2) Urgent alert: Massive military operations in West Papua imminent
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police main headquarters (Mabes Polri) confirmed that it will act under the Law against Terrorism (UU Terorisme) in pursuing the armed criminal groups in Papua.
“We will surely use that specific Law as they are already categorized as terrorist groups,” the Mabes Polri spokesperson Brig. Gen. Rusdi Hartono confirmed on May 4.
The Indonesian government officially labels the armed criminal groups, or KKB, as terrorists. It was announced by the Coordinating Minister of Politics, Law, and Security Mahfud MD in response to a string of terror acts in Papua since early April this year.
“Aligning with all of the incidents the government considers the organization and people in Papuawho commit mass-scale murder and brutal acts of violence as terrorists,” said Mahfud on April 29.
"This reality is a matter of pride in the midst of our pluralistic society," UMP's Deputy Rector for Academic Affairs, Indah Sulistiani, told ANTARA in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, on Monday.
Papua's higher education is expected to keep making a major leap forward owing to support from various societal elements at large, Sulistiani remarked.
The UMP, one of the universities owned by Indonesia's second-biggest Muslim-based organization Muhammadiyah, has made a steadfast commitment to consistently offering good-quality education in Papua.
In achieving its noble goals through education, research, and community services, the UMP continues to work with various elements in the society at large.
"We also adapt our curriculum to points in the government's vision and mission in our endeavors to improve the quality of UMP's teaching and learning activities," she remarked.
ANTARA noted that Papua and West Papua had struggled to improve the quality of their human capital, as their scores in Indonesia's 2020 Human Development Index remained under the national average recorded at 71.94.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Papua and West Papua, which received special autonomy funds worth Rp126.99 trillion since 2012, had recently scored 60.44 and 65.09 respectively on the 2020 Human Development Index.
Their scores remained lower than that achieved by Aceh Province that stood at 71.94.
Amid the government's endeavors to improve Papua and West Papua's human capital, armed Papuan separatist terrorist groups still pose security threats to the provinces.
Over the past few years, armed groups have often employed hit-and-run tactics against security personnel and mounted acts of terror against civilians in several districts in Papua, including Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak to instill a sense of fear among people.
The recent targets of such acts of terror have included construction workers, motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers, teachers, students, street food vendors, and even civilian aircraft.
On December 2, 2018, a group of armed Papuan rebels brutally killed 31 workers from PT Istaka Karya engaged in the construction of the Trans Papua project in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi Sub-district, Nduga District.
Such acts of violence have continued this year. On January 6, 2021, at least 10 armed separatist terrorists vandalized and torched a Quest Kodiak aircraft belonging to Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) on the Pagamba village airstrip.
On February 8, 2021, a 32-year-old man, identified by his initials as RNR, was shot at close range in Bilogai Village, Sugapa Sub-district.
In a separate incident on February 9, six armed Papuans fatally stabbed a motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver. A motorcycle taxi driver was shot dead by an unknown gunman in Papua.
On April 8, 2021, several armed Papuan rebels opened fire at a kiosk in Julukoma Village, Beoga Sub-district, Puncak District.
The shooting resulted in the death of a Beoga public elementary school teacher, identified as Oktovianus Rayo.
After killing Rayo, the armed attackers torched three classrooms at the Beoga public senior high school. Related news: Widodo lauds Muhammadiyah for encouraging entrepreneurial spirit
Related news: Japan vows to help Papua send native students to Fukuoka
EDITED BY INE
On April 25, while taking part in a military patrol in the village of Dambet in Beoga district, part of Papua’s Puncak Regency in eastern Indonesia, Papuan separatists succeeded in killing Brig. Gen. Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha. Gusti was the head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN)’s Papua regional office, having taken over the position only in June of last year. Prior to his Papua posting, Gusti served the much-feared Indonesian Special Forces, Kopassus, and held key positions in Jakarta, including as assistant for intelligence for the Jakarta Military Regional Command.
Between April 8 and 25, the Beoga area saw a series of attacksby Papuan separatists, which led to the death of six soldiers and six civilians, and the burning of a number of schools and others properties. These attacks were launched by the West Papua National Liberation Army (WPNLA), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM). The WPNLA quickly claimed responsibility for the killing of Gusti, via its spokesperson Sebby Sambon.
