Monday, June 7, 2021

1) Govt leans on development agenda to push Papua autonomy


2) As conflict escalates, TPNPB-OPM threatens to shoot Indonesian workers in Papua  
3) Five giant leatherback turtles lay eggs on Raja Ampat's Yenbekaki
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https://en.antaranews.com/news/176038/govt-leans-on-development-agenda-to-push-papua-autonomy
1) Govt leans on development agenda to push Papua autonomy  
4 hours ago



Chief of District Command 172/PWY Colonel Inf Boni C. Pardede (left) accompanied by his wife harvested red chili on farm land owned by Senggi resident receiving assistance from the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border security task force of the Raider Infantry Battalion 700/WYC, Papua. ( ANTARA FOTO/Indrayadi TH/Dok)


Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) is striving to finish the renewal of the Papua Special Autonomy Law No.21/2001 before it expires in November this year.

The law, which has been in force for almost 20 years, has paved the way for a significant amount of funds to flow into Papua and West Papua, with the central government earmarking Rp94.24 trillion (CNN Indonesia, 2020) for the region from 2002 to 2020.

The government has hinted that it intends to extend the allocation of the special autonomy funds by another 20 years to expedite efforts to close the development gap and bring prosperity to all communities in the region.

Even as deliberations continue on the bill for amending the Papua Special Autonomy Law No.21/2001, which has become a top priority under the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), Papua remains trapped in the throes of violence.

Related news: Second phase of special autonomy to make Papua prosperous: Moeldoko

Over the last few years, Papuan separatist terrorists have used hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and targeted civilians in districts such as Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak to stoke fear among the people.

The recent targets of such acts have included construction workers, motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers, teachers, students, street food vendors, villagers, and also civilian aircraft.

On December 2, 2018, Papuan rebels brutally killed 31 PT Istaka Karya workers engaged in the construction of the Trans Papua project in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi sub-district, Nduga district.

The same day, the armed attackers also killed a soldier, identified as Handoko, and injured two other security personnel, Sugeng and Wahyu.

Similar 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 the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) on the Pagamba village airstrip.

On February 8, a 32-year-old man was shot at close range in Bilogai village of Sugapa sub-district.

The victim, identified by his initials as RNR, sustained gunshot wounds on the face and right shoulder and was shifted to the Timika Public Hospital in Mimika District the next day.

On February 9, six armed Papuans fatally stabbed a motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver.

On April 8, several Papuan rebels opened fire at a kiosk in Julukoma village, Beoga sub-district, Puncak district, killing a Beoga public elementary school teacher, identified as Oktovianus Rayo.

Afterwards, the armed attackers torched three classrooms at the Beoga public senior high school.

On April 9, armed separatists fatally shot another teacher, Yonatan Randen, on the chest.

Two days later, nine classrooms at the Beoga public junior high school were set ablaze by an armed group.

And barely four days later, Ali Mom, a student of the Ilaga public senior high school in Beoga sub-district, was brutally killed by armed attackers.

On April 25, Papuan separatists operating in Beoga ambushed State Intelligence Agency (Papua) chief, Maj. Gen. I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, and several security personnel during their visit to Dambet village.

Last week, three residents of Niporolome village in Ilaga, Puncak district, Papua province, died and three others were injured in a gunfight between security personnel and armed Papuan rebels at the Aminggaru Airport in Ilaga.

The gunfight broke out on the evening of June 3 after the rebels reportedly torched several facilities at the airport, including the air traffic control tower, a broken aircraft, an excavator, and homes of airport employees.

The slain civilians were identified as Patianus Kogoya, head of Niporolome village; Petena Murib, Patianus Kogoya's wife; and, Nelius Kogoya, Papua Police chief, Insp. Gen. Mathius Fakhiri, informed.

Police investigators had received reports that they died of gunshot wounds, but the investigation into their deaths could not be completed as their mourning families took their bodies for burial, he said.

Meanwhile, the three civilians wounded in the gunfight were identified as Mandis Murib, Lesminus Murib, and Jelemina Wanimbo. They received medical treatment at a local public health center, Fakhiri said.

In response to the continued acts of terror unleashed by Papuan separatist terrorist groups, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has directed the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to track down and arrest all of their members in Papua.

He has stressed that there is no place for them within Indonesian territory.

People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo has further underlined that the state must not allow them to continue to terrorize Papuan communities.

The government must ensure that Papuans' rights to enjoy the outcomes of development programs are not disrupted and hijacked by continued acts of terror, he said.

While the government's priority is to seek peaceful solutions to the Papuan issue, it will continue to crack down on armed Papuan terrorist groups, Indonesia's top security minister, Mahfud MD, has said.

Law enforcement operations have continued against armed terrorists to stop their acts of violence against 92 percent of the Papuan communities, which are loyal to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), he added.
Related news: Some 82 percent Papuans favor special autonomy status: Mahfud

"Some 92 percent of the Papuan communities are NKRI's loyalists, based on the outcome of a survey," the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs claimed in a recent press statement.

The recent survey, jointly conducted by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) along with universities and several other credible institutions, has revealed that 82 percent of the respondents openly support Indonesia's special autonomy draft bill, Mahfud said.

Furthermore, 10 percent of the respondents have said they will accept whatever is decided for Papua's greater good, while 8 percent have directly rejected the continuation of Papua's special autonomy, the minister revealed.

Those rejecting the continuation of Papua's special autonomy can be divided into three groups -- the political, clandestine, and armed wings, he said.

"What we are now facing are members of the armed group that have disrupted the security of 92 percent of Papuan communities (that are loyal to NKRI)," he remarked.

Meanwhile, BIN deputy chief Teddy Lhaksmana Widya has hinted that the security disturbances in Papua may have been created intentionally to cover up the embezzlement of special autonomy funds.

