A senior legislator on Thursday claimed that several top officials in the Papua provincial and regional governments may be funding Papuan separatist terrorist groups to support their fight against Indonesia.
The officials support the terrorist groups by giving them firearms, money, and military trainers, alleged Dave Akbarshah Fikarno Laksono, member of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR).
He said his allegations against the officials were based on “reliable reports” received by the House’s Commission I Overseeing Defense and Foreign Affairs.
Speaking at a webinar entitled ‘Winding Road for Crushing Armed Papuan Separatist Terrorists’ on Thursday, Laksono said the officials must be brought to justice if their involvement is proven.
“It is our security agencies’ task to uncover who has played the (terror-funding) game. They must uncover who they are and what positions they have,” he added.
To this end, he appealed to the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), National Police, and Indonesian Military (TNI) to continue monitoring and collecting reliable data and evidence against the officials concerned.
If BIN, the National Police, and TNI obtain reliable data and evidence of their crimes, they must be brought to justice, he said.
Laksono also urged BIN, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), and Financial Services Authority (OJK) to trace the flow of funding to Papuan terrorist groups.
In a separate development on Wednesday, personnel from the Nemangkawi Task Force raided a house in the Ambruk complex area of Yahukimo district, Papua province that was suspected to be a weapons storage facility for Papuan separatist terrorists.
The raid was launched after the task force received a tip from local residents about a truck, owned by the Yahukimo district government, carrying several people and cargo, a police officer revealed.
Acting on the tip, task force personnel were deployed to the place where the vehicle was sighted, deputy chief of the Operation Nemangkawi Task Force, Sen. Coms. Muhammad Firman, stated.
The security personnel found several people and cargo inside the cabin of the truck, which was being driven by a civil servant, identified by his initials as ES, Firman informed in a statement.
ES and the people found inside the truck’s cabin were taken to the Yahukimo district police precinct for questioning, he said.
Based on the suspects’ confession, security personnel raided the house in the Ambruk complex area, where they found 28 pieces of evidence related to the crime, including ammunition, sharp weapons, and a radio rig, he added.
Among the items stored in the house, the personnel found a pair of military uniforms belonging to the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), he revealed, adding that ES had also concealed ammunition and a 5.56 magazine.
On August 27, 2021, the Nemangkawi Task Force had arrested EB, the sub-district head, along with 15 members of the KNPB and separatist terrorist groups operating in Yahukimo.
Of the 15 detainees, five were involved in several acts of terror and murders in the district, officials said. The victims of their crimes included police and military personnel as well as civilians, they added.
Source: Antara News