Speaking to journalists after attending a meeting on integrated law enforcement here, Monday, Subiyanto remarked that the fallen heroes' heirs had also received compensation.
The heirs of fallen heroes received more than Rp500 million each. The compensation funds were given by state insurer Asuransi Sosial Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (Asabri), Indonesian Army (TNI-AD), Bank BRI, and Bank BJB, he noted.
Chief Private Yipsan Ladou, Chief Private Dwi Bekti Probo Siniwoko, First Private Miftahul Firdaus, and Second Private Darmawan got killed in the gunfight during their mission to hunt down the armed rebels who had assaulted and slain civilians in the Paro area.
The fallen soldiers belong to the Army Strategic Reserved Command's (Kostrad's) Mechanized Infantry Battalion Task Force, he stated, adding that Siniwoko, 28, had been buried in a military procession at Madiun City's Heroes Cemetery in East Java on Monday.
"We all are deeply saddened by this incident," he remarked, adding that the state conferred the fallen soldiers a posthumous promotion to one rank higher than they had held at the time of their death.
ANTARA reported earlier that over the past few years, armed Papuan groups have often employed hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and mounted acts of terror against civilians in the districts of Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak to instill fear among the people.
The targets of such acts of terror have included construction workers, motorcycle taxi (ojek) drivers, teachers, students, street food vendors, and also civilian aircraft.
On December 2, 2018, a group of armed Papuan separatists brutally killed 31 workers from PT Istaka Karya engaged in the Trans Papua project in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi Sub-district, Nduga District.
On March 2, 2022, several members of an armed Papuan group operating in Beoga Sub-district, Puncak District, killed eight Palaparing Timur Telematika (PTT) workers, who were repairing a base transceiver station (BTS) tower belonging to state-owned telecommunications operator Telkomsel.
The workers were identified as B, R, BN, BT, J, E, S, and PD, while another worker, identified by his initials as NS, survived the assault, according to Papua Police spokesperson, Police Chief Commissioner Ahmad Kamal.
On February 7, 2023, New Zealander pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens was held hostage by the Egianus Kogoya-led armed group whose members set his aircraft on fire in Nduga District.
Mehrtens was piloting an aircraft belonging to Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was captured by the Kogoya-led armed group.
On October 16, 2023, Papuan separatists assaulted several traditional gold miners in Yahukimo District, Papua Pegunungan Province, killing seven of them.
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Jayapura, Jubi – The PMKRI St. Thomas Aquinas, representing the Indonesian Catholic Student Association, voiced solidarity with the call for a humanitarian pause to alleviate the ongoing armed conflict in Papua.
During the National Study Conference in Denpasar, Bali, activists from 46 PMKRI branches across Indonesia joined in supporting this crucial initiative.
Tri Natalia Urada, Chairperson of the PMKRI ST Thomas Aquinas Central Board, affirmed the organization’s commitment to social justice and solidarity.
“We support the humanitarian pause as an effort to prevent more casualties in the Land of Papua,” she said, highlighting the dire need for peace efforts amidst escalating conflicts.
Tri also highlighted the distressing impact of law enforcement and military operations on civilians caught in conflict zones, specifying regions affected by armed conflicts.
“Armed conflicts in Papua are spread across Nduga Regency, Intan Jaya Regency, Bintang Mountains Regency, Yahukimo Regency, Puncak Regency, and Maybrat Regency,” Tri emphasized.
The plea for a humanitarian pause aims to mitigate the ongoing turmoil and pave the way for constructive dialogue towards a lasting resolution. PMKRI condemned all acts of armed conflict, urging an immediate halt and advocating for neutral mediation to address the core issues in Papua.
Meanwhile, Thalia Ohoitimur, Chairperson of the PMKRI St. Efrem of Jayapura Branch, reiterated the urgency of a Humanitarian Pause to address pressing humanitarian crises.
