By : Rebecca Marian )*
OPM (Free Papua Organization) is a rebel/separatist group that wants to establish the Federal Republic of West Papua. However, their strength is getting less solid because there is dualism in the leadership which shows that the movement is only for the benefit of a handful of parties.
OPM has always been known for being tough in realizing its aspirations to separate itself from Indonesia. With troops from the armed criminal group (KKB), OPM continues to spread terror among the people. The goal is that they want to be invited to carry out separatist actions together.
The problem of separatism in Papua has been going on for decades. The reason was that they did not want to recognize the results of the Pepera (determination of people’s opinion) and refused to join Indonesia, thus establishing the Free Papua Organization (OPM). This separatist group wants to be independent and create the Federal Republic of West Papua and considers Indonesia to be a colonizer.
In order to liberate itself, OPM sent its men (Separatist and Terrorist Groups) to attack civilians and security forces. However, OPM is not what it used to be and currently its strength is getting smaller. Currently there are 2 people who both claim to be OPM Leaders, namely Goliath Tabuni and Magai Yogi.
The Goliath Tabuni camp gave a stern warning to the Magai Yogi camp. The warning was given because there was a copyright violation of OPM war documents. This was stated by Sebby Sembom, OPM spokesperson.
Tabuni is at war with Yogi even though they are both OPM. The difference is, Tabuni claims to be the leader of the West Papua National Liberation Army – the Free Papua Organization. Meanwhile, Yogi is close to Benny Wenda, who is based on the West Papua Army. Benny Wenda is one of the OPM officials who now lives abroad.
The split between the 2 OPM camps was spontaneously laughed at by the people, especially Papuans. They turned out to be less and less solid and fought for positions that had no benefit. The reason for this is because the strength of the OPM has been weakening over the past few years. Especially during a pandemic when they were guerrillas in the forest and it was increasingly difficult to get food, while many residents refused to help OPM.
The Papuan people have long distrusted OPM. The reason is because this organization can only spread hoaxes and propaganda but has never been able to prove it. Papuans are loyal to Indonesia and do not want the OPM to establish the Republic of West Papua.
One of the Papuan figures, Pastor Jupinus Wama, balked at the OPM. According to Pastor Jupinus, it is a big mistake if OPM is loved by the people. In fact, they even carried out acts of terror, not only against civilians but also against security forces.
In a sense, the people have never supported OPM and refused to fly the Morning Star flag. If there is news of an OPM split, the residents will be even happier because they are tired of the attacks carried out by OPM. The Papuan people hope that OPM will quickly disband so that the Cendrawasih Land will always be safe.
OPM is increasingly seen as not solid because even forming one organization with one chairman has failed miserably. How could they plan to form a new nation when their search for a leader failed. The dualism of the OPM leadership shows that this organization has weakened and has been abandoned by many of its members.
When there is a split in the OPM, the authorities can take advantage of it and the Carstensz Peace Operation will be even more intensive. The reason is because there is a possibility that Tabuni’s camp and Yogi’s camp clashed and then entered into armed contact. This situation could be used as a moment for the Carstensz Peaceful Task Force to carry out an attack and then arrest each of the OPM leaders.
The OPM split started with Benny Wenda who founded the West Papua Army in 2019. He also proclaimed himself President of West Papua. But he was considered very ridiculous because he claimed to be a leader but his existence was abroad (England). Benny Wenda’s statement was also one-sided because it was not recognized by OPM itself. Moreover, Benny no longer has the status of an Indonesian citizen because he was proven to be involved in separatism.
When Benny Wenda wanted to separate Papua from Indonesia, even claiming to be the President of West Papua, that was a big mistake. Because the proof is that the civilians in Cendrawasih Earth don’t want to defect from their beloved NKRI. After all, OPM itself also does not approve of Benny’s move to suddenly become president without prior general elections.
This incompatibility shows OPM’s strange behavior. Because they want to separate Papua from Indonesia, but the coordination is wrong. How can you manage the country if you can’t even manage the organization. They are also wrong because they always blame the Indonesian government, and have never seen much development in Papua.
