Government Avoids Civilian Victims and Prioritizes Negotiations on the Release of Susi Air Pilots
Papua – Until now a Susi Air pilot named Capt. Phillip Marthens is still being held hostage by KST led by Egianus Kogoya. The government doesn’t want to do the scorched earth method because it’s afraid it will make Papuans become victims. However, KST is not left alone, and there will be ongoing negotiations until the pilot is released.
The Susi Air plane was burned and the pilot taken hostage. This tense event occurred in Nduga Regency, Papua. The authorities moved quickly and took firm action against the KST who did it. This separatist group must be dealt with firmly and measurably so that they don’t take hostages indiscriminately and tarnish Papua’s good name in the eyes of the world.
The Separatist and Terrorist Group (KST) took hostage a New Zealand pilot named Phillip Marthens. The public criticized KST for always committing crimes. The government is not standing still and President Jokowi is trying various ways to free the pilot. With diplomacy, the government is optimistic about Capt. Phillip will soon be released.
TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono stated that he did not choose the option of attacking the KST led by Egianus Kogoya to free pilot Susi Air. He was afraid that this method could cause victims from among the civil society. Even so, the negotiation efforts to release Capt. Phillip also continues to walk.
Laksamana Yudo added that the negotiation effort was led by the Acting Regent of Nduga with the involvement of traditional, religious and community leaders. However, negotiations were not easy to do because of Papua’s geographical conditions which made the mobility of the negotiating team take a lot of time. Therefore, there is no limit for the negotiating team to do their job. while the negotiating team is working, the TNI apparatus is still tasked with maintaining the security situation in Papua.
Negotiations are prioritized to avoid casualties from Papuan civilians. It is indeed possible to carry out a scorched earth operation and deploy more officers to search for the whereabouts of KST in a Spartan manner. However, people’s safety takes precedence, for fear that KST will take revenge.
Even though the negotiation route was chosen, the public need not be afraid because the Susi Air pilot will be released by the government and will not be left alone. Even though he is a foreign citizen, his kidnapping is in Indonesia, so the government will be held responsible.
Currently KST is negotiating and they are asking for 5 billion rupiah if the government wants Capt. Phillip is released. This request was different from the previous ones, because at first they insisted that Papua be liberated from Indonesia if the government wanted the Susi Air pilot to be freed.
The negotiation process has not yet been completed and there has been no decision whether to give a ransom or not. However, KST’s requests have diminished because they have softened somewhat, by only asking for money, no longer Papua’s freedom. If KST insists on independence, it will not be granted because Papua is a legal part of Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Komnas HAM Representative for Papua, Frits Ramandey, stated that he was asked to become a negotiator in the Susi Air pilot kidnapping case. entrusting Komnas HAM Papua to become a negotiator succeeded in reducing the impact of threats made by KST.
In a sense, the negotiation is still in progress and there are many parties who support it. Starting from representatives of Komnas HAM Papua, religious leaders, and community leaders. When there are negotiations, a middle way is sought so that Capt. Phillip was immediately released and returned to his country.
In this case it does not mean that the government remains silent. The security forces continue to be deployed in the context of the KST eradication mission as well as hunting for their members, in order to save Capt. Phillip.
One of the KST leaders, Jefri Pagawak, is on the wanted list (DPO). Jefri’s whereabouts are known to be in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This was revealed by the Head of Peaceful Operations Cartenz 2023, Kombes Pol Faizal Ramadhani.
In addition, it is reported that the Susi Air pilot is still being held hostage by KST led by Egianus Kogoya and he is in good health. The apparatus continued to search and arrest KST until they succeeded in capturing Egianus Kogoya’s men with the initials YL. He served as a spy overseeing whether there were officers pursuing KST.
Having YL arrested is a good thing because he can be interrogated so he can confess where the KST headquarters are. He was also forced to tell the location of Capt. Phillip so that he can be found and released immediately.
KST must be dealt with firmly so that it doesn’t go around kidnapping and burning planes. What’s more, what was burned was a commercial plane, not owned by the government (a state-owned company), so it had nothing to do with the central government.
The Joint Team of Carstensz Peaceful Operations continues to search the Nduga area and its surroundings and they are determined to find the KST headquarters, which is suspected to be the hiding place of Egianus Kogoya cs.
The government avoided violent means or scorched earth operations in order to find the Susi Air pilot who was kidnapped by KST led by Egianus Kogoya. The reason is because to avoid falling victims from Papuans. Negotiations are continuing so that KST immediately releases the pilot.
