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‘Not a wise move’: Critics decry terrorist label for Papuan rebels
The government’s decision to classify armed criminal groups in Papua and West Papua as terrorists has been met with fierce criticism from rights groups and a local administration.
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Papua conflict illustration (JP/Hengky Wijaya)
T
he government’s recent decision to classify armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua and West Papua as terrorists has been met with fierce criticism from rights groups and a local administration, which all feared that it would only make things worse in the restive regions.
Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said the designation showed the government's failure to address the root of Papua’s problems and could lead to more human rights violations in the country's easternmost provinces rather than helping the Papuan people.
“Based on our monitoring, military and police personnel allegedly often justify the killing of Papuan people by claiming that they were members of the Free Papua Movement [OPM] or ‘armed criminal groups’ without providing clear evidence -- claims that are often denied by local residents and church leaders,” he said in a statement.
“The [new] ‘terrorist’ label will only serve as further justification for such terrible human rights abuses.”
Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) director Sidney Jones said it was "not a wise move” that could fuel further discrimination for Papuans.
“Papuans already feeling stigmatized by being labeled separatists will feel even more alienated by being labeled terrorists,” Jones said.
Read also: Indonesia declares Papuan rebels terrorists