“We of the PMKRI Jayapura Branch have acted by sending books, clothes, stationery, milk, and baby food to the displaced people in Bintang Mountains Regency,” she said. (*)
Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua), under the leadership of Director Emanuel Gobay, inaugurated a crisis center to handle grievances regarding the mistreatment and unjust legal actions against the people in Papua. Gobay highlighted a surge in cases where they provided assistance and support, prompting the establishment of this post.
He pointed out ongoing instances of violence directed at various segments of society in Papua, encompassing women, children, and even cases involving security forces like the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police. Despite their involvement in assisting these cases, justice remains hard to find, with no redress through ethical hearings or military courts.
“Beyond the physical violence, there is widespread criminalization, like the mistreatment of palm oil workers in Keerom as well as Indigenous Papuans,” said Gobay.
He further criticized the non-inclusive process of issuing environmental permits, indicating potential corruption and a disregard for good governance principles. Ultimately, this chaotic system leads to the erosion of indigenous rights.
Gobay a;sp shed light on the consistent criminalization of activists advocating for human rights in Papua, extending to students facing charges under treason articles. He highlighted the prevalence of this issue across various sectors in 2023, with some cases going unaddressed.
LBH Papua invites the public to report instances of violence and criminalization, offering both online and offline avenues for complaints. Gobay’s aspiration is for this initiative to empower victims to stand up for their rights and seek justice. The aim is to gather complaints from across Papua, recognizing the ongoing challenges and striving to support those affected by these injustices.
He cofounded the Gerindra Party in 2008 and as its chairman (2014-present), he made two unsuccessful bids for the presidency in 2014 and 2019. Prabowo accepted his party’s nomination on Aug. 12, 2022 to run for a third time.
His grandfather, Margono Djojohadikusumo, was the founder of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and the first head of the Supreme Advisory Council, which was disbanded in 2003. Prabowo spent most of his childhood overseas due to his father's involvement in the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI), which was set up in 1958 in opposition to the Sukarno administration. As a result, Prabowo is fluent in French, German, English and Dutch.
Prabowo was removed from this position soon after Soeharto stepped down in May 1998 and vice president BJ Habibie was elevated to the presidency, due to an alleged attempt to launch a coup without the knowledge of ABRI chief Wiranto. In July 1998, ABRI formed an Officers Ethics Council (DKP) to investigate Prabowo.
- Collaboration between international and local researchers, conservation authorities, NGOs and Indigenous groups was key to the success of an expedition in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains that uncovered new sightings of a rare egg-laying mammal and multiple unidentified species.
- “I think the trust between the expedition team and the community was important in the success of the expedition, and a lack of trust may have contributed to former searches being less successful,” said University of Oxford researcher James Kempton who proposed the expedition in 2019.
- The highlight of the expedition was camera-trap images of Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, distantly related to the platypus, which scientists hadn’t seen since 1961 and which they’d long feared was extinct.
- The expedition also found the Mayr’s honeyeater, a bird scientists haven’t seen since 2008; an entirely new genus of tree-dwelling shrimp; countless new species of insects; and a previously unknown cave system.
JAKARTA — Researchers have credited a strong spirit of collaboration for the success of an expedition in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains that uncovered new sightings of a rare egg-laying mammal and multiple unidentified species.
The highlight of the recently published findings was camera-trap images of Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), which, like the distantly related but better-known platypus, is one of just a handful of egg-laying mammals in existence. The species hadn’t been sighted by scientists since an initial specimen collected in 1961, and for decades was thought to have gone extinct.
Much of the success of the four-week-long Expedition Cyclops has been attributed to the collaboration between international and local researchers, conservation authorities, NGOs, and the Indigenous groups who have persistently protected the region’s biodiversity against external threats.
“We built a strong relationship with the community of Yongsu Sapari, who own part of the northern Cyclops, over three years,” James Kempton, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oxford who first proposed the expedition in 2019, told Mongabay in an email.
“I think the trust between the expedition team and the community was important in the success of the expedition, and a lack of trust may have contributed to former searches being less successful,” he said.
In addition to the producing new records of the echidna, the expedition also found other rare and potentially new-to-science species, including Mayr’s honeyeater (Ptiloprora mayri), a bird scientists haven’t seen since 2008; an entirely new genus of tree-dwelling shrimp; countless new species of insects; and a previously unknown cave system.
