1) Indonesian Forces Arrest Papuan Rebel Who Escaped from Prison in 2016
Updated at 3:26 p.m. ET on 2021-07-23
Papuan activists attend a protest in Surabaya to mark the Free Papua Organization’s anniversary in Indonesia, Dec. 1, 2020.
Indonesian police arrested a Papuan separatist leader who was on the run after he escaped from a prison in Papua with several others in 2016, while serving a life sentence for the killings of three police officers, officials said Friday.
Osimin Wenda (also known as Usmin Telenggen) was picked up while riding a motorcycle in Puncak Jaya regency on Thursday morning, Papua province police spokesman Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said.
“The team stopped him in the Wandigobak village and immediately arrested him,” Kamal told BenarNews in a statement.
Osimin, 30, was arrested in 2013. The next year, a Papua court sentenced him to life in prison after finding him guilty of premeditated murder, aggravated robbery and arson attacks.
Kamal said his crimes included participating in an attack on a police station in Lanny Jaya regency that killed a local police chief and two of his subordinates in November 2012.
During the same month, Osimin and other rebels ambushed an entourage led by then-Papua police chief Tito Karnavian – now Indonesia’s minister of home affairs – in Lanny Jaya, Kamal said. There were no casualties.
Five years ago, Osimin and 13 other inmates, including several separatist rebels, escaped from the Abepura prison in Jayapura, the provincial capital. Authorities blamed the prison break on a shortage of guards.
While on the run, Osimin allegedly was involved in an attack that killed a motorcycle taxi driver in Lanny Jaya regency in 2018, Kamal said.
Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, could not immediately be reached for comment on the arrest.
Before his first arrest in 2013, Osimin was part of a group of guerrillas under the command of Lekagak Telenggen, a rebel chief in Puncak regency.
Earlier this month, security forces arrested an alleged guerrilla, Yoniku Murib, and four others under Lekagak’s command.
While being interrogated in custody, Murib revealed that the Lekagak Telenggen group was responsible for some attacks in Puncak this year, according to Faisal Ramadhani, director of general crime investigations at the Papuan police.
A low-level separatist insurgency has simmered for decades in Indonesia’s far-eastern Papua region, which makes up the western half of New Guinea Island and comprises two provinces: Papua and West Papua.
In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua and annexed it. The region, whose population is mainly Melanesian, was incorporated formally into Indonesia after a U.N.-sponsored ballot called the Act of Free Choice in 1969.
Locals and activists said the vote was a sham vote because only about 1,000 people took part. However, the United Nations accepted the result, which essentially endorsed Jakarta’s rule.
The natural resource-rich region remains among Indonesia’s poorest and underdeveloped ones.
Police honor guards stand near the coffin of one of their officers in Mimika, Indonesia, a day after he was killed in a gun battle between police and separatist rebels in the Papua region, April 28, 2021. [AFP]
Recent violence
Kamal said the security situation had improved in Papua after a spate of rebel attacks on civilians and clashes between insurgents and security forces in the past few months.
“Thank God, the past few days have been calm,” Kamal said.
“Investigations, arrests and operations to hunt armed criminal groups are still being carried out by joint forces.”
In the latest incidents, rebels opened fire on security personnel who were guarding food supplies in Nduga regency on July 6, wounding three soldiers, Jayapura military commander Brig. Gen. Izak Pangemanan told the state-run Antara news agency.
On July 11, a police officer was wounded in a shootout with insurgents in Yahukimo regency. A day later, two soldiers were injured in a shootout with another group of rebels in Nduga, said regional military chief Maj. Gen. Ignatius Yogo Triyono.
Late last month, suspected separatist rebels killed four construction workers and took four people hostage in Yahukimo regency. Police said the hostages were later freed.
In April, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered security forces to step up efforts to eradicate the armed groups after separatist insurgents assassinated an army general, who was also the regional chief of Indonesia’s intelligence agency.
As part of the crackdown, the government declared the separatist rebels a terrorist group. The designation alarmed rights activists who said it could lead to more human rights abuses against Papuan people.
Cahyo Pamungkas, a researcher on Papua at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, said the designation of separatists as terrorists meant that dialogue was increasingly out of reach.
“The result is that the authorities will become more and more overzealous in anti-insurgency operations. There are no more overtures for dialogue and violence and military force has become a solution,” Cahyo told BenarNews.
Cases of the more contagious and transmissible Delta variant in Merauke district were confirmed quite recently by the Health Ministry's Health Research and Development Agency (Litbangkes).
