Fabian Januarius Kuwado, Jakarta – Indonesian military (TNI) commander General Agus Subiyanto has emphasised that they will not play around in crushing the Free Papua Organization (OPM).
The reason being that the OPM is creating terror, even committing acts of violence against communities as well as the TNI and Polri (Indonesian police).
"How can we remain silent [in the face of actions] like that, they're combatants carrying weapons. I will act decisively against what is being done by the OPM. There can be no country within a country", said Subiyanto during a press conference broadcast on the TNI's information centre YouTube channel on Thursday April 11.
Subiyanto explained that in Papua the TNI can carry out different kinds of operations in accordance with the level of conflict vulnerability. According to Subiyanto, the TNI has its own methods for resolving the problems in Papua.
"Perhaps in Papua the handling [of the situation] is different from other regions. We have our own methods for resolving the problem. Weapons yes, are resisted with weapons", he asserted.
Nevertheless, the TNI will continue to prioritise territorial operations in order to embrace the people there. Up until now, continued Subiyanto, the TNI has carried out assistance services for communities such as building schools and teaching children.
"But it's always disrupted. Always disrupted. Two days ago it was disrupted even though we provided community service assistance to the community there. Why should we remain silent", said the TNI commander.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Bakal Tindak Tegas OPM, Panglima TNI: Tidak Ada Negara dalam Satu Negara".]