By : Veronica Lokbere )*
The Chairperson of the Indigenous Peoples in Papua firmly requested that KST Papua stop the terror they had been carrying out because it had caused a lot of losses in various ways. In addition, indigenous peoples want Papua to be full of peace for the sake of improving the welfare of the people themselves.
Terror acts were again carried out by the Papua Separatist and Terrorist Group (KST), where the abomination again caused both material losses and casualties. Most recently, KST opened fire on the Preparatory Military Command in the Gome District, Puncak Regency, Tuesday (28/3/2023). Apart from that, KST was also proven to have set fire to the teacher’s house. This brutal action was carried out by Ugly Waker and Numbuk Talenggen.
Some time ago, KST also attacked joint personnel consisting of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri) when the security forces were guarding the Tarawih prayers in Puncak Jaya Regency, Central Papua.
As a result of the action carried out by KST Papua, then as many as 3 (three) members of the security forces became victims of shootings. It is known that the incident occurred at the Al Amaliah Ilu Mosque, Ilu District on Saturday, March 25 2023. Later, it was reported that as many as 2 (two) members of the security forces died.
Meanwhile, another victim suffered a gunshot wound, but is still conscious. The identities of the members who were shot were Serda Riswar, members of the 1714-02/Ilu Koramil and Bripda Mesak Indey, members of the Ilu Police. Serda Riswar suffered gunshot wounds to the spine and lower chin, while Bripda Mesak Indey was injured in the abdomen. While one other personnel, namely Brigadier M Arif Hidayat, suffered a gunshot wound in the thigh.
The chronology of the incident occurred at 20:00 WIT, when suddenly an unknown person attacked the security forces who were on guard. They opened fire from behind the mosque.
According to the Head of Public Relations of the Papua Police, Kombes Pol Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, the perpetrators were allegedly two people from one of the kiosks around the location. The perpetrators were known to use a short-barreled weapon and also a long-barreled weapon.
Suddenly, after the incident, the situation and conditions in Puncak Jaya Regency became Alert One. The Kapolres and all his staff admit that they are continuing to increase their vigilance to be able to anticipate the possibility of further attacks on members in the field. Not only that, but the police are also still hunting for the perpetrators of the shooting.
On the other hand, with the shooting cases that put Puncak Jaya Regency on alert one, the Chairman of the Papuan Indigenous Peoples’ Organization, Lenis Kogoya, then appealed to KST Papua to immediately stop all the acts of violence and killings that they had committed in the Land of Papua.
According to him, it would be much better if we could jointly develop Papua, especially now that there has also been a regional division through the New Autonomous Region (DOB), which was previously only two provinces and has now become 6 provinces. So according to Lenis, there is no need for things to be debated and fought over all the time, even to the point of causing someone’s life to be lost.
The Papuan Traditional Leader then continued to try to invite KST, especially those under the leadership of Egianus Kogoya, to be able to participate in advancing Cenderawasih Earth so that it becomes much more prosperous and peaceful in the future. He feels responsible for being able to coordinate with each group for good and development in Papua.
Even firmly, Lenis admitted that her party and also traditional institutions would continue to pursue KST Papua. For him, the Separatist and Terrorist Groups must be able to be invited and dragged into joining and devoting their hard work to advancing Papua.
According to the KSP Staff for Politics and Security, Egianus also has a vision of realizing prosperity for the people of Papua. However, the way is to liberate Papua by breaking away from Indonesia. Meanwhile, Lenis wants to liberate Papua through education, health and the economy.
On another occasion, the Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI), Bambang Soesatyo (Bamsoet) stated that the central government together with the joint military and police apparatus really needed to increase the number of personnel. This is done in order to strengthen and improve security in the Papua region and also break the chain of basic needs for KST Papua.
For Bamsoet, the addition of these personnel is an effort to ensure the security and safety of the Papuan people, be it those in the area where the terror act recently occurred, namely Puncak Jaya, or throughout the Papua region which does have the potential for KST attacks.
So far, the terror that continues to be carried out by KST Papua must be stopped immediately because it has been very detrimental and damaged many things. Therefore, the Chairperson of the Indigenous Peoples in Papua immediately emphasized that the KST immediately stop all the atrocities they had committed and invited them to jointly develop Papua.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Yogyakarta