1) Papua mama-mama say TNI, Indonesian police the real terrorists, not OPM-TPNPB
Suara Papua – May 15, 2021
Papuan women traders selling goods at Boswesen market in Sorong, Raja Ampat – Undated (Suara Papua)
Maria Baru, Sorong City – The Indonesian government's labeling of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) as terrorists is actually the complete opposite of their decade long mission to fight for Papuan independence.
Traditional Papuan woman trader Mama Yosina Suruan, who is still traumatised to this day, claims to have witnessed firsthand her family being slaughtered by the Indonesian military on Biak Island in 1969.
"At the time my bapade [father's younger brother] and my mamade [mother's younger sister] were slaughtered by soldiers. I witnessed myself the viciousness of the Indonesian military. So, who are the terrorists? Is it the TPNPB-OPM or the Indonesian military? Everyone knows who the barbarians are in the land of Papua", she told Suara Papua on Saturday May 15.
Because of this, she rejects the terrorist label pinned on the TPNPB-OPM by the government. According to Suruan, to this day the TPNPB have been fighting to liberate the Papuan people from Indonesian colonialism.
"The TPNPB-OPM have the right to talk about West Papua liberation. The TPNPB-OPM are not terrorists. We are the OPM. We have the right to speak out. Yes, speak about Papuan independence. Speak about the land of Papua's future", she asserted.
The brutality of Indonesian security forces, said Suruan, was demonstrated during military operations in Biak.
"On account of being OPM, I watched myself my bapade and mamade being murdered by soldiers. At the time Hasannudin [regional military command] troops came in and slaughtered the Biak people. People said it was swept clean. A village near Ordori, they swept it clean. A whole village cleaned out. There were no people left. So the TPNPB are not a new thing. They've existed for a long time. The Papuan people have been fighting to stand firm on their only land, be free. Many heroes have already died such as Arnold Ap, Edu Mofu and others", she said.
Mama Suruan also remembers when security forces came into the jungle to pursue the TPNPB, but instead it was civilians who fell.
According to Suruan, the fight for independence by the TPNPB will never be eradicated because Papua's natural environment supports speaking out and fighting to save indigenous Papuans from the threat of annihilation.
"The Papuan people fighting in the forests are not terrorists. They fight for the right to safeguard Papua from evil people who would destroy it. The independence struggle is holy. The security forces shouldn't enter the forests. If you disturb a sleeping dog of course it will be angry. Likewise with the TPNPB, if the military and police pursue them into the forests, of course they will fight back. Of course they won't be silent", said Suruan.
Speaking in the same vein, Mama Nanda Ulimpa also rejects the TPNPB-OPM being labeled terrorists. She believes that the Indonesian government's policies and actions are simply to kill off the Papuan people and take control of Papua's natural wealth.
"The TPNPB-OPM are not terrorists. Terrorists kill indiscriminately. The TPNPB is fighting for independence. It's the TNI [Indonesian military] and Polri[Indonesian police] who are the terrorists. They often kill civilians in order to safeguard investment. The plan is the annihilation of the Papuan people", said Ulimpa.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Mama-mama Papua Tegaskan TPNPB-OPM Bukan Teroris".]
Source: https://suarapapua.com/2021/05/15/mama-mama-papua-tegaskan-tpnpb-opm-bukan-teroris/
3) TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Internet connection in Papua, especially in Jayapura City and Regency and its surrounding areas have been totally down since Saturday, May 1, 2021. At present, the communication activities can only be carried out through short message services (SMS), phone lines, Single Side Band (SSB) radio, and Handy Talky (HT).
“The internet is still down. We change our cell phone settings to a 2G connection which is only for SMS and calls,” said a resident of Jayapura City Hari Suroto to Tempo via SMS on Sunday, May 16, 2021.
Many Papuans now relied on and migrated back to SMS, which was considered cheaper than using a phone line. People also used SSB radio for communication. However, Hari said it was only available at district offices, the military district level (Koramil) posts, sector police posts, and airport operating offices with a predetermined frequency.
“People having a need can come to those offices to send messages,” said Hari who is also an archaeologist in Papua Archeology Center.
General Manager Network Operations & Quality Management of cellular operator Telkomsel, Adi Wibowo, confirmed the internet outage was caused by the repair of submarine optical cables.
“There is the maintenance of the Sulawesi Maluku Papua Cable System (SMPCS) of PT Telkom for the Biak-Sarmi segment on Friday, April 30,” said Adi in a written statement on Tuesday, May 4.
Adi added that Telkomsel along with its parent firm PT Telkom Indonesia offered an apology and pledged to accelerate the recovery of its services.
Communication and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate in a written statement on Friday, May 14, meanwhile, confirmed that the restoration of internet connection in Papua could be fully completed in June.
Read: Internet in Papua Disrupted Due to Disconnection at Submarine Cable
MOH KHORY ALFARIZI
3) Three RMS independence sympathisers charged with treason, face life imprisonment
JPNN.com – May 16, 2021
Ambon – The Ambon and Lease Islands municipal police in Maluku have declared three people suspects for flying the banned South Maluku Republic (RMS) independence flag in the Village of Ulath in Saparua sub-district, Central Maluku regency.
One of the suspects is a recidivist in similar cases while the other two are new players. The three have been taken to the Ambon municipal police headquarters where they are being detained.
"One of the perpetrators with the initials FP is an old player or a recidivist, while his two colleagues with the initials AP and ML are new players", said Ambon and Lease Islands spokesperson Second Police Inspector I. Leatemia in Ambon on Sunday May 16.
Police have charged the three under Article 106 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on makar(treason, subversion, rebellion) and or Article 110 of the KUHP which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years to life imprisonment.
According to Leatemia, the perpetrators flew the separatist flag on May 15 in the Ulath village. The action coincided with the anniversary of national hero Thomas Matulessy alias Captain Pattimura.
"Initially the police detained the two suspects then after developing the criminal investigation it was discovered that there was another perpetrator so police immediately arrested them", explained Leatemia.
Police also seized two RMS flags which were flowed from a mango tree near the home of an Ulath village resident named A. Manuputty.
The local police security and public order supervisory officer (Bhabinkamtibmas) reported that the flags were put up early on the morning of Saturday May 15 at around 2.30 am and taken down half-an-hour later.
That morning the Bhabinkamtibmas also reported two other flags being flown in the village, one in front of the home of a person with the initials AP and another in front of the home of the Ulath state secretary with the initials WT. (antara/jpnn)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "3 Tersangka Pengibaran Bendera RMS, 1 Pemain Lama, 2 Baru, Terancam Penjara Seumur Hidup".]
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