By: Rebecca Marian) *
In December, it is just a matter of days. The situation in Papua and West Papua shows conduciveness and tends to be safe, especially ahead of the OPM anniversary. Nevertheless the OPM Anniversary celebration turned out to get rejection from indigenous Papuans who have known the actions of OPM who often carry out inhumane actions against the Orang Asli Papua.
OPM has a track record that shows that the group wants to separate from NKRI. For the sake of realizing the interests of the group, they did not hesitate to attack civilians and even the security forces such as the police and the military.
Papua Regional Police Chief Inspector General Paulus Waterpauw revealed that there was a security threat ahead of the Independence Day of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) on 1 December 2019 which they had been celebrating since 1962.
To anticipate unwanted events, the Papua Regional Police has prepared a number of steps to prevent security and public order (Kamtibmas), one of which is by making approaches to build communication with the community and collaborate with fellow citizens to create conditions.
To reduce the impact of the provocation that might occur, the Papua Regional Police made agendas such as sporting events, arts and direction for soothing lectures.
The activity is expected to prevent the Papuan people from various provocations to enliven the OPM Anniversary conducted at OPM headquarters both in the forest and in cities.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD admitted that the government needed to be aware of unexpected opinions ahead of the anniversary of the OPM Anniversary which was celebrated on December 1.
The man who once served as a leader in the Constitutional Court said, political propaganda could appear ahead of the anniversary of the OPM Anniversary. He ensured that the government had prepared anticipatory steps so that the situation remained safe and under control. Mahfud said that security standards in Papua did not change. The security standard will be set for a number of parties, including the security forces.
As citizens of the Republic of Indonesia, of course we must understand that the United Nations (UN) has rejected the Papua referendum plan, and has decided that Papua is part of the Indonesian State which cannot be contested by any interest.
The decision was made by the Indonesian Ambassador / Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Dian Triansyah Djani in Geneva, Hasan Kleib.
OPM Anniversary really does not need to be celebrated, moreover the group only tarnished fellow nation’s children. The betrayal and cruelty they committed has proven to undermine the peace of the land of Papua. Whether they are moving on their own or have been exploited by foreign parties, it is clear that OPM has done a lot of underground propaganda through online media to gain international sympathy and support by exploiting human rights issues in Papua.
The propaganda turned out to be quite effective for the OPM to seek support as indicated by the number of human rights activist institutions that gave attention to the Free Papua activists, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Komnasham, Kontras and so on.
Requests for support to foreign countries, of course, produce different framing, where foreign countries will be herded that Indonesia is a country that is committing human rights violations, even though Indonesia is struggling to maintain its sovereignty.
It is also possible that OPM and its wing organizations will create a riot in their anniversary. Such as provocation on social media to take action to the streets for example.
The public is also called to beware of all provocation efforts from groups who want to break away from the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, especially as we know that the OPM has weapons supplied from foreign countries, lest our sense of unity be torn apart by a handful of people who want to escape from the lap of the Republic of Indonesia. The struggle of course is not only against other nations, but also against their own nation.
Therefore, OPM’s own birthday must be watched out. Do not let the traitors of the Republic of Indonesia continue to threaten peace in Papua. All parties must be able to act and act for a peaceful and progressive Papua.
That is why, we still must unite to protect the motherland and not be afraid of anyone who wants to tear the unity of the Indonesian people. Because Guarding Papua is Guarding Indonesia which upholds diversity.
) * The writer is a Papuan student living in Jakarta
