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Category: OPM

  • Yamin Kogoya: Reckless Jakarta is turning West Papuans into ‘terrorists’ to justify waging a war

    ANALYSIS: By Yamin Kogoya

    The Indonesian government has officially labelled the OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka) Free Papuan Movement and its military wing, the TPNPB (West Papua National Liberation Army) as a terrorist group.

    This came about at the height of a string of shootings and killings – which have been taking place in recent months in Papua’s highlands – that led to the killing of a senior Indonesian intelligence officer, General I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, last week.

    In response, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered a crackdown on the armed resistance group OPM – TPNPB.

    A few days later, Mohammad Mahfud MD, the coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, declared that those in Papua (presumably the OPM – TPNPB) who commit crimes would be classified as “terrorists”.

    The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, stressed this issue by saying, “I demand that the government deploy their security forces at full force to exterminate the armed criminal groups (KKP) in Papua which have taken lives.

    “Just eradicate them. Let’s talk about human rights later.”

    This announcement and such statements have caused a reaction among Indonesian leaders and civil society groups.

    Opportunity for resistance
    Police observer Irjen Pol Purn Sisno Adiwinoto warned that labelling Papuan independence groups as “terrorists” would not solve problems in West Papua.

    “If anything, this might just be the opportunity for resistance groups to get the United States involved,” said Adiwinoto.

    Philip Situmorang, public relations officer from the Fellowship of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), asked the government to be careful of their decision to label the armed criminal group (KKB) as a terrorist group.

    The church groups have warned that Jakarta should choose a different approach to Papua.

    Labelling Papua as a terrorist will psychologically impact on the Papuan community, which might instil fear, distrust, and hatred among communities in the land of Papua.

    West Papua is a region known for the international media blackout. This makes it challenging to allow independent media or human rights agencies to investigate the killings.

    The country’s justice system often fails to provide fair, transparent justice for the alleged perpetrators.

    Governor Enembe concerned
    The governor of Papua province, Lukas Enembe, also expressed his concern about the central government announcement.

    The statement released from the governor’s office stated that this labelling would affect the Papuan population, not just OPM – TPNPB. Papuans in West Papua and abroad will be stigmatised through the lens of the word terrorist.

    Hence, the governor asked for the central government to review its decision comprehensively.

    One of the seven points he made was that he strongly suggested the central government check with the United Nations about the decision.

    Benny Wenda, the leader of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, also condemned Jokowi’s announcement.

    “My questions to the president of Indonesia are: Who invaded our country in the first place? Who has killed over 500,000 men, women, and children? Who has displaced over 50,000 civilians since December 2018, leading to the deaths of hundreds of more people?

    An illegal invasion and occupation is a criminal act. Genocide is a terrorist act. Resistance to these are legitimate and necessary,” Benny Wenda said.

    Harmful policy for Papuans
    These concerns are expressed in recognition that, after 60 years, Jakarta insists on introducing a policy that will harm the Papuan people.

    Fifty-eight years ago, in May 1963, was the landing of Indonesian troops after the Western power gave them the green light during the controversial “New York Agreement” – the agreement in which Papuans were not invited.

    The real terror in Papua began from that day.

    Jakarta invents words and phrases and decides their definitions to control Papuan people.

    The Indonesian government has used many names and phrases to legitimise their military operations in the land of Papua.

    Between 1964–1966, leading up to the Act of Free Choice in 1969 (which Papuans consider a sham, or an “Act of No Choice”), army general Kartidjo Sastrodinoto led an operation called “Operasi Wisnurmurti III and IV”.

    The years between 1977-1982, a general named Imam Munandar led another operation named “Operasi Kikis”, followed by “Operasi Sapu Bersih”.

    The “Operasi Penyisiran” was another name given for 2002-2004 operations in Wamena, Papua’s highland town.

    Many military operations
    These are just a few of many, both visible and invisible, military operations in West Papua.

    These terminologies carry specific energy and command and manifest different state behaviours that target Papuan lives; they mean something like “wipe-out, clean, straighten, remove, taming the wild forest, restoring order” etc.

    They are not the languages of healing and reconciliation but of war and elimination.

    Elites in Jakarta have convinced themselves to believe that there is a monster in the land of Papua and that the beast needs to be eliminated. This paranoid way of thinking is akin to saying all non-black immigrants in the land of Papua are scary, so we should label them as demons and kill them or labelling all Muslims as terrorists because they are following the religion of Islam.

    The Papua governor and civil society groups are concerned that every Papuan will be stigmatised as a terrorist, regardless of whether they are a member of OPM – TPNPB or not.
    This labelling is not just to harm OPM – TPNPB but is a direct assault on Papuan history, language, livelihood, and aspirations for a better world, pushed by Papuan resistance groups.

    One of the main concerns that have been raised within the resistance movements is that the Indonesian government is labelling West Papua national liberation as a terrorist to criminalise the movement and depict them as radical extremists in the eyes of international communities.

    This is an old colonial game, where blaming the victims makes it difficult for them to report the crimes, allowing the perpetrators to avoid being held accountable for their actions.

    Metro TV interview
    In the media interview by Metrotvnews on April 30, Mohammad Mahfud MD stated they must contain the situation in West Papua before controlling the situation outside of Papua, inferring that influencing public opinion in the international community must begin by creating a terrorist of West Papua.

