Jakarta – People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo is calling on security forces to deploy their full strength and totally destroy armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua. According to Soesatyo, security forces should not be hesitant about deployed their forces and human rights matters can be discussed later.
Soesatyo made the statement in response to the fatal shooting of the regional head (Kabin Papua) of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Brigadier General I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha, by the Lekagak Telengen armed group in Boega, Puncak regency, Papua.
"I'm calling on the government and security forces not to hesitate and immediately deploy all their forces to destroy KKB in Papua, who have again taken a human life. Destroy them first. Human rights issues can be discussed later", said Soesatyo on Monday April 26.
The deputy chairperson of the Golkar Party even suggested that the four best partners to be deployed aside from the para-military Mobile Brigade (Brimob), were the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) Gultor unit, the elite Raiders unit, the Air Forces' Bravo 90 unit and the Navy's Denjaka Special Forces.
Soesatyo is of the view that this must be done because recent actions by armed groups in Puncak regency have created unrest such as the shooting of two teachers in Puncak on April 8 and the shooting of a junior high-school student on April 15.
"The TNI [Indonesian military], the Polri [Indonesian police] and the intelligence [agency] must hunt down and act firmly against these KKB without hesitation and with all the forces at their disposal. We cannot allow separatist groups to continue to take actions which result in the loss of life", said Soesatyo.
Gusti Putu was shot dead on Sunday April 25 when he was conducting field observations on efforts to accelerate the restoration of security. Along with other TNI officers, they became involved in a firefight with an armed group.
The Free Papua Organisation (OPM) has admitted responsibility for the fatal shooting. West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB-OPM) spokesperson Sebby Sambom said that Gusti Putu was killed by a stray bullet during an armed contact.
"On the shooting of the Papua Kabin, Brigadier General Gusti Putu was shot by a stray TPNPB bullet", Sambom told CNN Indonesia on Monday.
"Because the TNI and Polri consider TPNPB fighters to be inconsequential. So all TNI-Polri officers are enemies and targets of the TPNPB", he added. (mts/bmw)
[Translated by James Balowski. Slightly abridged due to repetition in the original. The original title of the article was "Ketua MPR: Tumpas Habis KKB Papua, Urusan HAM Bicarakan Nanti".]