As disclosed by the Merauke COVID-19 task force spokesperson, Neville Maskita, on July 20, 2021, the cases of the Delta variant were confirmed based on lab tests of samples sent to the agency's laboratory.
"The Litbangkes announced on Monday evening (July 20, 2021) that the COVID-19 Delta variant had spread to Merauke, Papua, based on the lab test results of samples sent to the agency," Maskita said.
On July 22, the task force recorded 421 COVID-19 cases, with the majority of patients placed in self-isolation and 40 hospitalized at the Merauke public hospital.
To deal with the COVID-19 surge in the district, the task force has asked the Health Ministry to deliver more medical oxygen and ventilators. "May the ministry meet our request," Maskita said.
Currently, coronavirus infections have spread to 18 districts and cities across the province, according to the Papua COVID-19 task force.
Related news: Papua planning partial lockdown in August: official
Six of the affected areas are located in Papua's mountainous regions in the districts of Jayawijaya, Lanny Jaya, Tolikara, Pegunungan Bintang, Paniai, and Puncak Jaya, the task force's spokesperson, Silwanus Sumule, said.
The 12 other affected regions comprise Jayapura City and the districts of Jayapura, Merauke, Boven Digul, Asmat, Mappi, Mimika, Biak Numfor, Supiori, Kepulauan Yapen, Nabire, and Keerom.
On July 21, Papua recorded 570 additional cases, bringing the total number of infections since the pandemic struck the province last year to 31,204 .
Of the total number of COVID-19 patients, 24,825 have fully recovered from the infection, 688 others have succumbed to the virus, and 5,691 remain hospitalized, Sumule informed.
"Local residents are again requested to keep complying with the government's health protocols anytime they do outdoor activities," he said.
Amid the alarming spike in infections, the Papua administration has asked residents to be prepared for a month-long lockdown in August, 2021 after the micro-scale public activity restrictions (PPKM Mikro) end on July 25.
During the lockdown, all entry points to Papua province would be closed to curb an exponential increase in COVID-19 infections in communities, spokesperson for the Papua governor, Muhammad Rifai Darus, said earlier.
The detailed rules of the lockdown, which would entail the closure of airports and seaports from August 1 to August 31, 2021, were deliberated at the Papua COVID-19 task force's meeting on July 21, he informed.
On July 19, 2021, Papua Governor Lukas Enembe and his counterparts from all over Indonesia held a virtual meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to discuss the country's COVID-19 pandemic situation, he said.
Following the meeting, Governor Enembe initiated a meeting with his subordinates to discuss Papua's COVID-19 pandemic situation, he added.
Enembe also issued a letter, No.440/7736/SET, notifying the enforcement of PPKM Mikro until July 25, 2021, Darus said.
Related news: Prepare for lockdown in August, Papuans warned
Though the Papua administration has been regularly evaluating the enforcement of the PPKM Mikro, the governor has instructed all authorities to intensify coordinated COVID-19 mitigation efforts, he added.
Papua has come under the spotlight of Indonesia's media outlets as it is scheduled to host this year's PON National Games and National Para Games (Peparnas).
The PON National Games will take place in Jayapura City and the districts of Jayapura, Mimika, and Merauke from October 2 to October 15, while the Peparnas will be held from November 2 to November 15.
At least 6,400 athletes and 3,500 officials from 34 provinces across Indonesia are expected to participate in Papua's PON National Games, which will feature 37 events.
Meanwhile, 1,935 athletes and 740 officials will take part in the National Para Games in Jayapura City and Jayapura district, which will feature 12 events.
Related news: As COVID cases spread, Papuans urged to remain vigilant
To ensure the safety of athletes and officials participating in the PON National Games and National Para Games, President Widodo has asked the concerned agencies to inoculate all athletes.
The President has also instructed that local residents living near all venues of the sporting events and athletes' villages be vaccinated, according to Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali.
The Papua administration is striving to flatten the COVID-19 curve though the situation seems to have become quite challenging for the province's healthcare system, with several hospitals overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
To address this situation, Papua cannot work alone. The central government and all related stakeholders must assist the province to bring the soaring COVID-19 cases under control.
It is time to show the spirit of "gotong royong" (mutual cooperation) and a true sense of Indonesianness to the Papua administration and people in dire need of help in the province.
Related news: Papua PON to boost local economy: Jayapura District Head
Related news: PON National Games can boost Papuan economy: Indef researcher
By Rahmad Nasution
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