    The central government in Jakarta will use the word “terrorist” to convince the international community not to support these activist groups in West Papua. It intends to damage the integrity and reputation of the West Papua liberation movement, which has been gaining a lot of sympathy from international communities and institutions such as ACP (Africa Caribbean Pacific group of states), MSG (Melanesian Spearhead Group), PIF (Pacific Islands Forum) and Human Rights Council in Geneva.

    Many described the announcement as a desperate attempt to halt the region’s independence movement. David Robie wrote that this is Jakarta’s “worst ever” policy on West Papua, as reported by Asia Pacific Report last week on April 30.

    President Jokowi’s welfare approach and his 12 visits to Papua turned out to be a mere trojan horse. He and his government are not delivering welfare to Papuan people at all – they are creating terrorists in West Papua to justify war against the Papuan people.

    How will they distinguish and catch this monster, which they have called “terrorist” in Papua? Or are they going to create one that looks like a terrorist?

    Is OPM a terrorist group or a legendary saviour in Papuan’s independence imagination?

    In the 1980s, when I was growing up in my highland village of Papua from the ages of 8-12, I often heard the name OPM. At the time, the name sounded like it had magical power. I still associate the name OPM with that story.

    OPM ‘has secret power’
    At that time, I was told that OPM has a secret power that controls weather patterns. My family said that if you see heavy rain or thick clouds covering the mountains, then it is a sign that OPM is near or OPM created the bad weather to confuse their enemies.

    This kind of story made me very curious about the name OPM.

    I then asked my elders, who were OPM’s enemy and whether OPM were human or forest spirits? They would say to me that OPM were not forest spirits. They were human beings just like us, but they couldn’t divulge their identities to keep their family members safe from interrogation if their true identities were revealed to Indonesian soldiers.

    According to the village story, OPM have the power of nature, and they can obscure the sight of the Indonesian soldiers and make them crazy. At the time, I was astonished by these stories.

    With these fascinations, I continued to ask if the OPM was something that I should fear.

    They would tell me, “child, you should not be afraid of the OPM, because the OPM will protect you, and they will expel the Indonesian soldiers who were roaming around here, killing and raping women”.

    I grew up with these types of stories, and I am sure that many Papuans have similar stories to tell about what the name of OPM means to them.

    Hope for a better world
    OPM carries the spirit that keeps the hope of a better world (free from Indonesia) alive. That’s how I understand it. That hope, in Papuans’ imagination, is political independence from Indonesia.

    To be OPM is to be a proud Papuan, and to be Papuan is to be proud to be OPM because, in the minds of Papuans, OPM represents hope, freedom, salvation, healing, and reconciliation.

    As legend has it in the island of Biak, during the early 1940s, before Indonesia got their Independence from the Dutch, it was the spirit of the Morning Star that healed the legends Manarmakeri and Angganitha.

    Papuan people in the Biak island were already dreaming of a new world – a world free from terror, with the spirit of the Morning Star before Indonesia gained its independence in 1945.

    OPM stands to manifest that utopian dream of a Papuan free state as sovereign people. This fear of manifesting Papuan statehood drives Jakarta’s reckless policies toward West Papua.

    If Papuans were asked, without any intimidation or bribery, which spirit do they trust and believe in, the OPM or Indonesia security forces, I am confident that they would choose the spirit and the legend of OPM because that spirit stands for freedom and salvation.

    The word “terrorist” is the deadliest weapon that Indonesia has invented to kill Papuan people

    Labelling is dangerous
    This reckless labelling is dangerous, as already expressed by Governor Lukas and other civil society groups, because all Papuan people will suffer, not just OPM. Papuan people are already suffering in every aspect of their lives, this labelling will add more under the Indonesian rule and western capitalist world order.

    It is unfortunate that Indonesia is one of the most religious places, and yet unable to uphold its own religious morals and ethical teachings, as inscribed in their constitutional pillars: Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa (Belief in the Almighty God) and Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab (Just and Civilised Humanity). Do the Indonesian ruling elites still believe in these words?

    With all the human and material resources being spent on securing West Papua, the question we need to be asking is, ‘why is Jakarta still unable to catch all the perpetrators and bring them to face justice?’

    If the elites in Jakarta believe with sincerity in promoting the slogan “wonderful Indonesia” on the world’s stage, then the way they approach Papua needs to change.

    Papua will always be like a pebble in Indonesia’s shoe – it must be resolved in a humane manner if the “wonderful Indonesia dream” is to be fully realised. Turning West Papua into a terrorist and justifying it to wage war against the Papuan people is not the way to achieve peace in the land of Papua.

    • Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
    • Other Yamin Kogoya articles

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Branding armed Papuan resistance as ‘terrorists’ angers rights groups, sparks media warning

    By David Robie

    Branding armed Papuan groups as “terrorists” has sparked strong condemnation from human rights groups across Indonesia and in West Papua, some describing the move as desperation and the “worst ever” action by President Joko Widodo’s administration.

    Many warn that this draconian militarist approach to the Papuan independence struggle will lead to further bloodshed and fail to achieve anything.

    Many have called for negotiation to try to seek a way out of the spiralling violence over the past few months.

    Ironically, with the annual World Press Freedom Day being observed on Monday many commentors also warn about the increased dangers for journalists covering the conflict.

    Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy chairperson Hendardi (Indonesians often have a single name) has criticised the government’s move against “armed criminal groups” in Papua, or “KKB)”, as they are known by military authorities.

    The move to designate them as terrorists is seen as a short-cut and an expression of the government’s “desperation” in dealing with the Papuan struggle for independence.

    “The labeling of resistance groups in Papua will not break the long and recurring cycle of violence”, Hendardi said, according to a report in Merdeka by Yunita Amalia.

    Failure of the security forces
    Hendardi said that the failure of security forces to cripple armed groups in Papua had largely been caused by the lack of support and trust by local people.

    This was as well as the difficult and rugged terrain while local resistance groups were very familiar with their mountainous hideouts.

    “The terrorist label and the subsequent [military] operations is Jokowi’s [President Joko Widodo] worst ever policy on Papua,” he claimed.

    Setara Institute chairperson Hendardi … “The labeling of resistance groups in Papua will not break the long and recurring cycle of violence”. Image: CNN Indonesia

    Yesterday, the government declared that the so-called KKB were terrorists, following a string of clashes with security forces that saw the region’s intelligence chief, one police officer and at least five guerrilla fighters killed.

    Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD officially announced that the Papuan KKB had been included in the category of terrorist organisations.

    He cited Law Number 5/2018 on the Eradication of Terrorism as a legal basis.

    “The government considers that organisations and people in Papua that commit widespread violence are categorised as terrorists”, Mahfud told a media conference broadcast on the ministry’s YouTube channel.

    AII Usman Hamid
    Amnesty International Indonesia’s Usman Hamid … “The government should focus on investigating [human rights violation] cases and ending the extrajudicial killings.” Image: Kompas

    Adding to list rights violations
    Amnesty International Indonesia said the move had the potential to add to a long list of human rights violations in the region.

    Amnesty International executive director Usman Hamid believes that branding the armed groups terrorist will not end the problems or human rights violations in Papua.

    “Even if they are so easily labelled terrorist, this will in fact have the potential of adding to the long list of human rights violations in Papua,” Hamid told Kompas.com.

    Based on Amnesty International Indonesia’s records, there were at least 47 cases of extrajudicial killings committed by Indonesian security forces between February 2018 and December 2020 resulting in the death of about 80 people.

    Also, already in 2021 there had been five cases of alleged extrajudicial killings by security forces resulting in the death of seven people, said Hamid.

    “The government should focus on investigating these cases and ending the extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations by law enforcement agencies in Papua and West Papua, rather than focus on the terrorist label,” he said.

    ‘Transparent, just, accountable’ law enforcement
    National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Deputy Commissioner Amiruddin Al-Rahab said he was disappointed with the government’s decision.

    “Pak Menko [Mr Security Chief] announced that the solution is to add the terrorist label. Speaking frankly I feel disappointed with this”, said Al-Rahab.

    Al-Rahab believes that it is more important to prioritise “transparent, just and accountable” law enforcement as the way to resolve the Papua problem rather than labelling armed groups in Papua as terrorists.

    “It is far more important to prioritise this rather than transforming labels,” he said.

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has also criticised the Indonesian government’s decision, dismissing the “terrorist label” as a colonial creation.

    ULMWP executive director Markus Haluk said that the government often attached “certain labels” on the Papuan nation which were intentionally created.

    “The terms KKB, GPK [security disturbance groups] and so forth are terms created by Indonesian colonialism, the TNI [Indonesian military] and the Polri [Indonesian police]. So, the Papuan people don’t recognise any of these”, Haluk told CNN Indonesia.

    Haluk said that the National Liberation Army (TPN) and the OPM (Free Papua Organisation) were born out of a humanitarian struggle and that they opposed humanitarian crimes and systematic racist politics.

    Veronica Koman
    Indonesian human rights lawyer Veronica Koman with New Zealand journalist David Robie … “Indonesia has just burnt the bridge towards a peaceful resolution.” Image: Bernard Agape/PMC

    Severing attempts for peaceful solution
    Lawyer and human rights activist Veronica Koman condemned the Indonesian government’s move.

    Through her personal Twitter account @VeronicaKoman, she said that the decision would sever attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Papua.

    “Indonesia has just burnt the bridge towards a peaceful resolution,” she wrote in a tweet.

    Koman believes that the label could trigger an escalation in the armed conflict in the “land of the Cenderawasih”, as Papua is known. Not to mention, she said, concerns over possible human rights violations.

    The OPM declared that it would challenge the decisions with the International Court of Justice (ICC).

    The ICC is the United Nation’s top judicial body whose principle function is to hear and resolve disputes between member nations.

    “The TPNPB [West Papua National Liberation Army] already has lawyers, we will send two of our lawyers [to the ICC] if Indonesia is prepared to include the TPNPB as a terrorist organisation, so we are very much ready to take the issue to the International Court”, said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambom.

    Journalist and editor Victor Mambor
    Journalist and editor Victor Mambor … “I’m worried about my family and colleagues at Jubi.” Image: APR screenshot

    Threats to balanced media
    Meanwhile, a prominent Papuan journalist, Victor Mambor, has expressed concern about the implications for media people trying to provide balanced coverage of the Papuan conflict.

    Mambor, founding editor of Tabloid Jubi, contributor to The Jakarta Post, and a former Papuan advocate for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), is among many media people who have been targeted for their robust reportage of the deteriorating situation in Papua and human rights violations.

