) Indonesian military denies allegation of bombarding villages in West Papua’s Ilaga
News Desk May 18, 2021 8:26 pm
CNN Indonesia, Jakarta – The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) reports that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police have air bombed villages in Ilaga District on May 15-16, 2021 using three helicopters. The TNI, however, denies such allegation.
TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom said that the Indonesian security forces released 40 rocket bomb attacks on their bases but a number of honai (traditional Papuan houses) were also hit by the bombs.
“The TNI and police along with a special force named the Devil Troops attacked residential areas in Ilaga,” Sambom said in a written statement on Monday. Sambom said hundreds of residents fled to neighboring villages in the past few days.
Joint Regional Defense Command III spokesperson Col. Czi IGN Suriastawa refuted the claim, saying it was a hoax. The colonel, however, did not elaborate further on Ilaga’s conditions and security.
“As usual, the ‘TPNPB News’ makes fake news. We know who they are so no need to respond, it is a waste of time,” Suriastawa told
CNNIndonesia.com.
Meanwhile, the police’s Nemangkawi Task Force chief Sr. Comr. Iqbal Alqudusy said that the TNI and police had never bombed nor burned villages. “The TNI and police do not burn villages. From Beoga to Ilaga, it was the armed criminal group who burned schools,” Alqudusy said.
“Everything [Sambom] said was lies,” he added.
In the last few days, armed conflict between the TNI and police and the TPNPB escalated in Ilaga. Shootings occurred in Mayuberi Bridge on Sunday.
According to the Nemangkawi Task Force, the police had shot three TPNPB soldiers of the Lekagak Telenggen group. Two of them died and one person fled.
During a search after the shooting, the police found two bodies of the dead TPNPB soldiers, a Moser 7.62 rifle, a handy talkie, 17 rounds of ammunition, and four bullet casings. (mjo/pmg)
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