The team also collected more than 75 kilograms (165 pounds) of rock samples for geological analysis, which they say should give them further insight into the creation of the Cyclops Mountains.
“It represents one of the earliest explored mountain ranges in Indonesian New Guinea, and lies next to the major urban centers of Papua, and yet Expedition Cyclops still rediscovered Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna there, and discovered many new species of insect, two new species of frog, and a new genus of shrimp that lives on land,” Kempton noted.
Covering some 31,400 hectares (77,600 acres) in northeastern Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost region, the Cyclops Mountains encompass primary and secondary dryland forests and provide water to inhabitants of the surrounding region. The coastal range has been designated as a nature reserve and is dominated by two main peaks, Rara and Dafonsoro.
The nature and biodiversity of the Cyclops Mountains also have cultural significance for the community of Yongsu Sapari that has lived in the region for 18 generations and holds the land as sacred. Community beliefs hold that the mountains are stewarded by a female spirit who can take the form of a tree-kangaroo.
The region’s wildlife has also inspired a unique conflict-resolution mechanism in the community: when there’s a disagreement, the rival parties split up into groups, one setting off to search for an echidna up in the mountains, and the other heading out to sea to find a marlin. Because both creatures are so elusive that it can take years or even a whole generation to spot one, the conflict effectively remains on hold for that time. And once they’ve spotted the animals, that marks the end of the conflict and a return to peaceful relationships in the community.
Malcolm Kobak, a co-founder of the Indonesian NGO Yayasan Pelayanan Papua Nenda (YAPPENDA), said the expedition team first visited the Yongsu Sapari in 2020 and continued to regularly visit the community and the forest to understand their culture, their concerns for the Cyclops, and their desires.
“This has resulted in us collaborating with the community not just for the expedition but for ongoing conservation efforts,” Kobak told Mongabay. “The village are even helping us by propagating tree seedlings for our tree nursery, eventually to be planted in deforested areas on the southern slopes of the cyclops.
“We simply could not have done the expedition without their support and blessing. They were excellent guides who helped determine where to place cameras, build camps, find clean water, etc.,” he added.
The researchers say they hope the expedition’s recent findings will boost existing efforts to protect the Cyclops from encroaching environmental damages, such as poaching and deforestation, and social challenges, like internal migration.
The rapid growth in the Papua region’s urban centers, including the cities of Jayapura, Weana and Abepura, has attracted highlanders from a neighboring mountain range seeking economic opportunities. In 2015, for instance, nearly half the population of Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, were permanent migrants from elsewhere in Papua, according to the Indonesian government’s statistics agency. These outsiders have been blamed for logging the forest and using fire to clear land for agriculture, encroaching on terrain that communities like the Yongsu Sapari consider sacred.
“The Cyclops Mountains symbolize the extraordinary biodiversity of New Guinea, the world’s most biodiverse island, and suggest what is yet to be discovered there, let alone rediscovered,” Kempton said.
“They represent what must be protected in the provinces of Tanah Papua, provinces over which 83% of old growth rainforest is still intact and which we must protect before disasters like those in the Amazon and the Congo,” he added.
Basten Gokkon is a senior staff writer for Indonesia at Mongabay. Find him on 𝕏 @bgokkon.
See related:
6) Benny Wenda back as ULMWP president, but faces factional friction
Factional friction seems to be dividing the United Liberation Movement for West Papua.
In a congress last week, Benny Wenda was re-appointed as President of the Papua Liberation group after losing the top job at a conference in Vanuatu three months ago.
The group's first congress in Jayapura last week was sparked after widespread discontent over Mr Wenda's demotion and ended in a leadership election.
However, parts of the ULMWP don't recognise the latest Jayapura election results, and still see his replacement Menase Tabuni as the leader of the group.
FEATURED:
Benny Wenda, ULMWP
Octovianus Mote, ULMWP
Cammi Webb-Gannon, lecturer at the University of Wollongong
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