Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – The Head of Information at the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), Major General Hariyanto, said the government's plan to pardon prisoners linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) will not disrupt the security in Papua.
The government, said Hariyanto, intends to resolve the Papua conflict peacefully. "We believe that decisions taken by the government, including those related to granting amnesty, will prioritize national interests and ensure that peace in Papua can be achieved without putting aside the security and sovereignty of the state," Hariyanto told Tempo on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
The TNI officer said granting amnesty requires a comprehensive study. Meanwhile, the military, as a state institution, will continue to adhere to its main task of upholding state sovereignty.
The Prabowo administration's agenda to grant amnesty to political prisoners involved in armed groups in Papua, including OPM, was conveyed by Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
Yusril conveyed this in a meeting with a UK delegation led by Catherine West MP (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office) and the British Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste, Dominic Jermey, at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Legal Affairs, South Jakarta, on January 20, 2025.
Yusril said the Indonesian government would use a different approach in resolving the conflict in Papua, including through granting amnesty.
During the discussion, Dominic Jermey inquired of Yusril about Prabowo's administration's plan to resolve the conflict in Papua.
Yusril explained that so far the resolution of cases of violence in Papua has been resolved in the general court. "What is clear is that President Prabowo's government will prioritize law and human rights in solving every problem in Papua," Yusril said.