This file photo shows Indonesian military soldiers preparing to board a helicopter from Wamena in Papua province on Dec 5, 2018, to retrieve the bodies of construction workers killed in Nduga (AFP)
By UCA News reporter
Feb 2 2024
A Catholic bishop in Indonesia’s conflict-torn Christian-majority Papua region has asked the government to stop deploying more military soldiers, saying it further terrorizes the local community.
Bishop Yanuarius Theofilus Matopai You of Jayapura in the capital of Papua Province said that “one thing that is surprising is the very large deployment of soldiers and police to Papua.”
“That’s what makes people live in fear,” he said on Jan 29.
You made the remarks during a discussion meeting on peace and justice in Papua in the provincial capital.
It was part of a Church-backed peace initiative “Papua Land of Peace” that started more than two decades ago.
The deployment of more military and police in Papua for the sake of maintaining sovereignty has a huge impact on the lives of traumatized civilians, said You, the only indigenous bishop in the province appointed in 2022.
“The deployment of troops has really made security in Papua even less conducive,” he said.
“Papua is not a military emergency area. If Papua is in a military emergency, why doesn’t the president declare it a military emergency area?” he said, as quoted by Jubi.id news portal.
“Poor people are forced to leave their villages, their gardens, their businesses, and go somewhere else. Their lives are very difficult, and that continues,” he added.
The Indonesian government has continued to send additional troops to Papua saying that more security forces are required to resist violence by the armed insurgent group, the West Papua National Liberation Army.
Democratic Alliance for Papua, a rights group, reported that by the end of 2023, Papua had at least 10,250 army soldiers and 1,416 police members from outside the region.
The security forces were tasked to carry out various operations including Cartenz Peace Operations, Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border security operations, community territorial operations, security and public order operations, PT Freeport Indonesia security operations, infrastructure development security operations, and rescue operations for Susi Air pilot who were taken hostage by rebel groups.
Bishop You said that these activities should not drag on for years, instead the government should open up “space for dialogue.”
Dialogue is a wise step to discuss and find a solution to the conflict in Papua, he said.
“Dialogue is necessary to listen to the aspirations and feelings of the people,” he added.
“If there is no room for dialogue, we will continue to face situations like this. Yes, what did we do wrong? What sin have we committed, that the central government and the president allow us to live in this situation all the time?” he further added.
Father Alexandro Rangga, director of the Franciscans Secretariat for Justice and Peace in Papua said that all parties must honestly have the courage to discuss the Papua issue to find solutions and make Papua a Land of Peace.
He said that the slogan “Papua Land of Peace” coined 22 years ago “is still just a slogan.”
“It is the people themselves who experience that Papua is not peaceful, regardless of the decisions made by the political elite,” he said.
Human rights activist Theo Hesegem said that while no solution has been found, “casualties continue to occur and we only continue to hear about civilians being shot dead every day.”
“This is not the first time this appeal has been made by the bishop and other leaders, but who knows when it will be heard,” he said.
For decades the easternmost region of Indonesia has witnessed deadly conflicts amid fighting between the military and pro-independence armed groups, leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced.
Last month, two civilians were gunned down in Intan Jaya, Central Papua Province.
A military spokesperson claimed the dead were members of an insurgent group. Local people dismissed the claim and said they were ordinary civilians with no connection to the pro-independence movement. – UCA News
