Persuasion Prioritized in Resolving Mimika Hostage Situation
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said that persuasion should be prioritized over aggressive measures.
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District of Tembagapura, Mimika. Papua.
JAYAPURA, KOMPAS – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said that he had called upon the National Police and the military to use persuasive measures in resolving the hostage situation, which involves 1,300 civilians and an armed group in Tembagapura, Mimika regency, Papua. Wiranto said that persuasion should be prioritized over aggressive measures.
“We have asked the Papua Police chief and military commander to use persuasion first,” Wiranto said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday (9/11/2017).
According to Wiranto, taking citizens hostage was a violation of the law. “All problems should be resolved through deliberation and consensus, instead of through violence, threats or conflicts. This is what we want. We want to maintain peace and security,” the minister said.
Some 1,300 residents of Kimbely and Banti villages in Tembagapura district, Mimika, have been living in isolation for the past two weeks. The access roads to the two hamlets have been cut off by an armed group led by Sabinus Waker.
National Police Chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said that the criminal group had around 20 members. Each member was armed with five to 10 firearms that they used to intimidate local residents and security guards. A majority of the residents of the two villages, which have a combined population of between 8,000 and 10,000 people, work as miners of residual gold at gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia.
“There are economic motives and dissatisfaction behind [the armed group’s] actions. Sometimes, they use the issue of separatism. This is why we have deployed a joint team of the National Police and the military comprising 1,000 personnel to reinforce security in Tembagapura,” Tito said.
He said that the police had difficulty in tackling the group, as they were using the local, mountainous terrain to their advantage. The location of the hostage-taking is about 100 kilometers from big cities. After the armed group attacked the local security personnel, its members blended in with the local population to evade police.
Aside from law enforcement measures, Tito said the National Police were also establishing communication with religious, traditional and community leaders to help them negotiate with the group. “Hopefully, through communication and soft persuasion, we can resolve the situation. However, if that does not achieve the desired result, we will be forced to engage with measured law enforcement action,” he said.
Humas Polda Papua
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Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said in Tembagapura on Thursday that the joint police-military operation was hampered by bad weather. The two villages were obscured by fog. “We cannot launch any activity under such conditions. The armed hostage-takers are hiding in the hills,” he said.
“They also took locals’ valuables and have forcefully prevented them from leaving Kimbely and Banti,” Boy added.
Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said the military would prioritize persuasion in resolving the hostage situation in Papua. “I have ordered the military commander in Papua to use a persuasive approach in ensuring people’s safety in Tembagapura,” he said on Thursday. Persuasion could take a number of approaches, including through dialogue.
Gatot said that the military was of the principle that the law must be upheld, and that it would closely monitor the situation to determine the steps to be taken.
XVII/Cendrawasih Military commander Maj. Gen. George Supit said that evacuation was not possible in Kimbely and Banti. Members of the armed group were blending in with the locals, making clandestine evacuation efforts impossible. “Evacuation will only be possible after we can resolve the issue of the armed group in the two kampongs,” he said.
Depleting supplies
Papua Legislative Council member Wilhelmus Pigai, from Mimika, said that he had communicated with the people in Banti and Kimbely. The people said that the two hamlets were running out of basic supplies.
“They cannot buy food or clean water in Timika, as the hostage-takers prohibit them from doing so. I believe this [hostage-taking] is not about Papuan independence, as it has targeted civilians,” he said.
He called for the speedy evacuation of the people in Kimbely and Banti to prevent them from becoming victims of a possible crossfire between law enforcement troops and the armed group.
Spokesman of the separatist Free Papua Movement liberation army, Sebby Sambom, said that the group would only allow the Indonesian Red Cross to evacuate locals from Kimbely and Banti. “If security personnel are involved in the evacuations, there will be an armed response. About 50 of our members are now in Tembagapura,” Sebby said.
