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member of the House of Representatives accused the government of conducting illegal military operations in poverty-stricken Papua, which has seen a spike in violence involving security officials.

The deputy chairman of the House’s Commission I, Maj. Gen. (ret) T.B. Hasanuddin, said in a House meeting with researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) on Tuesday that at no time had the President, or even the Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs minister, been involved in the decision-making concerning military operations in Papua. “If we refer to the 2004 Indonesian Military [TNI] Law, however,” he argued, “military operations to handle separatist movements should have a ‘political affirmation’, meaning [those operations] should first seek approval from the President and the House.”

“The only ones involved in discussing [military operations in Papua] were the TNI commanders who were in charge over there.”

The government has repeatedly denied there have been any military operations in Papua, although the military often collaborated in security operations overseen by the National Police. TNI spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul told The Jakarta Post that the TNI’s tasks in Papua merely consisted of “defending the borders and assisting the police in upholding domestic security”.

“What Pak Hasanuddin said was right: that all military operations require approval from the President and the House,” Iskandar said. “But in reality, there were never any military operations in Papua. Our tasks there were purely to defend the RI-New Guinea border and assist the police if they so requested.”

The House’s Commission I, which oversees defense, foreign affairs and information, summoned the LIPI researchers, who have conducted intensive research on Papua and helped develop the so-called “Papua Road Map” in 2008, to help solve the recent escalating violence in the country’s easternmost region. The House also planned to summon the head of the Unit for the Acceleration of Development in Papua and West Papua (UP4B), Lt. Gen. (ret) Bambang Darmono, Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, as well as representatives from human rights watchdogs, such as the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

In the hearing with LIPI, Hasanuddin urged the TNI to halt their military operations, and he suggested there be a ceasefire in Papua as a solution for the worsening conflict in the province.

“If there are still military patrols, raids, or ‘sweepings’ against indigenous Papuans, such as what happened in Jakarta recently, I can guarantee 100 percent that any efforts to start peace talks will not be welcomed by the local Papuan population.”

LIPI researcher Muridan Satrio Widjojo also slammed the police and TNI operations in Papua, describing both branches of the security forces as the “main actors” behind the continuing conflict.

“There should be a thorough evaluation of the deployment of police and TNI personnel to Papua,” Muridan said. (sat)