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Massacre in Nduga: Who should protect the nation?
The massacre of civilians, who were state-owned construction company PT Istaka Karya workers, in the Papua highland regency of Nduga on Dec. 2 was a despicable and inhumane act.
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Ready for action: Indonesian Military personnel prepare to board a helicopter in Wamena in Papua on Wednesday to retrieve the bodies of the construction workers killed in Nduga. The soldiers hunted for rebels suspected of killing 19 construction workers and one soldier in the restive province of Papua, as an eyewitness account supplied by the military described a grisly mass execution. (AFP/Anyong)
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he massacre of civilians, who were state-owned construction company PT Istaka Karya workers, in the Papua highland regency of Nduga on Dec. 2 was a despicable and inhumane act. Not only has the act of killing, for which the National Liberation Army of West Papua-Free Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) has claimed responsibility, sparked fears, it has also harmed the established doctrine of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police.
Because of the loss of 17 innocent lives in the attack, we should not only offer condolences, but also demand the government take its responsibility and assume its duty as mandated by the Constitution, which stipulates that the state shall protect all citizens.
The latest killing in Nduga shows the government’s failure to bear its constitutional mandate. It was evinced in the fact that the armed group committed manslaughter at will and without fear. Furthermore, the crime might have remained unknown had all the victims been dead. The incident only shows that the region has actually been controlled by the armed group instead of the law enforcers.
The question is whether it occurred because of tactical or technical errors. Or purely because of ignorance?
