Indonesia Classifies Papuan Rebels as Terrorist Group

Indonesia designated Papuan separatist rebels as a terrorist group Thursday after they killed an army general, a policeman and four civilians this month, but observers warned the move could inflame tensions and lead to human rights abuses.

 Violence by separatist insurgents in the Papua region fit the definition of terrorism under amendments to the country’s anti-terror law that were passed in 2018, said Mohammad Mahfud MD, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.

“We are treating organizations and people who commit massive violence in Papua as terrorists,” Mahfud told a news conference as he announced the designation.

“This is in accordance with the law No. 5 of 2018 which ... defines terrorism as an act of violence or threat that creates an atmosphere of terror and widespread fear, and causes mass casualties and or damage to public facilities,” he said, referring to the anti-terror legislation.

Under the law, a suspect can be held for up to 200 days during the course of an investigation.

Mahfud MD’s announcement came after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered a crackdown on the “armed criminal group” after the insurgents killed Brig. Gen. I Gusti Putu Danny Nugraha Karya, who headed the Papua operation of the State Intelligence Agency.

The National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB), the armed wing of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM), claimed responsibility for the killing on Sunday.

Mahfud MD said the government’s decision to officially label the insurgent group terrorists followed input from security agencies, politicians and communities in Papua.

“In fact, many community leaders and Papuan leaders as well as officials in the Papuan government, both at the executive and legislative branches, came to the government to express their support for taking necessary action to deal with the recent violence in Papua,” the minister said.

On Tuesday, a day after Jokowi ordered the crackdown, nine rebels and a policeman were killed in fighting in Gome, a district in Papua’s Puncak regency, officials said.

The TPNPB, however, denied that its members were killed.

The group had also said it was behind the killing of four civilians earlier this month, including two teachers and a 16-year-old high school student, saying the victims were spies for the government.

The Papua provincial police said Thursday that the separatist group had carried out 16 separate attacks since the start of the year, including ones that killed six members of security forces and seven civilians.

TPNPB: Indonesia ‘terrorist state’

The Papuan guerrillas, who have been waging an insurgency in the largely Christian and Melanesian Papua region, now share the same official terrorist designation as violent extremist Muslim groups such as Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) and Jemaah Islamiyah, which the Indonesian government has also outlawed.

The TPNPB, in turn, accused government security forces of terrorism as it responded to the statement by the Indonesian security minister.

“We, TPNPB-OPM, are ready to declare a global campaign that Indonesia is a terrorist state,” rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom said in a statement.

“We are defending the rights of our nation, our people and our land. We will continue to fight against terrorist and criminal forces from Indonesia,” he said.

Sambom also threatened to bring Indonesia before an international tribunal.

“We have our own lawyers, and our lawyers say that if Indonesia dares to designate the TPNPB as a terrorist organization, then we are very much ready to take this matter to the international court,” he said.

West Papuan activists scuffle with Indonesian soldiers and police officers who try to confiscate their banner during a rally calling for the remote region’s independence, in Jakarta, Dec. 19, 2020. [AP]  

Using the anti-terror law to deal with the insurgency could worsen the climate in Papua, said Sidney Jones, a terrorism expert who directs the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta think-tank.

“Wording in the terrorism law makes it easier for authorities to arrest people with soft evidence,” Jones told BenarNews after the government designated the TPNPB-OPM as a terrorist group.

“Right now, the complaints that are often heard are that the Papuan people are marginalized. Stigmatizing them as terrorists will only make the community more angry,” she said.

Jones said the government needed to apply a new approach other than sending more troops to Papua.

“We have to assess the weaknesses. There needs to be an approach in which they see a pathway to resolve the conflict using soft methods, how we can improve relations between the state and local communities,” Jones said.

Amiruddin Al Rahab, deputy chairperson of the National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said labelling the separatists as terrorists would not solve the conflict, which has simmered for decades in the far-eastern Papua region.

“They keep changing the labels – KSP, KKSB, KKB, now terrorists,” he said, referring to various designations authorities have used to refer to the separatist group.

“What has changed? Nothing. The situation remains the same,” Amiruddin told an online discussion.

Amiruddin urged the government to adopt persuasive measures and law enforcement that is transparent, fair and accountable.

The government’s move will only increase tensions and endanger civil society, according to Sam Awom, Papua coordinator for the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS).

“The government has been too hasty in responding to the current situation in Papua because the head of the Regional Intelligence Office was killed,” Sam told BenarNews.

“What we fear is that activists will be treated as terrorists for having relationships with members of armed groups,” added Sam.

Sam said the government should listen to Komnas, human rights groups and Papuan indigenous leaders – not just the military.

Mahfud, during his announcement, provided assurances that security forces would not target civilians.

“How much strength? Yes, we are only facing a handful of people, not the Papuan people. Therefore it will be done according to the law. The police will play the leading role, with assistance from the TNI,” Mahfud said.

In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded the Papua region – which makes up the western half of New Guinea Island – and annexed it.

Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-administered ballot known as the Act of Free Choice. Many Papuans and rights groups said the vote was a sham because it involved only about 1,000 people.