By: Rebecca Marian)*
The Papuan Separatist Terrorist Group (KST) is still a threat to Indonesia, especially in the Papua region. The community also supports law enforcement against the gang so that Papua’s stability is maintained.
On April 3, 2022, members of the Cartenz Peace Operations Task Force managed to shoot dead Ali Teu Kogoya, who is strongly suspected of being a member of the KST led by Lekagak Telenggen in Kago, Ilaga District, Puncak Regency, Papua.
Direskrimun Polda Papua Kombes Faizal Ramadhani said that when the police chased him, Ali Teu Kogoya alias ATK was suspected of observing the security post.
The crime scene is not far from the security post and the Polsek, if the straight line is only 200 meters, the incident a month earlier where one resident was shot was also in the same place.
According to Faizal, the success of the security forces in detecting the presence of ATK is an order from the Papuan Police Chief to Polres in vulnerable areas to strengthen security in the city.
Faizal said the Kapolda had ordered five police chiefs to arrange a city system so that the presence of each group could be anticipated to attack the general public or the TNI-Polri. This is one indication that this system is starting to have an impact.
The Cartenz Peace Operations Task Force is known to have shot and killed one of the KST members, Ali Kogoya, in Ilaga, Puncak Regency, Papua, Sunday, April 3, 2022. The KST member was shot by officers for trying to resist and shoot the officers when they were about to be arrested.
This decisive step from the apparatus is of course a form of anticipation of things that are not desirable. Because the existence of these separatist groups has disturbed civil society in Papua.
On March 31, 2022, KST shot a member of the TNI, causing the death of one TNI member who served in Dandim 1702 and his wife, who is a midwife.
KST, led by Undius Kogoya and Aibon Kogoya, was reported to have burned down a one-roof elementary-junior high school building and mistreated teachers in Hitadipa District, Intan Jaya Regency, Papua on Wednesday 30 March 2022.
The Head of Public Relations of the Papua Police, Kombes Ahmad Musthofa Kamal, in Jayapura, admitted that the report he received revealed that the incident occurred at 17.50 WIT, after members of the group saw smoke billowing from the direction of Hitadipa Village. After seeing a puff of smoke, the members conducted an investigation and it was confirmed that KKB had burned the Hitadipa one-roof school building.
According to witness statements, at around 16.30 WIT KKB went to Hitadipa Village and then burned the one-roof school building YPPGI-SMP N 2 Hitadipa totaling 9 classes. KST not only burned the school building but also persecuted civilians including a teacher at the school who was burned by KST. After burning and persecuting KST residents, they fled from Hitadipa Village.
In addition, KST led by Egianus Kogoya also attacked the Navy Marine Battalion Mupe Task Force Post in Kenyam, Nduga on March 26, 2022. The attack used a grenade-throwing weapon (GLM) causing 10 soldiers to suffer gunshot wounds.
Nduga Police Chief Kompol Budhiarta said that the attack was carried out by KST from two directions and they were all carrying firearms. Even the sound of gunshots from the GLM grenade launcher held by Egianus Kogoya was heard as far as the Nduga Police, which is about 1.2 KM from the Mupe Task Force Post.
He also mentioned that the GLM brought by Egianus Kogoya along with the firearms brought by KST members during the attack were looted weapons that belonged to the TNI.
Prior to the attack, the people around Kenyam had heard information stating that KKB would carry out an attack but it was not known exactly when and where.
KST has become a real threat to the state, they have become the cause of commotion and unrest in Papua to the point of claiming lives both from the military and civilians.
The government, especially the TNI-Polri, must take strict action against anyone KST members who are involved in all the chaos and disturbances in Papua. The state must not lose to KST, because after all, people in Papua have the right to a safe life and away from chaos.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Jakarta
