ASIA/INDONESIA - Escalation of violence in the province of Papua: Church calls for moderation

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - Tension increases in the Indonesian province of Papua (called Irian Jaya), in eastern Indonesia, plagued by separatist turmoil but also the scene of a general protest by civil society for the abuses and violations of human rights committed by the Indonesian army military. The government of Jakarta is about to deploy a contingent of 400 soldiers from the "Satan Battalion" in the Indonesian province of Papua to counter the Papuan armed separatist groups. The deployment follows the Indonesian government's decision to officially label local armed separatist groups as "terrorists".
Publicly announced by Mahfud, Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, the decision was motivated by the urgency of "eradicating criminal acts of terrorism" from the province. It is known that in the province of Papua there is the West Papua National Liberation Army, an armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (FPM). The FPM has repeatedly claimed responsibility for attacks on military but also unarmed civilians in different parts of the Papua provinces. Mahfud's decision was fully supported by political groups and parties including some civil society organizations which accused the armed separatists of committing numerous acts of violence against police forces, but also against civilian personnel. The episode that prompted Jakarta to act was the killing of the intelligence chief resident in Papua: General Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, killed in an ambush by the National Liberation Army of West Papua in Puncak, on April 24. On the other hand, numerous groups that defend human rights have expressed strong opposition to the government's measure: it is feared that civilians will suffer reprisals for the assassination of a high-ranking military official. Speaking with Agenzia Fides, Indonesian political analyst J. Kristiadi disagrees with the decision: "Defining separatist groups as terrorists is very risky. In Papua, separatist groups are proud fighters. They fight for the independence of West Papua. The main reason for the struggle is political and ideological. Fighting for political values is a right, like freedom of speech, expression, conscience. It would be preferable to condemn individual acts of terrorist and bring those responsible to justice". Since there is a risk of an escalation of violence in the province, the local Catholic Church calls on military leaders and rebel groups to declare a truce in order not to fall into a generalized conflict, which would bring a humanitarian and social emergency in the region. According to Catholic leaders, the government's move to put separatists on the list of terrorist groups may trigger an escalation of violence in the troubled region of eastern Indonesia. This is "an unproductive move that could undermine the efforts of religious leaders to forge peace in the region", said a note from the diocese of Timika, Papua. In the letter sent to Fides, Father Marthen Kuayo, Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Timika, says: "We, leaders of the Catholic Church in the diocese of Timika, are deeply concerned about the recent violence and the response that has increased tension in Papua in recent weeks". "Civilians are the first innocent victims of clashes between rebels and security forces", and often innocent families are displaced or even victims of the crossfire. The local Church invites military and separatist leaders "to show restraint and observe a ceasefire in order to find together a dignified, humane, open and respectful solution". The government's purely military approach, the text notes, has so far failed to address the problems in the region and "has only created hatred among the people", while "it is necessary to rebuild peace and justice in Papua". (MH-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 6/5/2021)

Share:

human rights

---

---

civil society

---

---

violence

---

---

armed groups

---

---