By: Dika Samba
Recently, the Papuan Separatist and Terrorist Group (KST) has increasingly shown its actions and actions to disrupt the Republic of Indonesia, where this group has carried out violence that has ended in killing civilians and even indigenous Papuans. The government remains in strong synergy with the security forces in finding long-term solutions/strategies to achieve stability in the Papua region.
Currently, KST Papua is acting up again and has not stopped its cruelty by carrying out attacks on six TNI soldiers in Nduga Regency, Mountainous Papua. From the KST Papua attack, six soldiers were killed and two others were injured. The four soldiers were attacked due to a pursuit operation against the TPNPB-OPM.
Based on this attack, the Papua Police Chief, Inspector General Mathius D. Fakhiri, said that the security forces should not be provoked by the actions carried out by KST Papua and should not be careless in taking action because it is very risky to life. The authorities must remain vigilant so that this incident does not happen again.
The authorities will continue to take firm action against KST Papua which has been creating disturbances, including dismantling the group’s networks.
Inspector General Mathius D. Fakhiri said that the security forces had certainly prepared law enforcement measures, many Papuan KST members had been arrested and this would continue to be developed so that all Papuan KST networks could be arrested.
Apart from killing security officers, KST Papua has also killed 3 workers in Jambul Village, Beoga District, Puncak Regency. The murder was carried out at 15.30 WIT in the vicinity of the West Beoga Community Health Center Development project. Three Papuan KST members used pistols and machetes to carry out torture. There were gunshot wounds to the arms and slash wounds on the body of the victim who died.
Based on public information, there were three victims who were project workers who died and two others survived. This action caused Papuan people to be afraid that they were unable to carry out their daily activities and the development process was hampered because the development area was an area that was frequently crossed by KST Papua.
From this incident, it really is a warning that KST Papua which is in the Puncak Regency area is still continuing to carry out its actions around Puncak Regency without looking at either the Security Forces or the civil society who are their targets.
Responding to the increasingly brutal actions of KST Papua, TNI commander General Agus Subiyanto said a special strategy was needed in dealing with KST Papua which was increasingly vulnerable to attacks that killed a number of soldiers. In handling the conflict in Papua, smart power must be used. Namely, soft power remains the main step and hard power is the last resort.
Hard power is the last way to deal with the conflict in Papua, this is the solution because the KST Papua attacks are increasingly brutal. However, the security forces continue to take firm action, where the Cartenz 2023 Peace Task Force together with the Papua Regional Police continue to tighten security in nine operational areas which are considered to be crime hotspots for the KKB.
Handling the conflict in Papua must use intelligent mechanisms, namely a combination of soft and hard approaches. However, a series of KKB attacks resulted in the death of a number of TNI soldiers.
AKBP Bayu Suseno, Head of the Cartenz 2023 Peace Public Relations Task Force (Kasatgas), said that his party was actively carrying out early detection and intensive patrols in the nine Cartenz peace operation areas. The joint TNI-Polri team that entered Cartenz’ peace focused on security in nine areas to prevent security disturbances from groups that wanted to separate themselves from the Republic of Indonesia.
Handling KST actions in Papua involves a combination of security approaches and non-security efforts. This includes military or police operations to address armed violence, as well as diplomacy, dialogue, and development efforts to achieve long-term solutions to problems.
Efforts to prevent conflict and handle situations wisely can also help create a safe and stable environment for all Papuan people. The success of the crackdown on KST Papua is a manifestation of TNI-Polri synergy. TNI soldiers participated, actively supporting law enforcement operations carried out by security forces.
It is hoped that the security forces’ firm action and strong strategy will have a deterrent effect on KST which is seriously hampering prosperity in the Papua region. The public is expected to remain calm and continue to build, because the government is only cracking down on armed KST, while civilians are definitely protected.
KST Papua must take firm action because it always commits violence and even murder which clearly violates human rights. The people of the country need to fully support the efforts made by the security forces and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia in taking very firm action in accordance with the applicable legal provisions of the Papuan KST and there is no tolerance whatsoever for groups who want to disrupt the Republic of Indonesia.
)* Papuan student living in Yogyakarta