The territory of Papua has witnessed much violence since the 1960s. Since the Dutch handed the then territory of West New Guinea (later Irian Jaya and now West Papua, which itself was split in 2003 into two provinces, Papua and West Papua) to the United Nations in October 1962, which in turn handed the territory to Indonesia in May 1963, a protracted low-level insurgency has simmered, with massive loss of lives. Before and after the 1969 plebiscite on the territory’s future, the Papuans’ separatist struggle had been loosely organized by OPM.
In this context, how significant is the killing of Brig.-Gen. Gusti, and what does it mean for the restive region? First, the commander was visiting the Puncak region due to the steady escalation of violence in the region, and his visit was supposed to ascertain the severity of the OPM/WPNLA threat. According to BIN’s spokesperson, Wawan Purwanto, Gusti was “conducting a field observation to speed up the restoration of security after the brutal action of the Papuan Separatist and Terrorist Group (KST) in the region.” Gusti’s visit was also intended“to boost the morale and spirit” of the people who were victims of the cruelty and savagery of the [KST].” Clearly, Gusti failed in his mission, and if anything, the Papuan separatists claimed their biggest military scalp since the beginning of the conflict in 1963.
Second, there is the likelihood of increased violent reprisals from the Indonesian security apparatus, something which has happened following major Papuan separatist attacks in the past. Not only will this increase fear among the Papuans of retribution by Indonesian soldiers, but the gulf between Indonesia and Papuans will widen. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has ordered the security forces to “chase and arrest” all members of the WPNLA, emphasizing that there was “no place for armed groups in Papua.”
Similarly, the chairman of Indonesia’s People’s Consultative Assembly, Bambang Soesatyo, urged the security forces to annihilate the Papuan rebels. For the leader of Indonesia’s parliamentary body, Bambang’s exhortation to “destroy them first; we will discuss human rights matters later,” raises serious questions and, naturally, fears among the Papuans of the likelihood of a serious escalation of violence. Following Gusti’s killing, a joint military-police-intelligence task force was set up under Operation Nemangkawi to hunt down Gusti’s killers.
Third, what is equally significant is that OPM, and especially the WPNLA, have become increasingly violent, daring, and militarily organized. Analysts have also noted that the OPM and its military units have come to control important areas in the Central Highlands of Papua, including Intan Jaya, Nduga, Timika, and Puncak Jaya. This is also partly due to the OPM’s military units gaining access to modern lethal weapons, usually purchased illegally from members of the Indonesian military and police.
The new capabilities of the Papuan separatists are likely to result in worsening military conflict, and what has long been a low-level insurgency will probably escalate. The tell-tale signs have been present for some time, as seen in the increasing military clashes in Papua between the separatists and Indonesian security forces from 2017 to 2019. In 2017, a soldier, policeman, and a separatist were killed in clashes, as was one civilian. In 2018, two soldiers and 23 civilians were killed. In 2019, the toll rose to seven soldiers, a policeman, and eight separatists.
Finally, Gusti’s killing will probably have several other knock-on political-security effects. It has put paid to years of efforts by Jokowi to win over Papuans, through his annual visits to Papua, call for dialogue to solve problems, willingness to talk to the WPNLA and its commanders, and his government’s generous development investments designed to improve the welfare of Papuans. As mentioned, the killing has the potential to escalate the military-police conflict in Papua, with their conflicting approaches to the Papuan problem dividing the two services, as well as increasing their competition for Papuan resources.
This will be worsened with the military wanting revenge for the death of its most senior officer in Papua so far, what more, one from Kopassus and head of intelligence in the territory. Indonesia’s response following the killing is also likely to set back peace efforts and with Papuan radicals relishing that they have succeeded in not only scoring a major military victory but also expect Indonesia to lose the battle of hearts and minds in the territory. This is especially if more repressive measures are adopted by the security services against actual and alleged Papuan separatists.
Clearly, the killing of Gusti is a game changing event in Papua, Indonesia’s richest and yet least developed and most unstable territory. The description of Papua as a “state-in-waiting” and Indonesia’s El Dorado will only be enshrined further. Any mismanagement by either Indonesia or the Papuan separatists will have serious implications for the territory’s future in terms of independence, the way it is managed and most importantly, the welfare of its four million indigenous people, ensuring that Papua will remain an international flashpoint for years to come.
New Zealand broke military ties with Indonesia after the 1999 maelstrom in East Timor, when much of the country was razed to the ground because the people voted the “wrong” way in the 1999 independence referendum.
However, New Zealand quietly restored defence training ties to Indonesia in 2007 and our defence engagement has been steadily increasing, so that it now includes some decidedly questionable arms exports………….
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