    Just last week his vehicle had its windows smashed and it was daubed with spray paint. The attack was featured in Suara Papua, but as he admits this was just the latest of a series of attacks and attempts at intimidating him in his daily journalism.

    Mambor, who visited New Zealand in 2013, told Asia Pacific Report that there had been no progress so far in the investigation into the attack. A police forensics team had checked his car.

    “I am not worried about my safety because if have experienced a lot of terror and intimidation that has let me know how to deal with these actions against me,” he said. “Even worse things have happened to me.

    “But I’m worried about my family and colleagues at Jubi.”

    The recent threats by the Speaker of the Parliament in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, and the latest branding of resistance groups in Papua have created an even more difficult environment for working journalists just at a time when the World Press Freedom Day is coming up on May 3 with a related UNESCO Asia-Pacific media safety seminar in Jakarta today.

    “These developments have an impact on media workers like me or fellow journalists at Jubi who try to maintain a ‘covering both sides’ principle to report on the conflict in Papua,” he said.

    “The terror attack that I experienced explains that. Journalists who report on the Papua conflict with a different perspective other than what the security forces want will be subject to problems and pressure. This is what I’m worried about.

    “However, I am also worried about the continued existence of a single narrative developed by the security forces on the conflict and armed violence in Papua.”

    With thanks to some translations by James Balowski for IndoLeft News.

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Branding armed Papuan resistance as ‘terrorists’ angers rights groups, sparks media warning

    By David Robie

    Branding armed Papuan groups as “terrorists” has sparked strong condemnation from human rights groups across Indonesia and in West Papua, some describing the move as desperation and the “worst ever” action by President Joko Widodo’s administration.

    Many warn that this draconian militarist approach to the Papuan independence struggle will lead to further bloodshed and fail to achieve anything.

    Many have called for negotiation to try to seek a way out of the spiralling violence over the past few months.

    Ironically, with the annual World Press Freedom Day being observed on Monday many commentors also warn about the increased dangers for journalists covering the conflict.

    Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy chairperson Hendardi (Indonesians often have a single name) has criticised the government’s move against “armed criminal groups” in Papua, or “KKB)”, as they are known by military authorities.

    The move to designate them as terrorists is seen as a short-cut and an expression of the government’s “desperation” in dealing with the Papuan struggle for independence.

    “The labeling of resistance groups in Papua will not break the long and recurring cycle of violence”, Hendardi said, according to a report in Merdeka by Yunita Amalia.

    Failure of the security forces
    Hendardi said that the failure of security forces to cripple armed groups in Papua had largely been caused by the lack of support and trust by local people.

    This was as well as the difficult and rugged terrain while local resistance groups were very familiar with their mountainous hideouts.

    “The terrorist label and the subsequent [military] operations is Jokowi’s [President Joko Widodo] worst ever policy on Papua,” he claimed.

    Setara Institute chairperson Hendardi
    Setara Institute chairperson Hendardi … “The labeling of resistance groups in Papua will not break the long and recurring cycle of violence”. Image: CNN Indonesia

    Yesterday, the government declared that the so-called KKB were terrorists, following a string of clashes with security forces that saw the region’s intelligence chief, one police officer and at least five guerrilla fighters killed.

    Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD officially announced that the Papuan KKB had been included in the category of terrorist organisations.

    He cited Law Number 5/2018 on the Eradication of Terrorism as a legal basis.

    “The government considers that organisations and people in Papua that commit widespread violence are categorised as terrorists,” Mahfud told a media conference broadcast on the ministry’s YouTube channel.

    AII Usman Hamid
    Amnesty International Indonesia’s Usman Hamid … “The government should focus on investigating [human rights violation] cases and ending the extrajudicial killings.” Image: Kompas
    Adding to list rights violations
    Amnesty International Indonesia said the move had the potential to add to a long list of human rights violations in the region.

    Amnesty International executive director Usman Hamid believes that branding the armed groups terrorist will not end the problems or human rights violations in Papua.

    “Even if they are so easily labelled terrorist, this will in fact have the potential of adding to the long list of human rights violations in Papua,” Hamid told Kompas.com.

    Based on Amnesty International Indonesia’s records, there were at least 47 cases of extrajudicial killings committed by Indonesian security forces between February 2018 and December 2020 resulting in the death of about 80 people.

    Also, already in 2021 there had been five cases of alleged extrajudicial killings by security forces resulting in the death of seven people, said Hamid.

    “The government should focus on investigating these cases and ending the extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations by law enforcement agencies in Papua and West Papua, rather than focus on the terrorist label,” he said.

    ‘Transparent, just, accountable’ law enforcement
    National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Deputy Commissioner Amiruddin Al-Rahab said he was disappointed with the government’s decision.

    “Pak Menko [Mr Security Chief] announced that the solution is to add the terrorist label. Speaking frankly I feel disappointed with this”, said Al-Rahab.

    Al-Rahab believes that it is more important to prioritise “transparent, just and accountable” law enforcement as the way to resolve the Papua problem rather than labelling armed groups in Papua as terrorists.

    “It is far more important to prioritise this rather than transforming labels,” he said.

    The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has also criticised the Indonesian government’s decision, dismissing the “terrorist label” as a colonial creation.

    ULMWP executive director Markus Haluk said that the government often attached “certain labels” on the Papuan nation which were intentionally created.

