TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Shooting incident not related to Jokowi visit: Religious leader
Potential peacemaker: President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo is scheduled to visit Papua from Dec
Change Size
.jpg)
P
span class="inline inline-center">Potential peacemaker: President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo is scheduled to visit Papua from Dec. 29 to Jan. 2. It is expected that the visit will result in effective and permanent solutions for conflict in the area. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
The recent shooting incident in Sinak, Puncak regency, Papua, in which three police officers were killed, had no connection with President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's plan to visit Papua at the end of the year, a religious leader has said.
'The shooting incident was only a sign of the unresolved hierarchical conflict between the Indonesian government and Papua's indigenous people, especially those who identify as members of the separatist Free Papua Movement [OPM]. The conflicts are ongoing,' said Papua Peace Network (JDP) coordinator Rev. Neles Tebay on Monday.
He said that violent tactics had been a common response to problems during the 52 years of Papua's integration with the Republic of Indonesia, but that violence had not been able resolve the problems. Instead, he said, violent tactics had only triggered revenge attacks and created a vicious circle of retribution.
Neles said that more civilians and members of security forces would fall victim to the conflict if the government did not find a proper solution.
'JDP still believes that the violent hierarchical conflict in Papua can be ended peacefully by all stakeholders,' the reverend said.
'Violent hierarchical conflict between the government and OPM members cannot be resolved by simply calling on them to leave their shelters in the forests and return to their home villages to work on development projects. Such appeals have been proven to be ineffective,' he added.
Rev. Neles recalled that in one effort to end the conflict, Indonesian security authorities had air dropped thousands of Bibles to Papuan forest areas with the hope that OPM members would find the Bibles, read them, repent and agree to end their separatist movement. However, the method was not successful.
'Therefore, it's time for the government and OPM members to seek a realistic solution to end this hierarchical conflict,' said Neles.
He said that the JDP had suggested that the solution be pursued through a dialogue involving government and OPM representatives.
'In the dialogue, the two parties should not blame and point fingers at each other, but jointly identify core problems and seek solutions that are acceptable to both the government and OPM members,' said Neles. (ebf)
