Intan Jaya Regency in Papua witnessed acts of terror committed by the Terrorist Separatist Group (KST). This action caused deep anxiety and trauma. Moreover, the situation in the region was not conducive. The community also united with TNI/Polri personnel to jointly crush the group.
Colonel Kav Herman Taryaman as the Head of Information for Regional Command (Kapendam) XVII / Cenderawasih said, On Sunday (23/4) the KST mob used 2 long-barreled firearms trying to carry out an attack on TNI Yonif 305 / TKR officers while in Sambili Village heading to Kampung Kusage. The TNI personnel then took action until there was gunfire, causing the Papuan KST members to flee.
As a result of the disturbance launched by the KST, the people who live in Sambili Village, Kusagedan Village and Mamba Bawah Village feel restless and disturbed. This unrest also sparked commotion between the Papuan KB group and the people in the village.
The community has even tried to expel and provide resistance to KST Papua, which so far has often spread threats and used civilians as shields.
On 24/04/2023, KST Papua members again attacked and shot at Brimob Polri personnel in Bilogai Village, Intan Jaya Regency. When the attack occurred, the security forces were immediately on standby to anticipate attacks from KST Papua. Apart from that, the people in Bilogai village also gathered with bows and arrows to drive away the KST.
KST itself is known as a selfish group that knows no mercy towards Papuan civil society and only cares about itself. Even the KST elite themselves apparently don’t live in Indonesia, they live abroad with various luxuries that are not available to KST members in Papua.
Currently KST is still holding hostage Susi Air Philips pilot Mark Mehrtens. Various negotiations that have been carried out in fact have not yielded the right results. Even during the operation to free Pilot Susi Air, five TNI soldiers died as a result of a KST Papua shot while approaching the position of the hostage taker Philips Merthens in Nduga.
Philip Mark Mehrtens has been held hostage by KST since February 7 2023. Philip was held hostage by KST after landing his plane at the Paro airport, Nduga Regency, Papua Mountains. In addition to holding Philip as hostage, KST also burned a Pilatus Porter aircraft owned by Susi Air.
Most recently, last Friday (28/4), KST carried out another act of terror in the Ilaga District, Puncak Regency, Central Papua. This time KST reportedly burned down five residents’ houses. Not only that, the KST factions were also involved in attacking each other which resulted in one of the KKB leaders, Joni Botak.
Meanwhile, the TNI also gave a warning to KST to immediately hand over the Susi Air Capt Philips Mark Mehrtens hostage. They were also asked to remove their weapons so that there would be no more shootings.
Kapuspen Headquarters TNI Rear Admiral, Julius Widjojono appealed to the public not to be instigated by propaganda from KST. In order to immediately separate themselves and evacuate to a safe area. Because, based on the results of the operation in Nduga which was upgraded to a combat alert, the KST had been successfully pinned down by the TNI.
The Susi Air pilot search operation is still being carried out with an escalation of combat alert. His party could no longer trust KST, KST was the one who attacked first and they were currently in a pinch.
Julius explained, the reason the KST had started to get squeezed was because it was suspected that several KST personnel had died during a shootout in the Mugi District, Nduga, Papua Mountains.
The reason the two KST parties had started to get squeezed was because of the evacuation process for First Class F who was lifted from a 140 meter deep ravine. There is no longer any potential attack by KST. The rescue team can evacuate at that depth, they must have been attacked if conditions were not safe.
Private F himself died when he joined the Yonif R 321/GT Task Force, which consisted of 36 personnel. However, while on the way to the operating point. Suddenly 36 personnel were attacked from all directions by the KST mob which resulted in 5 soldiers becoming victims.
Private F had jumped into the ravine (escape), to avoid being shot from KST. Private First Class F’s body was found by the Joint Team when conducting a search and trace after the shooting incident by KST during a search mission for Pilot Susi Air.
What is no less troubling is the involvement of junior and senior high school students, where KST provoked the group to attack TNI personnel.
It seems that the Papuan people have not remained silent when the KST has disturbed the peace in Papua, KST’s brutality cannot be tolerated, moreover they have dared to recruit middle and high school students to carry out attacks on the TNI, of course this cannot be tolerated.
Security in Papua is not only the responsibility of the TNI-Polri, but also the responsibility of the people who live in Papua, so it’s not surprising that the Papuan people, who are irritated by KST’s actions, will unite to expel the group with the weapons they have.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Bali