KKB

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – On Tuesday April 18th, TNI Commander Admiral Yudo Margono raised the status in Papua to combat alert. This step was taken as a result of an attack from the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) which killed a TNI soldier.

“Under these conditions, especially in certain areas, we will turn them into operations combat alert,” Yudo said in a recording of a press conference in Timika, Papua.

The KKB attack was said to have been launched against Raider Infantry Battalion 321/Galuh Taruna in Mugi-Mam District, Nduga, Papua on April 15 2023. Apart from claiming one fatality, four other TNI soldiers received gunshot wounds.

Amnesty International Indonesia calls for ending the combat alert status

In response to this, the Executive Director Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid said his party regretted the TNI Commander’s decision.

“For decades, Jakarta has implemented a security approach in overcoming the conflict in Papua, during which time the victims have continued to fall. The security approach has proven not to end the violence in Papua. But the country has never learned from this experience.” said Hamid in his statement on the Amnesty International Indonesia website.

Hamid said the implementation of this combat alert increased the risk to the safety of the civilians there as well as that of the Susi Air pilot from New Zealand, Phillip Mark Mehrtens, who was still being held hostage by a pro-independence group led by Egianus Kogoya.

“The potential for human rights violations with fatalities is also getting bigger, if we refer to the violent incidents in the last four years. And the victims were not only civilians, but also members of the security forces,” he said.

Hamid reminded that the condition of human rights in Papua is very worrying. His party noted that in the last five years at least 179 residents died in dozens of cases of extrajudicial killings involving security forces and Papuan pro-independence groups.

“We call on the security forces to immediately stop military operations with the TNI combat alert status, to prioritize a dialogue approach with pro-independence groups and related parties to prevent potential human rights violations and a bigger humanitarian crisis. We also urge that the hostage release process be carried out without causing civilian casualties,” he said.

Furthermore: What is the response of Komnas HAM and KontraS regarding the TNI’s combat alert in Papua?