Terrorist Label for Papua KKB Made after Thorough Considerations: Palace

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Deputy V for Politics, Law, and Security Affairs at the Executive Office of the President, Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, said the government's decision to label armed criminal groups (KKB) in Papua as terrorists was made after thorough considerations.

“Classifying KKB as terror organizations or terrorists is taken with careful considerations, by taking into account input and analysis from various parties both inside and outside the government,” said Jaleswari in a written statement on Friday, April 30.

The decision was driven by the massive acts of violence in the country’s easternmost province over the past few weeks, he added. The violence committed by the rebel groups targeted civil society including students,  teachers, traditional leaders, and also officials.

He quoted a report by Puncak Regent, Willem Wandik, that the armed groups had committed a string of attacks since earlier this year. There were at least 10 terror acts including the latest shooting incident of the Papua Intelligence Chief Brig. Gen. I Gusti Putu Danny Karya Nugraha.

“Data from the Papua Task Force of UGM (Gadjah Mada University) also reports that during the last 10 years from 2010 to 2020, there were 118 violence cases committed by KKB, 15 cases by TNI (Indonesian Military), and 13 cases by the police,” he explained.

According to the same research’s results, Jaleswari said 356 people fell victim to the violence: 93 percent were civilians and the TNI-police personnel while the rest three percent were KKB members.

Read: Papua Governor Releases Statement on Terrorist Status for KKB, OPM

EGI ADYATAMA