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ver 150 members of the separatist group Free Papua Movement (OPM) have agreed to end their resistance and conveyed their pledge of allegiance to the Republic of Indonesia, according to a statement released by the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Friday.

TNI spokesperson Col. Alfret Denny Tuejeh attributed the surrender of the separatist group members to the successful approach of Sinak district military commander (Danramil) First Lt. Yusuf Rumi, who promised their safe return, among other things.

“It was a long process before all of the members decided to leave the OPM. They agreed to leave their group after he [Yusuf] guaranteed their safety,” Denny told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Utaringen Telenggen, one of the 154 former OPM members, said they had become aware that they received no benefits from being part of an armed separatist group.

The ex-OPM members also requested Puncak Jaya regent Willem Wandik to give them each a honai (traditional Papuan house). Both TNI and local administration officials agreed to fulfill this demand.

Utaringen and his compatriots conveyed their pledge of allegiance to the country during a ceremony on Monday, during which they were handed Indonesia’s flag in front of the Jayapura regent, police and military officials and local residents.

The 154 former OPM members came from Kampung Weni and Kampung Rumagi in Mageabume, Puncak Jaya.

Separately, Socrates Sofyan Yoman, the chairman of Papua’s Alliance of Baptist Churches, claimed the surrender was engineered by the authorities.

Socrates said they were not OPM. They were just ordinary people presented as separatist group members by regents in Papua for political motives.

He said such an act would not resolve problems in Papua.

The right way to deal with problems in Papua, he said, was by authorities sitting together with the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), an organization that was fully supported by Papuan people and was recognized by the international community.

He said the root of the problem in Papua involved several governmental issues.

First, the government should address the political status of Papua and its history in becoming Indonesia, which Papuans do not view as final as it was conducted at gun point, rather than in a democratic fashion.

Second, the alleged violations of human rights committed by the state have not been settled fairly, Socrates said, adding that this led to conflicts in Papua. (dis/mrc)