Monday, September 3, 2012

1) 22 OPM Members Arrested in Papua Raid



1) 22 OPM Members Arrested in Papua Raid
2) Leader of Free Papua Organisation Daniel Kogoya arrested
3) Ex-Antiterror Chief Set to Be New Papua Police Chief
4) Bomb explodes at Jayawijaya Legislative Council

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1) 22 OPM Members Arrested in Papua Raid
Banjir Ambarita | September 03, 2012
Jayapura. Papua Police on Sunday arrested 22 members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM), including its prominent leader Daniel Kogoya.

“Daniel Kogoya was arrested in a hotel in Jayapura with several of his friends,” Johanes Nugroho Wicaksono, spokesman for the Papua police, said on Monday. “He is being treated at Bhayangkara hospital for wounds suffered after being shot while he was trying to escape.”

Daniel has claimed responsibility for several spouts of violence and shootings that have occurred throughout Papua during the past year. 

He was arrested with two other members of the OPM, Sony Kosay and Petrus Kosay, after they tried to escape during an ambush.

“After Daniel and his cohorts were arrested, the police investigated further and discovered their hideout at BTN Kamkey Atas Abepura,” Johanes added. “We arrested some of his followers there and confiscated two double-loop fire arms, three machetes, an ax, three bows and dozens of arrows.”

A few of the men who were arrested had been on the police’s most-wanted list for a long time, including Petrus Jikwa, Sonny Kosay, Yunus Hiluka, Benis Wanimbo, Hengky Nius Boma, Saleh Pagawak, Evri Tabuni, Sumy Tabuni, Lambertus Siep, Tandius Kogoya, Robinus Jikwa, Devison Wanimbo and Bobinus Karoba Lakis.

“There have been several violent episodes initiated by Daniel Kogoya and companions in the past, including a shooting in Nafri that killed two, a shooting of a military member at Skyline and the gunning-down of a German citizen at Base G beach,” Johanes said. 

“Daniel himself has claimed in the media to be responsible for the series of shootings, but the police will still need to investigate the cases.”
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2) Leader of Free Papua Organisation Daniel Kogoya arrested
Laban Laisil, Jakarta


Police in the Indonesian province of Papua have arrested the leader of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) Daniel Kogoya in Jayapura.
Dozens of other activists were arrested, and a number of weapons, including firearms, were seized in raids on the organisation's headquarters last night.
Senior commissioner Wahyono from Papua Police told Radio Australia that Mr Kogoya was shot in the leg trying to resist arrest.
He is currently being treated at Bhayangkara hospital in Jayapura.
The senior commissioner added that they began a manhunt for Mr Kogoya a year ago.
He and his group are suspected of being involved in a number of attacks on civilians, including one in Keroom last year, which senior commissioner Wahyono said left five people and a police officer dead.
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3) Ex-Antiterror Chief Set to Be New Papua Police Chief
Farouk Arnaz | September 03, 2012
The former head of Indonesia's elite anti-terrorism unit is set to become the new Papua Police chief, according to a copy of the decision letter obtained by the Jakarta Globe. 
Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian, 47, was head of Densus 88 from 2004 until last year, when he was appointed deputy chief of the recently formed National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT). Under his watch, Densus 88 was able to arrest or kill several key members of the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah, including Noordin M. Top and Azhari. 
Tito is replacing Insp. Gen. Bigman Lumban Tobing, who critics say has failed to secure Papua, which has seen increasing violence since late last year. 


The decision letter was dated Sept. 3, 2012. The official handover ceremony is usually held one week after the decision letter is signed. 
Rumors that Tito was being considered for the Papua post have been circulating since June in response to the escalating conflict in the restive region. 
Indonesia Police Watch chairman Neta S. Pane has previously voiced opposition to the move, saying the police should choose someone who could consolidate the security apparatus in Papua and engage the citizenry in dialogue, not clamp down with increasingly harsh force. 
“We strongly reject the efforts of the National Police to deploy Densus 88 in Papua because the problem in Papua is not terrorism but prolonged socioeconomic gaps,” Neta said in June. 
Police have said the violence in Papua was the work of the separatist Papua Free Organization (OPM). On Sunday, Papua Police successfully arrested 22 OPM members, including its leader Daniel Kogoya, who is said to have claimed responsibility for several spouts of violence and shooting incidents in the past year. 


Densus 88, frequently criticized by human rights organization for its harsh treatment of terrorism suspects, has been involved in a number of crackdowns against separatists in Papua and Maluku, with officers saying their participation was justified because the nation’s Law on Terrorism categorizes armed insurgence as an act of terrorism. 
In August last year, counterterrorism officers were deployed in Papua after four people were killed in an ambush by suspected armed separatists in Nafri village, on the outskirts of Jayapura. 
Last week, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ran a story on Papuans testifying that Densus 88, which is trained and supplied by the Australian government, was involved in the June killing of Mako Tabuni, then-chairman of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee (KNPB).
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4) Bomb explodes at Jayawijaya Legislative Council
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Sat, September 01 2012, 3:16 PM
Reports have come in that a bomb exploded at the Jayawijaya Legislative Council in Papua early on Saturday.
Jayawijaya Regent Wempi Wetipo said the explosion took place at 3 a.m. local time. No casualties were reported but the explosion destroyed one of the rooms inside the building, damaging the ceiling and scattering shattered glass.
“We do not yet know who threw the bomb or the motive behind the attack. We are still waiting for investigators from the Papua Police, as the local police precinct lacks the necessary investigative equipment,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Wempi said there had never before been an attack against the regency's legislative building. (lfr)

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