    “The terms KKB, GPK [security disturbance groups] and so forth are terms created by Indonesian colonialism, the TNI [Indonesian military] and the Polri [Indonesian police]. So, the Papuan people don’t recognise any of these”, Haluk told CNN Indonesia.

    Haluk said that the National Liberation Army (TPN) and the OPM (Free Papua Organisation) were born out of a humanitarian struggle and that they opposed humanitarian crimes and systematic racist politics.

    Veronica Koman
    Indonesian human rights lawyer Veronica Koman with New Zealand journalist David Robie … “Indonesia has just burnt the bridge towards a peaceful resolution.” Image: Bernard Agape/PMC

    Severing attempts for peaceful solution
    Lawyer and human rights activist Veronica Koman condemned the Indonesian government’s move.

    Through her personal Twitter account @VeronicaKoman, she said that the decision would sever attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Papua.

    “Indonesia has just burnt the bridge towards a peaceful resolution,” she wrote in a tweet.

    Koman believes that the label could trigger an escalation in the armed conflict in the “land of the Cenderawasih”, as Papua is known. Not to mention, she said, concerns over possible human rights violations.

    The OPM declared that it would challenge the decisions with the International Court of Justice (ICC).

    The ICC is the United Nation’s top judicial body whose principle function is to hear and resolve disputes between member nations.

    “The TPNPB [West Papua National Liberation Army] already has lawyers, we will send two of our lawyers [to the ICC] if Indonesia is prepared to include the TPNPB as a terrorist organisation, so we are very much ready to take the issue to the International Court”, said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambom.

    Journalist and editor Victor Mambor
    Journalist and editor Victor Mambor … “I’m worried about my family and colleagues at Jubi.” Image: APR screenshot

    Threats to balanced media
    Meanwhile, a prominent Papuan journalist, Victor Mambor, has expressed concern about the implications for media people trying to provide balanced coverage of the Papuan conflict.

    Mambor, founding editor of Tabloid Jubi, contributor to The Jakarta Post, and a former Papuan advocate for the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), is among many media people who have been targeted for their robust reportage of the deteriorating situation in Papua and human rights violations.

    Just last week his vehicle had its windows smashed and it was daubed with spray paint. The attack was featured in Suara Papua, but as he admits this was just the latest of a series of attacks and attempts at intimidating him in his daily journalism.

    Mambor, who visited New Zealand in 2013, told Asia Pacific Report that there had been no progress so far in the investigation into the attack. A police forensics team had checked his car.

    “I am not worried about my safety because if have experienced a lot of terror and intimidation that has let me know how to deal with these actions against me,” he said. “Even worse things have happened to me.

    “But I’m worried about my family and colleagues at Jubi.”

    The recent threats by the Speaker of the Parliament in Jakarta, Bambang Soesatyo, and the latest branding of resistance groups in Papua have created an even more difficult environment for working journalists just at a time when the World Press Freedom Day is coming up on May 3 with a related UNESCO Asia-Pacific media safety seminar in Jakarta today.

    “These developments have an impact on media workers like me or fellow journalists at Jubi who try to maintain a ‘covering both sides’ principle to report on the conflict in Papua,” he said.

    “The terror attack that I experienced explains that. Journalists who report on the Papua conflict with a different perspective other than what the security forces want will be subject to problems and pressure. This is what I’m worried about.

    “However, I am also worried about the continued existence of a single narrative developed by the security forces on the conflict and armed violence in Papua.”

    With thanks to some translations by James Balowski for IndoLeft News.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Designating OPM as terrorists will ‘increase tension, rights abuses’

    By Arjuna Pademme in Jayapura

    The Indonesian government appears to be at a loss about how to quell the struggle of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) with its plan to designate Papuan independence organisations as “terrorist” groups.

    Democracy Alliance for Papua (ADP) director Latifah Anum Siregar says that the Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) should rethink its proposal to apply the Anti-Terrorism Law before the government makes a decision which will add to tensions in Papua.

    “Actually, I think, sorry yeah but perhaps the government is at a loss as to how to handle the TPN [West Papua National Liberation Army] and the OPM,” said Siregar.

    “It’s not certain this will bring things under control, it’s not certain that it will make the situation better. So I think that the government has to be more careful in looking at this.

    “If the government gives them this definition, it will increase tensions.”

    Siregar said there were contradictions in the Anti-Terrorism Law itself.

    For example, Article 5 reads, “Terrorist crimes regulated under this law must be considered not to be political crimes”. Meanwhile, what the OPM is doing is fighting for independence politically, not through terrorism.

    Amnesty also opposed
    Speaking in a similar vein, Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid also opposes the discourse being promoted by BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar.

    According to Hamid, this will not stop human rights violations in Papua.

    “Classifying armed groups which are affiliated with the OPM as terrorist organisations will not end the human rights violations being suffered by the Papuan people,” he said in a media release.

    “Many of these [violations] are being committed by state security forces, it would be better to continue with a legal approach.”

    Hamid is also concerned that giving such groups the “terrorist” label would be used as a pretext to further restrict Papuan’s freedom of expression and assembly through the Anti-Terrorism Law.

    Earlier, BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar said that they would hold discussions with ministries and other agencies on the naming of armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua.

    ‘Reasonable’ category
    According to Amar, it was reasonable to categorise the activities of these groups as terrorist acts.

