OPM attacks Indonesian military chopper in Papua

The separatist group, Free Papua Organization (OPM), shots at an Indonesian military helicopter in the province of Papua on Friday (22/02) as the crew was trying to evacuate the bodies of eight soldiers killed in the OPM’s attacks the day before.

Three crew members were wounded in Friday’s attack on the Super Puma helicopter, which was forced to abort its mission and rush the injured to a hospital, said Lt. Col. Jansen Simanjuntak, an army spokesman.

Eight soldiers and four civilians were killed in two separate attacks in the area on Thursday. The area is a stronghold of separatists who have battled Indonesian rule in the region.

In the deadliest attack Thursday, about 20 assailants armed with guns and machetes attacked a group of soldiers walking to Ilaga Airport in Puncak district to collect communication equipment, killing seven, Simanjuntak said.

Col. Agus Rianto, a national police spokesman said Friday, that four civilians were killed.

About an hour before that attack, OPM gunmen stormed an army post in Tingginambut, a village in neighboring Puncak Jaya district, and fatally shot one soldier and injured another before fleeing into the jungle, Simanjuntak said.

Simanjuntak identified the assailants as members of a local separatist group led by Goliat Tabuni.

Senior Security Minister Djoko Suyanto said the incidents were “very irresponsible acts by the OPM armed groups in Papua,” adding that “the government very strongly condemns such brutal incidents.” He said the perpetrators would be captured and prosecuted.

The former Dutch colony of Papua in the western part of New Guinea was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 following a U.N.-sponsored ballot.

Source: Associated Press

OPM kills 8 soldiers, 2 civilians in Indonesia

Free Papua Organization (OPM) killed eight soldiers and two civilians Thursday (21/02) in two separate attacks against the Indonesian army in the restive easternmost province of Papua, the military said.

About 20 assailants armed with guns and machetes attacked a group of nine soldiers walking to Ilaga Airport in Puncak district to collect communication equipment, killing seven, provincial army spokesman Lt. Col. Jansen Simanjuntak said.

He said two civilians working in a nearby farm were also killed in the attack.

About an hour earlier, gunmen stormed an army post in Tinggi Nambut, a village in neighboring Puncak Jaya district, and fatally shot one soldier and injured another before fleeing into the jungle, Simanjuntak said.

Indonesian military spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said the same group was responsible for both attacks in the area, a stronghold of separatists who have battled Indonesian rule.

“They are believed to be old players who always try to disturb the situation there,” Sitompul said in Jakarta, the capital.

Simanjuntak identified the assailants as a local separatist group led by Goliat Tabuni.

The former Dutch colony of Papua in the western part of New Guinea was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 following a U.N.-sponsored ballot.

Source: Associated Press

Indonesia monitors foreign links to West Papua rebels

INDONESIAN security services have suspicions but no firm proof that individual foreigners had linked with Papuan armed separatist groups.

“There are some suspicious that several foreign nationals personally maybe have links with those groups,” Lieutenant Colonel Jansen Simanjuntak told The Australian.

Lt-Colonel Jansen, spokesman for the Cenderawasih Military Command which oversees Indonesia’s two Papua provinces, was responding to the arrest and charging of an Australian man this week suspected of trying to join the separatist fight.

Prosecutors told Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday (05/12) that 45-year-old Gerard Michael Little was about to travel to West Papua to engage in “violent conflict against the Indonesian government” when he was arrested.

Little allegedly identified himself on a Facebook page as “Colonel G. Micheal Little, commanding officer OPM”, the Free Papua Movement.

The case is likely to prove long-held suspicions in TNI and BIN, the national security agency, that foreigners including NGOs and even missionaries, are fomenting unrest in the Papua provinces.

“Foreign individuals help to link separatist groups with foreign parties which can give moral support or material support,” said Lt-Colonel Jansen.

OPM has an armed wing engaged in sporadic clashes with Indonesian forces, usually the police.

Most recently, an OPM group in Lanny Jaya district, Papua, claimed responsibility for a November 27 attack on a police post that killed three officers.

Source: The Australian

The US Ambassador inquires about security situation in Papua

United States ambassador Scot Marciel sought information about the security situation in Papua during a visit to the regional military command headquarters here on Monday, according to command spokesman Lt Col Jansen Simanjuntak.

“During his recent visit to the Cenderawasih military regional command headquarters, Mr Marciel asked the command`s chief of staff, Brigadier General I Made Agra Sudiantara, about the security situation in Papua,” Lt Col Jansen stated.

In response, Brig. Gen. I Mada Agra Sudiantara said the situation in Papua was “peaceful” and security problems were handled by the police, with the military ready to assist upon request – in line with Law No. 34/2004 on TNI (military).

“The law is implemented using `soft power` through territorial supervision, while efforts are being made to accelerate economic development, including improving human resources, in the inland regions so Papua can catch up with other provinces,” he explained.

“The command`s chief of staff stated that the presence of TNI forces in Papua is in line with the legal mandate, while maintaining security is the job of the police,” Brig. Gen. Sudiantara said.

During his short visit, Marciel also expressed the US government`s support for Indonesia as a sovereign country.

“The US government is also proud of the current developments in the country, especially the changes that have happened in the TNI over the past 15 years,” Brig. Gen. Sudiantara pointed out.

“He also called for increased cooperation between the two countries in education, culture and military,” he added.

Source: ANTARA News