He then highlighted the dire need for action against embezzlers to secure Papua and West Papua's regional development agenda in four strategic sectors -- infrastructure, health, education, and people-based economy.

Besides bringing the embezzlers to justice, peace and stability also need to be restored to allow the government's development programs to be well implemented, he said. In this context, the presence of TNI and police personnel is a necessity, he told a plenary session with House members on June 3. (INE)

Related news: Prosperity eludes all despite 20 years of special autonomy: community
Related news: Special autonomy successful in boosting development in West Papua


EDITED BY INE

By Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto


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https://www.indoleft.org/news/2021-06-07/as-conflict-escalates-tpnpb-opm-threatens-to-shoot-indonesian-workers-in-papua.html

2) As conflict escalates, TPNPB-OPM threatens to shoot Indonesian workers in Papua


CNN Indonesia – June 7, 2021

Jakarta – The armed conflict in Papua has escalated recently with a series of armed contacts being unavoidable and more loss of life.

The West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM) has also warned all Indonesians working in Papua to immediately leave the land of the Bird of Paradise as Papua is known.

The threat was issued after they sounded the drums of war against the TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police) in a conflict which will be centred on the Ilaga region in Puncak regency several weeks ago.

"Looking at the armed confect in the regencies of Puncak, Intan Jaya and Nduga, Papua, we from the TPNPB-OPM Central Headquarters National Commission are issuing a firm warning to all Indonesian migrants who are making a living in the country owned by the Papua nation to immediately leave the armed conflict zone", said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambom in an official release on Sunday June 6.

Sambom said that they will not hesitate to shoot Indonesian workers who are still in the war zone. According to Sambom, this will be the consequence for those who fail to comply with the ultimatum.

As of posting this report, there has yet to be an official statement from the TNI or Polri on the threat made by the armed criminal group (KKB) which the government has now labeled as terrorists.

A conflict also took place on Friday May 28 when an armed group killed the head of the Oksamol sub-sector in the Bintang Highlands, First Brigadier Mario Sanoy. The group also stole two SS1 assault rifles and a revolver from a police station.

Not long afterwards however, police succeeded in finding the stolen weapons near the armed group's headquarters in the area.

And it has not just been security personnel, civilians have also fallen victim. On Thursday June 3, police said that an armed group was responsible for the shooting of a construction worker named Habel Halenti (30) as he was returning home from Eronggobak village in Ilaga district.

The shooting was witnessed by a friend of Halenti's named Alif who was able to flee and report the incident to the local sectoral police.

"The victim managed to shout, ‘Mercy, commander’. But was shot directly by a KKB member who was pointing the firearm", said Papua regional police spokesperson Senior Commissioner Ahmad Musthofa Kamal.

On the same day an attack was carried out by an armed group near the Aminggaru Ilaga Airport in Puncak. The group is alleged to have torched several airport facilities which triggered an exchange of fire with the Air Force's Special Troops Corps Paskhas.

The incident resulted in the torching of tower at the Airport management work unit and the AirNav offices in Ilaga, although there were no causalities in the incident.

Finally, police have accused an armed group of being responsible for the shooting of the family of Nipurlema village chief Petianus Kogoya in Ilaga. (mjo/psp)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Konflik Memanas, OPM Ancam Tembak Mati Pekerja di Papua".]

Source: https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210607065034-12-651030/konflik-memanas-opm-ancam-tembak-mati-pekerja-di-papua



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https://en.antaranews.com/news/176018/five-giant-leatherback-turtles-lay-eggs-on-raja-ampats-yenbekaki

3) Five giant leatherback turtles lay eggs on Raja Ampat's Yenbekaki

Sorong, W Papua (ANTARA) - Five giant leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) made their way to the Warebar coastal area in Yenbekaki Village, Raja Ampat District, West Papua, to lay eggs.

The protected sea turtles have been laying eggs in the coastal area from May to June, according to Head of the Yenbekaki Village Conservation Group Yusuf Mayor.

Each leatherback turtle is expected to lay between 90 and 125 eggs, he noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here, Monday.

The group's volunteers protect the turtles' nests from predators, such as snakes and wild dogs, as well as poachers, Mayor remarked.

Thus, the eggs could naturally hatch. The sea turtle hatchlings are then moved from the nests to nursery polls where they will be cared for over a period of a week.

They will then be released into the sea, he stated.

Indonesia is home to several iconic species, including the sea turtle. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Indonesia has also reported that six of the seven living species of sea turtles that scientists recognize can be found in the country.

According to the WWF Indonesia's official website, four of the six species of sea turtles -- green turtles (Chelonia mydas), "belimbing" or leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea), "sisik" or hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), and "lekang" or olive Ripley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) -- lay their eggs in several of the country's coastal areas.

The WWF Indonesia further noted that the Indonesian waters are also the most crucial migratory route of sea turtles at the crossroads of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Abun Sub-district's coastal areas in Tambrauw District, West Papua Province, are known as the largest nesting spots of leatherback turtles in the Pacific region.

The Derawan Islands in East Kalimantan Province are recorded by the WWF Indonesia as the biggest nesting spots of green turtles in Southeast Asia.

In Java Island, Trisik Beach in Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta Province, is also known as the green turtles' nesting spot.

Turtles are highly sensitive to light, as it may make them blind.

According to the US Government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, marine debris and trash also pose grave threats to the survival of these animals.

Hence, marine debris and trash in oceans should be reduced to prevent sea turtles from getting entangled in them or accidentally consuming the waste. Related news: Five giant leatherbacks lay eggs on Raja Ampat's Warebar Beach
Related news: 31 giant turtles lay eggs in Raja Ampat throughout 2018

 

EDITED BY INE

Reporter: Ernes BK, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto

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