Rev. Albert Yoku: Acts of Terror and Pilot Hostage by KST, Hindering the Development and Progress of Papua

The hostage-taking of the Susi Air plane pilots and the series of acts of violence that have been carried out by the Papuan Separatist Terrorist Group (KST) have received scrutiny from local traditional and religious leaders, moreover the aircraft pilots are considered to have the courage to fight and risk their lives to open isolation in Papua and help distribute basic needs for the people of Papua.

The head of the Jayapura Regency Religious Harmony Forum (FKUB), Albert Yoku, said that since the 1960s the area of ​​Papua has been isolated, especially in mountainous areas.

“That year, the arrival of missionaries from Germany and the US began. America is trying to establish communication with the indigenous tribes of the mountains with the intention of making humane changes in the future. One of them is transportation,’ he said.

According to Rev. Albert, the sacrifice of the pilots is not small to be able to bring civilization and development in mountainous Papua, because they risk their lives with short routes and sometimes bad weather.
He also explained, the term ‘one stove three stones’ is usually used for mediation, negotiations based on local wisdom.

“For example, in this hostage-taking area, actually the role of the Regent together with religious leaders, there is also the role of the government, I really encourage the Indigenous Peoples of the Mountains to take part in this activity, because those who know the local wisdom approach, in terms of language, culture and others are these three elements,” said Rev. Albert.

Rev. Albert and other religious leaders in Papua deeply regretted the hostage-taking of the Air Side Pilot.

“If the hostage-taking of one pilot causes 1,000 pilots not to fly to serve the people in the mountains, this will be a tremendous setback. For that, Egianus Kogoya must know that the pilot is a person of merit because he left his family and is ready to take risks in that area, so traditional leaders must talk about the death of Papua’s development,” he said.

In the same event, Political Observer Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, said that it was their mission to open isolation in the mountainous region of Papua, including the Dutch-graduated pilots, they also brought basic materials.

“Susi Air, which has been active in Papua since 2006, has finally been able to enter parts of Papua, and now operating 22 aircraft is very important. Regardless of the government’s efforts since the Soeharto era until now Jokowi, it is indeed impossible to cross the mountainous area by land,” he said.

Therefore, continued Nusa Bhakti, pioneer flights are very important. This is not the first time the pilot plane has been set on fire by the KKB, in 2021 the same incident occurred. This shows how big the role of our brothers who want to go to other areas.

“However, peace in Papua is very important, not only for the local people and the Indonesian people as a whole, but also for the international community because of the large number of investments in the land of Papua. If there is really no other choice, of course the security approach will be used and what will happen in the future must be carefully calculated,” he concluded. [-rw]