Refugees at the brunt of Papua armed conflict

Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi Wangge
Researcher at the Marthinus Academy, Jakarta

PREMIUM

Jakarta / Tue, March 26, 2019 / 02:06 pm

Refugees at the brunt of Papua armed conflict

Ready for action: Indonesian Military personnel prepare to board a helicopter in Wamena in Papua to retrieve the bodies of the construction workers killed in Nduga. (AFP/Anyong)

The conflict in Nduga, Papua, between the military and independence fighters, led by Egianus Kogoya, a young man from Nduga regency, has been unfolding for over three months with few signs of ending. The armed conflict was triggered by the killing of 31 construction workers of PT Istaka Karya in Yigi district, Nduga regency in Papua’s highland. Isolated operation zones in 16 out of 32 districts of the regency have led to evacuation of people from the neighboring Nduga including Jayawijaya, Lanny Jaya, Yahukimo, Asmat and Mimika. The logic of the conflict has been highly contested between the security apparatus, mainly the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the pro-independence fighters of the Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM). The former emphasizes the security threat posed by the guerillas, blamed for disrupting the government-initiated road projects in the area. The guerilla...