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Refugees at the brunt of Papua armed conflict

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

Hipolitus Yolisandry Ringgi Wangge (The Jakarta Post)
Wamena
Tue, March 26, 2019

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Refugees at the brunt of Papua armed conflict

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span>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 guerillas, meanwhile, cite self-determination, rejecting all central government developmental projects across Papua. These contesting views have found no common ground to resolve the long-running conflict.

Nduga along with Lanny Jaya, Puncak, Puncak Jaya, Yahukimo and Mimika areas are locally deemed as the red zones, given the historical record of prolonged conflicts and bases for pro-independence guerillas. Since the early 1960s, Nduga was marked as a military operation zone.

The well-known among such operations was the 1996 Mapenduma Operation to rescue foreign researchers. Some refugees still remember how their houses were burned and their relatives killed with no further investigation to hold those perpetrators to account. Such stories of military operations have been passed down to children in the regency, a refugee said.

Such a conflict story and memory will be produced by the recent joint police-military operation. The operation starting last December, with code-name “Operasi Nemangkawi”, has killed three army soldiers, one brigade-mobile officer and 25 civilians in Nduga and Wamena as recorded by local volunteers.

With no post-conflict trauma healing service for children refugees, a strong sense of independence or motivation to join the guerrilla fighters can be expected in the coming years.

The recent deployment of 600 military officers from the Hasanuddin military command of Makassar, South Sulawesi, comprising 450 raider infantry members and 150 from the army engineering corps (Yon Zipur) causes another concern, including among refugees in Wamena. The 600 military officers from Makassar are joined with another raider battalion from Sentani in Papua’s capital, Jayapura, and another army engineering detachment unit from Wamena, of the Cendrawasih Military Command in Papua.

Thus around 1,000 officers with combat skills are highly concentrated around highland Papua.

So far, the raiders are the backbone of the military operation. The raider infantry soldiers are primary skilled in counter terrorism, counter guerrilla, and long battles. They also have airborne skills suitable to the highland. The involvement of such strategic army forces exhibits the high intensity of the battle in Nduga.

Such security forces’ involvement in Papua has been common since Papua and West Papua became part of Indonesia in 1969. The Jayawijaya operation in 1977 and the Mapenduma operation in 1996 involved military special forces, leading to hundreds killed among civilians, as some refugees in Wamena recall.

The highly skilled officers must face guerrilla fighters who are used to Nduga’s mountain and jungles. Lack of oxygen and the cold environment benefits the pro-independence fighters rather than the regular armies, mostly trained in Java. These raiders will make the battle more brutal and longer, since a common strategy of TNI in Papua is to burn the honai (traditional house) to cut the logistical line for pro-independence fighters as they did recently. However, the strategy merely resulted in villagers’ resistance, creating a backlash for the joint operation.

With no clear sign of ending of the armed conflict, a recent development seems to amplify the conflict narrative. Another deployment of one infantry battalion is expected from Gorontalo, Sulawesi, to secure the borderline between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea in Kerom regency, the local media Tabloid Jubi reports. Such deployment confirms the plan proposed by TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, purportedly to win the Papuans’ hearts and minds. In a recent interview with Antara TV, Hadi laid out the military and non-military strategies in Papua. The former refers to security tasks to support the government projects and guard Papua from any threats, including from pro-independence fighters.

Meanwhile, the “nonmilitary strategy” seeks to muster Papuan’s support by approaching the locals and getting to know their needs, though not including aspirations of independence, according to Neles Tebay, a priest who has often attempted peace initiatives.

From my observation and interviews, the plans of deploying more troops while applying the “nonmilitary strategy” may instead encounter more resistance from the indigenous Papuans since their memories of past suffering have not healed, amid no visible effort to heal them either. The massive military deployment in Nduga and other areas only makes Papua become Indonesia’s most securitized areas.

One obvious result of the conflict in Nduga is the 2,000 people seeking refuge in Wamena as recorded by volunteers. According to Ence Geong, a coordinator for volunteers, as of March 12, there were 627 children comprising 458 elementary school students, 142 junior high students, and 27 senior high students. Fifteen out of 17 registered senior-high school students had taken exams on March 18. Volunteers say one missing student was found dead with a gunshot wound; another was also found dead after giving birth in an isolated Nduga village, volunteers said; it is difficult to verify information.

With poor and traumatic conditions and no traumatic healing service, those children will unlikely properly prepare themselves for the exams. They only have one full meal daily amid shortage of medical supplies and financial backup. Two refugees including a 2-year old baby had died due to illness and lack of medical supplies in early March.

With no state recognition of these internally displaced refugees (IDPs) as victims of the armed conflict in Nduga, there will be no governmental-coordinated initiatives to assist the IDPs, particularly to have a traumatic healing service.

As of March 20, there was only a short visit by representatives of the United States Embassy to get a glimpse of the emergency schools for IDPs in Wamena.

So far the joint operation in Nduga and the refugees in Wamena only prolong the conflict narrative in Papua with no breakthrough solution from authorities in the country.

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The writer, a researcher of Mathinus Academy Jakarta, is conducting fieldwork in Wamena.

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