OPM Accuses TNI of Involving Local Residents in Killing of Member
Reporter
May 14, 2025 | 02:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Free Papua Movement (OPM) group has reported that one of its members, Bumi Walo Enumbi, died during a military operation conducted by the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Sebby Sambom, a spokesperson for the OPM's armed wing TPNPB-OPM, confirmed this incident.
Sebby suspected that the military operation was not conducted solely by TNI soldiers, alleging the involvement of local residents who were purportedly utilized by security forces in their crackdown on the group. "TNI couldn't have acted alone; it was a collaboration with local people who were spying," he stated when contacted on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
According to him, the military's actions against his group are viewed as an act of war, and he asserted that the OPM would retaliate against security forces in Papua. "We promise to retaliate, to attack the army and police," he declared.
The TNI's operation targeting the OPM militia took place in Kalome Village, Ilamobrawi, Puncak Jaya Regency, Central Papua Province. The operation resulted in the death of Bumi Walo Enumbi, identified as a leader of the OPM's Yambi region.
Head of Information for the XVII Cenderawasih Regional Military Command, Colonel Inf Candra Kurniawan, reported that Bumi Walo had attempted to flee. "So he was shot, neutralized, which resulted in his death," Kurniawan said on Sunday, May 11, 2025.
He added that Bumi Walo Enumbi's body had been handed over to the authorities and his family. During the operation, the military also secured several pieces of evidence, including a pistol, three mobile phones, 100 arrows, machetes, axes, the Morning Star flag, and OPM documents.
Candra stated that Bumi Walo Enumbi was on the police's wanted list (DPO), having been listed by the Puncak Jaya Police since April 25, 2024.
Bumi Walo Enumbi was reportedly involved in several shooting incidents on April 7, 2025, which resulted in the deaths of a member of the Puncak Jaya Police and a retired police officer. The leader of the Yambi region OPM was also allegedly involved in the shooting of a motorcycle taxi driver in 2024.
In a separate statement, Media Commander of the TNI's Habema Task Force, Lieutenant Colonel Inf Iwan Dwi Prihartono, affirmed that the operation against the OPM group was carried out in a measured and precise manner. He emphasized that this action reflects the TNI's commitment to maintaining security stability and protecting the people of Papua from armed terror threats.
According to Iwan, the OPM's actions have targeted not only security forces but also civilians, citing propaganda on social media as a tactic to undermine democratic integrity and worsen the situation in Papua.
"This disrupts stability and slows down development in Central Papua," he said. He urged the public to remain calm and not be easily swayed by information disseminated by the OPM.
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