By: Theresia Wopari )*
To create conduciveness on Cendrawasih Earth, the security forces strengthened their combat alert operation to crush the Papuan Separatist Terrorist Group (KST), so that they can no longer move from carrying out brutal actions to killings that can terrorize civilians. The community also fully supports this crackdown because they believe that the TNI and Polri are friends of Papuan civilians to protect them from KST threats.
The Papuan KST mob is increasingly making noise and disturbing the community, especially after the hostage of Susi Air Capt Philip Mark Merthens pilot some time ago in Nduga, Highlands Papua which is still continuing.
During the pilot rescue operation, the TNI also continued to intensively carry out combat alert operations aimed at annihilating the KST before it became more brutal and claimed many civilian casualties. The operation was upgraded to a combat alert by the TNI Commander, Admiral Yudo Margono, as a way to protect the safety of the innocent Papuan people, while continuing to disturb the local community.
What’s more, when the rescue of the Susi Air pilot on April 15 2023 caused an incident of grief that was felt by TNI/Polri personnel because they died on the battlefield due to KST’s actions that had gone beyond the limits to fall into the category of murder and gave terror that harmed humans.
With the existence of a combat alert operation carried out by the TNI, the community fully supports and believes that they can protect civilians and that this operation will not hurt the Papuan population, especially in areas that are the domain of the combat alert operation. As is well known, KST’s actions have crossed the line and this attack has harmed society.
The TNI, assisted by the National Police, is on alert to secure Bumi Cendrawasih from KST attacks by adding 890 TNI members to be deployed in combat alert operations. The operation was also supported by the Cartenz Damai Task Force, a combination of the National Police and the TNI. Deputy V KSP (Presidential Staff Office) for Law, Security and Human Rights Jaleswari Pamodhowardani said that KST deserved to be arrested because he had disturbed the peace of civil society.
Responding to this, the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security (Menkopolhukam) Mahfud MD emphasized that the Government must not remain silent in dealing with rebels like the brutal KST. According to him, annihilating KST is very easy, but in its implementation, the protection of civilians must also be prioritized to minimize casualties. For this reason, the TNI and Polri need to prepare a special strategy for this combat alert operation.
As is well known, the combat alert operation carried out by the joint TNI and Polri has produced results. Rear Admiral (Laksda) Julius Widjojono claims that currently, the KST condition is in a pinch and we can no longer trust them. The reason is, the KST horde attacked our people first. In fact, during the crackdown on the KST, Julius suspected that several KKB members had died during a shootout with the TNI in Mugi District, Nduga, Papua Mountains.
On the other hand, as it was known that First Class F had been evacuated from a ravine with a depth of 140 meters under safe conditions, it was evident that the team was successful in evacuating the body. This means that the indication that the KST is starting to get squeezed is proven because there is no potential for a counterattack from the KST. Apart from that, it is confirmed that according to Julius the Papuan KST group has dispersed topsy-turvy.
Previously, an incident occurred on April 15 when 36 TNI soldiers were on a mission to save Susi Air pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens, one of its members died, namely Private F. The soldiers were on their way to the point of operation, suddenly received an attack from various directions by the KST mob. Up to 5 victims.
Meanwhile, private Private F is the fifth victim who died at the location because he was forced to save himself by jumping into a cliff from a cliff which has a height of about 140 meters because he was in a desperate position and had been surrounded by KST in Nduga, Papua.
Currently the security forces are committed to guarding and protecting the people of Papua, especially civilians from KST attacks which are still a problem in Cendrawasih Earth. However, there is actually no need to worry because KST is currently secured by the TNI and Polri security forces in order to create conduciveness in the Eastern Region.
Efforts to be able to fight against KST Papua are also carried out by the Papuan people themselves, not only continue to be attempted by security forces. Residents in Intan Jaya Regency, Central Papua even took up arms by equipping themselves with bows. This happened after KST carried out an attack for 2 days in their area, which made the residents angry because they continued to be used as shields.
With the full support of the local community, the security forces are increasingly tightening the combat alert operational area to crush the Papuan Separatist and Terrorist Group (KST) in order to create conduciveness and provide protection for Papuan civilians so that later they succeed in annihilating the rebels who are disturbing the order and safety of the Papuan people.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Bandung
