Erwida Maulia and Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said here Monday the police had named another suspect who could have masterminded the recent attacks in the country's eastern most province.
As the tally of suspects was raised to seven as of Monday, another motorcycle taxi driver (ojek) was killed in Wamena Sunday evening, bringing the deaths from the recent violence up to 12 within the last week.
While other officers linked the violence with the rebel Free Papua Movement (OPM), Bambang said they were merely "a group of armed men violating the laws", and firm action should be taken against them. "They've planned all the attacks," Bambang said.
TNI chief Gen. Djoko Santoso, however, said that the OPM could be behind the attack, and that (if so) it did them in an attempt to tell the public that the group stil existed.
The Jayawijaya police office said Monday that motorcycle taxi driver Supandi Juhari, 31, was murdered on Jalan Sanger in the city by four unknown individuals thought to be supporters of a separatist group.
Jayawiyaja police chief Mulia Hasudungan Ritonga said the motive for the murder was likely to be similar to that behind the killing of the other ojek drivers on April 8. "The perpetrators are allegedly part of the Papuan separatist group TPN/OPM," he told tempointeraktif.com.
Wamena is still tense and security personnel are on high alert following the murders.
National police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira also said that the Free Papua Organization (OPM) was behind the series of attacks while Papua police Chief Insp. Gen. Bagus Ekodanto said suspects' testimonies, banners and fliers called for the sabotaging of the legislative elections proved that the OPM was involved.
A series of attacks hit Papua since election day. Unidentified gunmen also attacked the security post at the Skaw Wutung border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea at 1 a.m. No casualties were reported.
Half an hour later, the Abepura Police station was attacked by about 50 men armed with homemade bombs, spears, cleavers, bows and arrows and cassowary bones. Police officers shot into the crowd, killing one attacker and injuring eight.
At daybreak, the rector's building at Cendrawasih University, 5 kilometers from the police station, was set ablaze by unknown people. The fire destroyed documents and badly damaged the building, but claimed no fatalities.
On Wednesday evening, unknown assailants stabbed five ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers in Wamena, leaving four of them dead and the fifth in a critical condition.
Two hours later, a fuel storage tank at state oil company PT Pertamina's depot in Biak exploded, killing a bystander.