Amid Crackdown, Indonesia Arrests Papuan Independence Leader
Victor Yeimo stands accused of organizing the wave of violent pro-independence protests that hit the region in August 2019.
May 11, 2021
Victor Yeimo as seen in a photo posted on his Facebook page on December 10, 2020.
Credit: Facebook/Victor Yeimo
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Indonesian authorities have arrested a Papuan independence leader for his alleged role in orchestrating a spate of civil unrest in 2019, the latest sign of the central government’s growing crackdown in the eastern region. According to a report by Reuters, Victor Yeimo, 38, was arrested in the provincial capital of Jayapura on Sunday, national police spokesperson Iqbal Alqudusy said.
President Joko Widodo told Indonesian media he had ordered security forces to âchase and arrest all rebelsâ, while Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the Peopleâs Consultative Assembly (MPR), told the government to âdestroy them first. We will discuss human rights matters later.â
Lanikwe, a womenâs community leader, from Wamena, near Puncak, said the situation for local people as a result of the crackdown was dire.
âThousands are displaced in Puncak, five villages fled into the jungle. Health clinics and schools have been taken over by the military. Soldiers are everywhere. We are living in a war zone.â
âInternet was blocked two days before conflict in Puncak flared, the government said itâs a problem with the cable, but it also happened during the 2019 West Papuan Uprising,â she said.
AP
Indonesian police arrested a pro-independence activist in Papua on suspicion of treason and sedition in connection with anti-Jakarta demonstrations that turned into deadly riots in the region two years ago, authorities said Monday.
The arrest of Victor Yeimo, chairman of the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), a Papuan civilian organization that seeks a referendum on self-determination for Papua, occurred over the weekend amid escalating tensions in the far-eastern region.
Indonesia’s president has ordered a crackdown on Papuan armed separatist rebels after they assassinated the government’s intelligence chief for the region in late April.
Yeimo was picked up on Sunday in the provincial capital, Jayapura, after being a fugitive for nearly two years, said M. Iqbal Alqudusy, a police spokesman for a counter-insurgency task force known as Operation Nemangkawi.
Protesters and police face off in Mandalay, central Myanmar, March 3, 2021.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons/VOA News
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On Saturday, Myanmar’s military junta officially labeled the country’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) and its nearly announced armed wing as “terrorist organizations.”
The NUG was established last month by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Representative Committee (CRPH), a group of elected legislators who were barred from taking their seats when the military seized power on February 1. Last week, the National Unity Government announced the establishment of it’s a People’s Defense Force (PDF), a possible precursor to an ethnically inclusive nationwide federal army.
“Papua cannot be solved by military operations,” he said.
General Nurmantyo said military operations would not solve the root cause of the conflict in Papua.
He regretted the decision made by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration on May 5.
“I am saddened to hear that troops are leaving for Papua to fight. It’s a picture that I think makes me sad,” said the general.
Sad for two reasons
He said he felt sad for two reasons:
First, Papua was one of the Indonesian provinces and the youngest province of the Unitary State of the Republic.
Second, based on Government Regulation in Lieu of Acts (PERPU) 59 of 1959, Papua was still under civilian rule. So, the military actions should be mainly territorial, which supported by intelligence and prepared combat operations.