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View all search resultsSecurity in Intan Jaya has improved, TNI says
TNI’s role in Papua is not limited to security but also covers social communication, support for public service and contribution to regional development acceleration, a flag officer said.
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An Indonesian Military (TNI) medic checks the blood pressure of a villager in Soanggama village, Hitadipa district, Intan Jaya regency, Central Papua, in this undated picture issued on Nov. 23. The soldiers are part of the Operation Command (Koops) Habema, a TNI task force to maintain security in Papua and quell the Free Papua Organization (OPM) insurgency. (Courtesy of Koops Habema/-)
S
ecurity in Intan Jaya regency, Central Papua, has improved significantly in the past few months following a series of security operations against the Free Papua Organization (OPM) insurgent movement, the Indonesian Military (TNI) claimed recently.
“We will continue to limit the armed group’s moving space and ensure Papua is still safe and peaceful,” Operation Command (Koops) Habema commander Maj. Gen. Lucky Avianto said, as quoted by a press release dated Nov. 23 issued in the command’s headquarters in Mimika, Timika regency, Central Papua.
“The people’s safety is our highest priority in every duty implementation.”
Lucky said that the TNI’s purview in Papua was in line with Presidential Instruction No. 9/2020 on Accelerating Welfare Development in Papua and West Papua.
He said that the TNI’s role is not limited only to security but also covers social communication, support for public services and contribution to regional development acceleration.
The TNI, through Koops Habema, said that security operations in Hitadipa district and other districts in Intan Jaya were triggered by the fatal shooting of Anselmus Arfin, a man who was working on the Trans Intan Jaya highway in the Mamba-Hitadipa section on Oct. 8 in Ndugusiga village, attributed to the OPM.
It was suspected that the shooting was carried out by an OPM group led by Undius Kogoya.
Responding to the shooting, Koops Habema entered Soanggama village on Oct. 15, which has been known as one of the insurgents' main bases. During the operation, Koops Habema operatives managed to kill 14 OPM insurgents while Undius managed to escape.
In the next operation, military applied a blockade strategy by closing escape routes and deploying soldiers in various strategic villages, such as Zanepa, Engganengga, Maya, Bilai and Agapa.
The strategy was aimed at curtailing the insurgents’ movement and cut their logistics access and support network.
The blockade caused Undius to be isolated and, was later reported to have died of his illnesses under blockade. Another insurgent leader, Yulius Wonda, was also reported to have died.
The operations complemented other enforcements against other OPM leaders, such as Lamek Taplo and Jack Milian Kemong, who were included in the operation’s target list. With the targeted killing of some of their leaders, the armed insurgents’ command structure in Intan Jaya regency is reportedly to have weakened significantly.
With diminishing activities of armed insurgent groups, the people’s social and economic activities have slowly recovered. In several areas, electricity supplies from state-owned electricity firm PT PLN are available for up to 12 hours per day.
The strategic Mamba-Hitadipa road has now been paved with asphalt for about 6 kilometers. Previously, progress was hindered by security disturbances.
Increased security is also reflected in public’s support for the presence of security apparatus. Residents in Soanggama village, Hitadipa district, officially handed over land to the TNI for building a security post. Soanggama village chief Marinus Lawiya and Hitadipa district chief Soleman Bilambani represented the residents in handing over the land through a customary procession, which served as a symbol of the people’s acceptance of TNI presence in the area. (nvn)
