Singgih Wiryono, Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – A split has occurred within the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM) after Susi Air pilot Philip Mark Mehrtens was released on Saturday September 21.
This split was revealed by TPNPB-OPM spokesperson Sebby Sambom who said they can no longer trust one of the leaders of the TPNPB regional commands, Egianus Kogoya. They no longer trust Kogoya because the release reportedly benefited his personal interests, namely accepting a bribe for Mehrtens' release.
"We from the TPNPB command headquarters are not interested and will not recognise the TPNPB that accepted a bribe in the political interests of the Nduga Pilkada [regional election]", Sambom said in a short message on Monday September 23.
The indications of a bribe being accepted were revealed by Sambom because the conditions for the release of Mehrtens' set by the TPNPB-OPM central command were different from the conditions given by Kogoya.
The proposal to fight for Papuan independence was exchanged for money by Kogoya through the acting regent of Nduga, Edison Gwijangge, who is also a candidate for the regent of Nduga in the November 27 regional elections.
"The release was bartered with a promise by Edison Gwijangge to Egianus Kogoya and his group that he would give money to buy weapons", said Sambom.
Sambom said the agreement between Gwijangge and Kogoya was arranged through an intermediary from Kogoya's family. Therefore, Mehrtens' release is not considered to be in line with the initial proposal announced by the TPNPB central command.
Nevertheless, Sambom said that Mehrtens' release was a TPNPB policy to comply with international law and fulfill a sense of humanity.
"And in this case the TPNPB is truly responsible and showed the international community that the struggle of the Papuan nation is dignified and for the sake of the political right to independence and self-determination for the Papuan nation which should not be ignored by the United Nations", he said.
The approach by the TNI (Indonesian Military) and Polri (Indonesian Police) through Kogoya's family was also revealed by the head of the 2024 Cartenz Peace Operation, Police Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani.
The joint TNI-Polri team prioritised a soft approach, prioritised dialogue and negotiations. This approach was done by involving religious, church and customary figures and the family of Egianus Kogoya.
"This approach finally produced results after various efforts were attempted", Ramadhani explained on Saturday.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Perpecahan TPNPB OPM Usai Pembebasan Pilot Susi Air".]
