The group, who claimed to represent the West Papuan Liberation Army (TPNB), were seen holding the severed head of the man whom they said they had been hunted for. The group said the execution, which they said took place in Honai Matoa, spoke volumes of their resistance to the formation of new autonomous regions in Papua, including the three new provinces, and their threat against migrants who wished to come to neighboring Yahukimo regency.

A spokesman for the Papua Police, Sr. Comr. Ahmad Mustofa Kamal, confirmed the gruesome killing. He said the police received a report about the beheading on July 19 evening.

A TPNB spokesman, Sebby Sambom, said the decapitation had been committed by the group’s Yahukimo leader Bocor Sobolim. Speaking in a press conference, Sebby said Bocor had killed an intelligence officer of the Indonesian Military (TNI) who had himself as a gold miner in Korowai.

However, regional military commander Brig. Gen. J.O. Sembiring denied the separatist group’s claim, saying the victim was a civilian who worked in a grocery near the mine site. Sembiring said there was no intelligence officer operating in the area under his auspices.

To corroborate Sembiring’s statement, Ahmad said the beheaded man was identified as Adis Haryadi, a migrant who worked as a gold miner and a shopkeeper of the grocery store belonging to a Papuan native. Ahmad said witnesses saw two unknown people, armed with machetes, break into the grocery store to look for Adis, while several others stood guard outside. 

Adis was killed on site. The group left his body lying near the grocery store but took his severed head with them.

Papua Police chief detective Sr. Comr. Faizal Ramadhani confirmed that Bocor had been responsible for the murder. The police, Faizal said, were still investigating the case.

The killing came just three days after TPNB members perpetrated an ambush that had claimed at least 10 lives, including a Protestant reverend and a Muslim preacher, in the remote highland regency of Nduga. Papua Police said around 20 people, three carrying firearms and others with sharp weapons, attacked a truck carrying civilians. Some of the victims were traders transporting goods to another village.

The attack was said to be the deadliest since March of this year when eight telecommunication workers were shot dead, allegedly by the rebels group. Although the motive behind the Nduga violence remained unclear, the TPNB said the attack was a response to the creation of three new provinces in Papua. Nduga falls under the new province of Papua Highlands.

What’s more

In response to the series of attacks by the Papuan armed group, several House of Representatives members have urged the TNI and the National Police to switch from their long-standing defensive approach to an offensive one. Sukamta from the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party said the time has come for the TNI and the police to crack down on the rebel group. He added that to avoid wrong arrests and human rights abuses, the enforcement of the law against rebels should acknowledge the role of civil society.

TNI chief Gen. Andika Perkasa, however, hinted at no changes to the military’s approach in Papua, saying both the TNI and the police had been conducting a joint operation code-named Cartenz Damai, which aims to restore peace and order in Papua. Andika, however, said that following the attack in Nduga, the military had collected intelligence related to the group responsible for the ambush.

Andika said he could not just order an offensive against the armed group until all necessary information was secured. In dealing with the group, accurate information about the identity of its members and their whereabouts mattered to avoid wrong targets.

“It’s not about whether we are willing to assault or not. The most important thing is there should be no mistake, no wrong arrests,” Andika said.

He added that above all, any military operation should be accountable.

What we’ve heard

A leader of the Papuan Customary Council said that the threats and violence by armed groups were a response to Jakarta’s decision to divide Papua into five provinces although Papuans never asked for an expansion. “Indigenous Papuans have never been involved or talked to, that’s why they protested,” said the source.

A Papuan Customary Council official said that Papuans are wary of massive population migration when a new province is formed and begins to operate. From a security standpoint, armed groups predict that the deployment of military forces will increase due to the establishment of new regional military commands in the new provinces.

Papuan People’s Council officials said that the response to Papuan’s protests was also due to legal uncertainty. The Special Autonomy Law passed in 2021 is being tested in the Constitutional Court. However, there has been no legal decision regarding this law. The lawsuit was filed because there are articles that contradict and reduce the role of Papuan representative institutions.

Regarding armed groups, this MRP official revealed that they had been fighting for independence since the 1960s. “The issue of division only adds to the reason for them to fight back because Jakarta continues to impose policies on Papua,” they said.

A National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) representative from Papua said that the rebel groups are split in response to the formation of the new provinces and solution to the conflicts in Papua. Within In the first group, a number of factions firmly reject the new provinces and launched the attacks. Within the second group, several factions reject the new provinces but is open their mind to a dialogue.

The source added the second group wants to be able to sit on an equal footing with the Indonesian government and asks for mediation by a neutral third party such as international human rights groups or representatives of friendly countries who do not take side with either party.

A source at the Defense Ministry said escalation of tension in Papua was worrying, but believes intelligence operations could become part of the solution. The source was referring to the recent appointment of Maj. Gen. Gustav Agus Irianto as the new head of the Papua office of State Intelligence Agency (BIN), replacing Maj. Gen. Daru Cahyono.

“Gustav is our friend. But there is no guarantee he would be able to help reduce tension in Papua. It will depend on his courage to withstand pressures from top BIN officials in Jakarta,” the source said. Gustav’s appointment won support from the ministry’s high-ranking officials.

BIN chief Budi Gunawan previously assigned Daru as acting BIN representative in Papua to replace Maj. Gen. Abdul Haris Nasution who died of heart failure on Feb. 14, 2022. Nasution had replaced Brig. Gen. Putu Danny Nugraha, who was killed in an ambush in Puncak regency on April 25. 2021.

A source said prior to his death, Danny had talked about “uncomfortable relationship” with Jakarta officials whom Danny said had meddled with operations that he planned.

Last month BIN came under the spotlight after Reuters reported the spy agency’s purchase of thousands of ammunitions and mortars from Serbia in 2020-2021, allegedly for operations against Papua rebels. No investigation has been launched into the purchase.

Human rights activists have blamed BIN for operations that only prolonged the cycle of violence in Papua.

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