Wiranto Exposes Conspiracy between Benny Wenda, KNPB, ULMWP

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister of Politics, Legal, and Security Affairs Wiranto said there is a conspiracy between the chairman of United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Benny Wenda, National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), and ULMWP.

“The intelligence observe that there is a conspiracy that has a reciprocal relationship between Benny and the organization leaders, either KNPB and ULMWP. So this is not a fabrication,” the minister said in his office, Jakarta, Thursday, September 5.

He explained the plot stirred the acts of anarchy in Papua and West Papua. The three, he added, have a similar mindset and conspired to set demonstrations, including the time and the people who must commit anarchistic acts and those who must not.

Wiranto claimed to have bagged pieces of evidence related to the attempted treason. However, for operational interests, he could not expose the proofs to the public and demanded people believe in authorities who will do their utmost in securing the regions.

According to the minister, maintaining the national security and stability condition in Papua and West Papua is the task of the public and authorities in a bid to recover the national development. “When the development programs succeed, Indonesian people will enjoy the result,” he said.

The ULMWP leader was charged with mobilizing a mob to burn down a police station in 2002. He was then broke the prison in the middle of trial proceedings. The chairman of the Koteka Community Consultative Council crossed the border to Papua New Guinea and now lives in Oxford, England, as he obtained political asylum from Britain in 2003.

Benny Wenda issued a circular on August 20, three days after the acts of racism against Papuan students in Surabaya which sparked riots in Papua and West Papua. He condemned the Surabaya incident, urged a referendum to be held to settle the conflict, and instructed peaceful mobilization and consolidation of the mob.

FRISKI RIANA