By: Jeremiah Kogoya) *
Not only demanding a referendum, the Separatist group of Papua already has a black record of various atrocities committed against fellow children of the nation. This certainly cannot be ignored, because it will potentially divide the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.
One of the atrocities that still imprints is the OPM aggression on December 1, 2018, which was claimed as the day of independence for West Papua. The event was accompanied by a burning stone agenda with the local community. Because a PT Istaka Karya worker took a picture of the series of events, the Separatist Criminal Group then went to their base camp.
At that time the separatist group arrived at around 15:00 CET. With various sharp weapons and firearms, dozens of members of the group forced 25 PT Istaka Karya workers out of the base camp.
Next, they were led to Karunggame River in the condition of their hands tied, “he added. Until Sunday the workers are not released. Around 07.00 CET they were taken to the top of Bukit Kabo.
On the way from Karunggame River to Bukit Kabo, dozens of PT Istaka Karya workers were asked to walk squatting, at that time the OPM fired on them.
Some workers were shot dead on the spot, some pretended to be lying dead on the ground. A total of eleven PT Istaka Karya workers are pretending to be lifeless. However, five of them were caught when trying to run away. They were immediately attacked using sharp weapons.
The incident certainly makes us have to be aware of the beginning of December, so there are no similar events that can cause casualties.
OPM’s actions are clearly humanitarian crimes and OPM is not only a selling organization of false hopes for the welfare of Papua but also a criminal and terror group that must be immediately crushed by the state.
In addition, the separatist group West Papua National Liberation Army (TNPB) has surprisingly recruited a number of children and adolescents to fight the Indonesian military forces. Such actions would have violated international conventions and violated children’s rights to get a good education.
In the context of propaganda, TNPB has documented the formation of child soldiers. In one photo, we can see teenagers with black painted faces. They then held rifles complete with ammunition and wore military-style uniforms like soldiers who were about to leave for war.
The separatist group assumed that these children would automatically become fighters and opponents of the Indonesian colonial military. It said, around 12 child soldiers aged between 15 and 18 years are currently fighting for their groups in various regions in Papua.
Of course this is not justified, because the UN working group has set out for children and armed conflict. In international human rights law, 18 years is the minimum age for legal recruitment and use of children in warfare.
A senior lecturer at the University of Auckland specializing in terrorism and conflict in Indonesia, Chris Wilson, said that the use of child soldiers certainly added to the long list of atrocities of the Separatist Groups in Papua.
In addition, the track record of Papuan separatist atrocities occurred on Friday, August 16, 2019, at which time separatist groups carried out ambushes and firing on convoys of the Satrahas Pamrahwan logistical transport vehicle on the Trans Wamena-Habema road.
At 15:30 CEST, 2 units of Hilux vehicles that had just finished delivering supplies to the Pamrahwan Pos TNI personnel who were in Mbua, were shot with bullets in the vicinity of kilometer 39 of Trans Wamena-Habema Road.
The shooter is believed to be an armed separatist group led by Egianus Kogoya. The shot came from 2 directions namely the height and the valley that is on the right and left of the road.
Gun contact occurred for about 20 minutes. Fireballs from TNI personnel drove the group to flee.
After the situation began to be conducive, 2 TNI soldiers were reportedly injured by the impact of hot lead. First banner was shot in the left arm and First Sirwandi shot in the left thigh.
Of course we do not want the atrocities to continue, Indonesia is big because of a sense of unity in difference. Not necessarily hostile to fellow nation children. Atrocities committed by separatist groups must receive the appropriate punishment.
) * The writer is a Papuan student living in Jakarta