    “Whether or not they can be categorised as a terrorist organisation because earlier it was conveyed that it is actually appropriate for the KKB’s crimes to be categorised as or to be on par with terrorist acts,” Amar said during a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) on March 22.

    Amar also said that aside from ministries and other agencies, the BNPT would be holding discussions with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and DPR representatives.

    According to Amar, the discussions would be held to reach an “objective understanding” about these groups.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Wacana OPM Masuk Kategori Teroris, Aktivis: Akan Meningkatkan Ketegangan”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Designating OPM as terrorists will ‘increase tension, rights abuses’

    By Arjuna Pademme in Jayapura

    The Indonesian government appears to be at a loss about how to quell the struggle of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) with its plan to designate Papuan independence organisations as “terrorist” groups.

    Democracy Alliance for Papua (ADP) director Latifah Anum Siregar says that the Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) should rethink its proposal to apply the Anti-Terrorism Law before the government makes a decision which will add to tensions in Papua.

    “Actually, I think, sorry yeah but perhaps the government is at a loss as to how to handle the TPN [West Papua National Liberation Army] and the OPM,” said Siregar.

    “It’s not certain this will bring things under control, it’s not certain that it will make the situation better. So I think that the government has to be more careful in looking at this.

    “If the government gives them this definition, it will increase tensions.”

    Siregar said there were contradictions in the Anti-Terrorism Law itself.

    For example, Article 5 reads, “Terrorist crimes regulated under this law must be considered not to be political crimes”. Meanwhile, what the OPM is doing is fighting for independence politically, not through terrorism.

    Amnesty also opposed
    Speaking in a similar vein, Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid also opposes the discourse being promoted by BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar.

    According to Hamid, this will not stop human rights violations in Papua.

    “Classifying armed groups which are affiliated with the OPM as terrorist organisations will not end the human rights violations being suffered by the Papuan people,” he said in a media release.

    “Many of these [violations] are being committed by state security forces, it would be better to continue with a legal approach.”

    Hamid is also concerned that giving such groups the “terrorist” label would be used as a pretext to further restrict Papuan’s freedom of expression and assembly through the Anti-Terrorism Law.

    Earlier, BNPT chief Boy Rafli Amar said that they would hold discussions with ministries and other agencies on the naming of armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua.

    ‘Reasonable’ category
    According to Amar, it was reasonable to categorise the activities of these groups as terrorist acts.

    “Whether or not they can be categorised as a terrorist organisation because earlier it was conveyed that it is actually appropriate for the KKB’s crimes to be categorised as or to be on par with terrorist acts,” Amar said during a hearing with the House of Representatives (DPR) on March 22.

    Amar also said that aside from ministries and other agencies, the BNPT would be holding discussions with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and DPR representatives.

    According to Amar, the discussions would be held to reach an “objective understanding” about these groups.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Wacana OPM Masuk Kategori Teroris, Aktivis: Akan Meningkatkan Ketegangan”

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    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Confusion reigns over real reasons for burning of missionary plane in Papua

    Pacific Media Watch correspondent

    The pro-independence conflict in West Papua with a missionary plane reportedly being shot down at Intan Jaya has stirred contrasting responses from the TNI/POLRI state sources, church leaders and an independence leader.

    A shooting caused a plane to catch fire on 6 January 2021 in the Intan Jaya regency, Papua province.

    The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) or OPM (Papua Liberation Organisation) were alleged to have opened fire on the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) aircraft.

    The shooting and blaze also sparked different responses from the leader of the KINGMI Synod on the Land of Papua, the interim president of the ULMWP, the TPNPM spokesperson and Indonesian police officers.

    Jubi reports that the Head of Public Relations of the Papua Police (Kombes Pol), Achmad Mustofa Kamal, said the aircraft was set ablaze when it landed at Pagamba Airport, Nabire City, Papua.

    The MAF PK-MAX aircraft piloted by an American citizen, Alex Luferchek departed from Nabire airport carrying two passengers from the local community bound for Pagamba (MAF’s pioneering airport), Biandoga district, Intan Jaya regency.

    About 09.30am, pilot Luferchek reported via radio to the MAF office that the plane had landed at Pagamba airport.

    Pilot secured by priests
    When the pilot got off the plane, somebody – allegedly from an “Armed Criminal Group” (the Indonesian security description for TPNPB) – came with a gun. He fired a shot into the air while telling the pilot to duck.

    The pilot was secured by priests and the community and taken to to Kampung Tekai, the border between Kampung Bugalaga and Kampung Pagamba, Mbiandoga district, Intan Jaya regency.

    According to Sebby Sambom, an international spokesman for the TPNPB, the reports he had received were only related to the shooting. His party did not yet know about the burning of the MAF aircraft.

    Sambom said that the arson was reported by Indonesian media to “build a bad narrative” against the TPNPB.

    “We’re freedom fighters. The ones who have developed this burning aircraft issue are the Indonesian media,” he said.

    Sambom also said that the shootings carried out by the TPNPB were not arbitrary. His party had learned that the TNI/POLRI used missionary planes to transport Indonesian military and their logistics.

    Benny Wenda, acting President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, told Pacific Media Watch by telephone that the ULMWP was the umbrella organisation for independence groups.

    Struggle through ‘peaceful means’
    He said the ULMWP struggle was a struggle through peaceful means.

