Bagus BT Saragih and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The National Police have increased the security status of Puncak Jaya regency in Papua and deployed almost a full battalion of mobile brigade officers following a series of deadly incidents in the country's easternmost region.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam confirmed that the status of Puncak Jaya had been elevated to "Alert 1", which means two-thirds of all available personnel are dispatched for security purposes. "All regencies in Papua have been set at 'cautious'," he said Tuesday.
No fewer than 170 police mobile brigade troops were deployed to Papua late on Tuesday, Anton said.
Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Wachyono said 280 mobile brigade officers would be sent from Jakarta over the next few days to help safeguard all regencies. The intensifying security measures constitute the police response to the series of fatal incidents in the past two weeks that have killed eight people.
The latest incident saw Mulia Police chief Comr. Dominggus Oktavianus Awes being shot dead by unknown assailants when monitoring flights at Mulia Airport in Puncak Jaya on Monday.
While investigation of the case is still ongoing, the police have been quick to accuse Papuan separatists of being behind the killing. Papua Legislative Council member Ruben Magai said police should ensure they had sufficient evidence before claiming that separatists were the perpetrators.
Speculation has been rife that there have been internal rifts within the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM). Prior to the attack on Dominggus, several fatal shootings took place amid protests by workers from PT Freeport Indonesia, a giant US gold and copper mining subsidiary.
"A stigmatization of separatism in Papua is often used to justify military operations," Ruben said.
Ridha Saleh from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said more troops may trigger greater hostility from certain groups. "Increasing security measures is an overreaction," he said.
Anton argued the deployment was aimed at helping local police find the perpetrators of Dominggus' shooting, whom police have described as "armed and dangerous".
National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman, however, said the killing was purely a criminal act and had nothing to do with national security.
National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo said the police had asked the Indonesian Military (TNI) to help them handle security-related issues in the region. "We'll work together since the region is enormous and the geographical situation is difficult."
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, meanwhile, warned that security measures against criminals and separatists in Papua should not always be linked to human rights issues. "We will find the perpetrators. We have to eradicate separatism. But please do not correlate these criminals with irrelevant issues."
On the sidelines of his state visit to Jakarta, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell, suggested that the government should keep on promoting Papua's special autonomy status.
"We recognize ultimately that there are substantial challenges inside Papua. It needs the government's intention in terms of development," he said. (sat)
[Nani Afrida, Mustaqim Adamrah and Nethy D. Somba contributed to the story.]