Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Banjir Ambarita – As the separatist Free Papua Organization claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on soldiers in the Puncak Jaya district, lawmakers on Friday warned foreign countries to stay away from Papuan issues.
"We are responsible for the series of shootings against TNI [Indonesian Armed Forces] soldiers and their outposts and their helicopters on Tuesday. Those actions reflect our stance of not recognizing Papua as part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia," said Anton Tabuni, the self-proclaimed OPM secretary general for the Central Mountainous Range in Papua.
He said his group would continue to reject approaches from the government and efforts to persuade them to join the Indonesian republic. He said the organization had already decided to continue the fight for Papuan independence.
"We will continue to struggle and fight Indonesian troops in Papua for the sake of the Papuan people's dreams of independence," Anton added. "Our struggle will never end before the goal of an independent Papua is attained," he said.
Two soldiers have been killed in the recent series of armed attacks and seven others have been seriously injured. Maj. Gen. Erfi Triassunu, who heads the military command overseeing Papua, said the guerrillas had a knowledge of the local terrain that made them difficult to catch.
Commission I of the House of Representatives, which oversees defense and foreign affairs, came out with a warning on Friday for foreign countries to stay away from the Papua issue and allow Indonesia to settle the problem by itself.
Commission deputy chairman Tubagus Hasanuddin said it had received reports that two organizations, the International Lawyers for West Papua and the International Parliament for West Papua, had been playing an active role in trying to influence Indonesian policies on Papua.
"We recognize freedom of speech, but it does not extend to intervening in another country's affairs. We never try to intervene, for example, in the Northern Ireland issue because it's their internal affair," Tubagus said.
Teguh Juwarno, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said the government and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) should react to the moves by those organizations, including through diplomatic channels.
"There is still little support for a referendum, but it shouldn't be underestimated. There should be counterintelligence efforts made," Teguh said. He also called on the government to focus more on the implementation of special autonomy in Papua to improve the welfare of local citizens.
"A social welfare and fairness approach could really quell any aspiration to free Papua from Indonesia," Teguh said. Commission chairman Mahfudz Siddiq said referendums and security crackdowns were not the solution for Papua. The key, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker said, was in efforts to raise prosperity in the region.
Tjahjo Kumolo, secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), agreed, saying that while separatism must be eradicated, a comprehensive social approach was needed. "Acceleration of development in the province should be an immediate priority for the government," he said.
The National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) called for an outright rejection of any referendum in Papua but added that so far there had been no foreign involvement pushing for a ballot in Papua.