    He added that the enemy of TPNPB was the Indonesian army, not humanitarian workers and that West Papuans always “respected missionaries and other humanitarian workers” for their sacrifices and services to the people of the West Papua region.

    “The shooting that took place (on January 4) was two days after the statement made by the former head of the State Intelligence Agency, Hendropriyono, that some missionaries had been involved using the church’s channels in an effort to liberate Papua from Indonesia,” said Wenda.

    Retired general Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono from Kopassus, the Indonesian Army special forces group is also the first head of Indonesia’s State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

    Wenda, who is currently living in Oxford, United Kingdom, as interim President of West Papua-in-exile, says his party is fighting for the independence of West Papua through peaceful means.

    “In our policy it is very clear that, we do not take any harmful action against missionaries or any other humanitarian workers, because it would violate international law,” said Wenda.

    He said the public could not simply accept the news reported by Indonesian authorities because an incident like this had happened because it is likely it was was “fabricated by the Indonesians”.

    Asked whether the OPM was a terrorist organisation, Wenda said: “West Papua does not have terrorists. In fact, it was Indonesia who came to Papua as terrorists killing Papuans with modern weapons”.

    This report has been compiled by a special Pacific Media Watch freedom project correspondent.

     

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Confusion reigns over real reasons for burning of missionary plane in Papua

    Pacific Media Watch correspondent

    The pro-independence conflict in West Papua with a missionary plane reportedly being shot down at Intan Jaya has stirred contrasting responses from the TNI/POLRI state sources, church leaders and an independence leader.

    A shooting caused a plane to catch fire on 6 January 2021 in the Intan Jaya regency, Papua province.

    The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) or OPM (Papua Liberation Organisation) were alleged to have opened fire on the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) aircraft.

    The shooting and blaze also sparked different responses from the leader of the KINGMI Synod on the Land of Papua, the interim president of the ULMWP, the TPNPM spokesperson and Indonesian police officers.

    Jubi reports that the Head of Public Relations of the Papua Police (Kombes Pol), Achmad Mustofa Kamal, said the aircraft was set ablaze when it landed at Pagamba Airport, Nabire City, Papua.

    The MAF PK-MAX aircraft piloted by an American citizen, Alex Luferchek departed from Nabire airport carrying two passengers from the local community bound for Pagamba (MAF’s pioneering airport), Biandoga district, Intan Jaya regency.

    About 09.30am, pilot Luferchek reported via radio to the MAF office that the plane had landed at Pagamba airport.

    Pilot secured by priests
    When the pilot got off the plane, somebody – allegedly from an “Armed Criminal Group” (the Indonesian security description for TPNPB) – came with a gun. He fired a shot into the air while telling the pilot to duck.

    The pilot was secured by priests and the community and taken to to Kampung Tekai, the border between Kampung Bugalaga and Kampung Pagamba, Mbiandoga district, Intan Jaya regency.

    According to Sebby Sambom, an international spokesman for the TPNPB, the reports he had received were only related to the shooting. His party did not yet know about the burning of the MAF aircraft.

    Sambom said that the arson was reported by Indonesian media to “build a bad narrative” against the TPNPB.

    “We’re freedom fighters. The ones who have developed this burning aircraft issue are the Indonesian media,” he said.

    Sambom also said that the shootings carried out by the TPNPB were not arbitrary. His party had learned that the TNI/POLRI used missionary planes to transport Indonesian military and their logistics.

    Benny Wenda, acting President of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, told Pacific Media Watch by telephone that the ULMWP was the umbrella organisation for independence groups.

    Struggle through ‘peaceful means’
    He said the ULMWP struggle was a struggle through peaceful means.

    He added that the enemy of TPNPB was the Indonesian army, not humanitarian workers and that West Papuans always “respected missionaries and other humanitarian workers” for their sacrifices and services to the people of the West Papua region.

    “The shooting that took place (on January 4) was two days after the statement made by the former head of the State Intelligence Agency, Hendropriyono, that some missionaries had been involved using the church’s channels in an effort to liberate Papua from Indonesia,” said Wenda.

    Retired general Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono from Kopassus, the Indonesian Army special forces group is also the first head of Indonesia’s State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

    Wenda, who is currently living in Oxford, United Kingdom, as interim President of West Papua-in-exile, says his party is fighting for the independence of West Papua through peaceful means.

    “In our policy it is very clear that, we do not take any harmful action against missionaries or any other humanitarian workers, because it would violate international law,” said Wenda.

    He said the public could not simply accept the news reported by Indonesian authorities because an incident like this had happened because it is likely it was was “fabricated by the Indonesians”.

    Asked by Pacific Media Watch, whether the OPM was a terrorist organisation, Wenda said: “West Papua does not have terrorists. In fact, it was Indonesia who came to Papua as terrorists killing Papuans with modern weapons”.

    This report has been compiled by a special Pacific Media Watch freedom project correspondent.

     

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Jakarta ‘regrets’ Morning Star flag protest at Melbourne consulate after video goes viral

    Pacific Media Centre newsdesk

    Indonesia’s Presidential Staff Office says it regrets the raising of the Morning Star flag – which is identified with Papuan independence – at the Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Melbourne, Australia, this week.

    Presidential Staff Office deputy for political, legal, security and human rights affairs Jaleswari Pramowardhani insisted that the area in and around the consulate must be respected.

    Pramowardhani pointed to the stipulations in the Geneva Convention on respect for foreign consulates and international legal customs.

    “The host country, in this case Australia, has an obligation based on international law to maintain security in the area of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia,” said Pramowardhani.

    “Above all breaking in or infiltrating without authorisation. So the incident which occurred at the Melbourne KJRI cannot be justified and conflicts with international law,” she added.

    Earlier on Tuesday, December 1, a video of the Morning Star flag flying over the Melbourne consulate went viral on Twitter. The owner of the Twitter account @Tbuch2, Tim Buchanan, shared a video of six people standing on the Melbourne consulate’s roof.

    Two of them were holding a banner with a picture of the Morning Star flag with the message “Free West Papua”, while four others held a Morning Star flag and a poster with the message, “TNI [Indonesian military] Out, Stop Killing Papua”.

    Officials grappled with the protesters trying to prevent the flags and banner being unfurled.

    Pramowardhani has asked the Australian government to take a “firmer stand” so that a similar incident does not reoccur.

    This is not the first incident of its kind. In 2017, a Free Papua Organisation (OPM) sympathiser also managed to climb the wall surrounding the Melbourne Indonesian consulate and raise the Morning Star flag.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was
    “Bintang Kejora Berkibar di KJRI, KSP Sesalkan Sikap Australia”.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Rival OPM leaders dispute Papuan ‘independence’ declaration

    Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

    A renewed declaration of independence by an exiled West Papuan leader has stirred a negative response from other Papuan independence fighters who are part of the West Papua liberation army force clashing with Indonesian security troops.

    The rival fighters have rejected the peaceful unilateral claim of independence and in particular the claim that Benny Wenda is Papua’s provisional president, reports CNN Indonesia.

    On December 1 – West Papua’s national flag day when protests across Indonesia and globally each year raise the banned Morning Star flag in defiance – the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) chairperson Benny Wenda declared Papuan independence.

    He did not make the declaration on Papuan soil but rather through a press release
    on the ULMWP’s official website.

    In his declaration, Wenda said that he would no longer submit to the constitution and Indonesian law and that Papua will have its own laws and constitution.

    Aside from declaring Papuan independence, Wenda also stated that he had been appointed as the interim president of the provisional administration of the republic of Papua.

    “Today, we announce the formation of the West Papua provisional administration. We are ready to take over our territory, and we will no longer submit to Jakarta’s illegal military laws,” Wenda said.

    “Starting today, December 1, 2020, we will begin to apply our own constitution and reclaim our sovereign land.”

    Hot debate in news media
    Indonesian news and current affairs programmes such as on TV One have hotly debated the diplomacy challenge raised by Wenda. Two prominent human rights advocates have spoken out in support of West Papuan right to self-determination.

    Commentators on Indonesian television hotly dispute Benny Wenda’s diplomacy challenge over West Papua’s future. Image: TV One PMC screenshot

    The declaration has been disputed by other Papuan independence fighters who are part of the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM).

    “Starting today December 2, 2020, we from the TPNPB-OPM National Committee Central Management Office declare a motion of no confidence in Benny Wanda,” said TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambon in a written release.

    The OPM believes that the claim of independence announced by Wenda will actually damage the Papuan people’s unity who are in the midst of an immediate struggle.

    Sambon even accused Wenda of working in the interests of foreign capitalists from the European Union, the United States and Australia.

    This, claimed Sambon, conflicted with the revolutionary principles of the Papuan nation.

    “According to international law Benny Wenda declared and announced his state and claim in a foreign country, namely in the country of the British monarchy, this is totally wrong and cannot be accepted by any sensible person,” he said.

    ‘No significant impact’ says military
    Wenda’s declaration of Papuan independence has not had any significant impact on the situation in Papua itself, claim Indonesian military leaders.

    The spokesperson for the Indonesian military’s (TNI) Joint Defence Area Command III, Colonel Czi IGN Suriastawa who said that so far the situation in Papua was “still favourable”.

    Suriastawa said that the declaration by Wenda is a matter for law enforcement officials and the TNI could only confirm that the situation in Papua was currently under control.

    “It’s pretty smooth in Papua. Let the police deal with BW (Benny Wenda) because [his declaration] leans in the direction of makar [treason, rebellion, subversion],” he said.

    Despite this, House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I member Sukamta has asked the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo not to take Wenda’s declaration lightly.

    According to Sukamta the government must immediately deal with this protracted problem through a comprehensive approach so that Papua did not suffer the same fate as East Timor which separated from Indonesia.

    “Don’t treat this development lightly, we don’t want Papua to end up like East Timor.

    “Shootings and attacks on the security forces and civil society are still continuing, showing that the situation in Papua is not yet stable,” said Sukamta.

    Declaration of independence
    Although it is widely held that West Papua declared independence from Indonesia on 1 December 1961, this actually marks the date when the Morning Star (Bintang Kejora) flag was first raised alongside the Dutch flag in an officially sanctioned ceremony in Jayapura, then called Hollandia.

    The first declaration of independence actually took place on 1 July 1971 at the Victoria Headquarters in Jayapura where the OPM raised the Morning Star flag and unilaterally proclaimed West Papua as an independent democratic republic.

    Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was
    “Pecah Kongsi Benny Wenda dan OPM Soal Papua Merdeka”.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.