Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian National Armed Forces Commander General Agus Subiyanto said separatist groups in Papua must be defeated, while security operations should be conducted alongside territorial approaches to support development and residents’ welfare.
“The OPM (Free Papua Movement) is separatist, so it must be defeated. There can be no separatists in our country,” Agus told reporters in Jakarta on Sunday.
Asked about public concerns over armed-group activities, Agus said resolving the Papua conflict could not rely solely on the military and required cooperation among multiple parties.
“As I said from the beginning, resolving the Papua issue requires collaboration, not just the TNI. If it is only the TNI, there will be violence,” he said.
Agus said the military was also conducting extensive territorial operations through various activities to support the needs of people in Papua.
Those efforts include building churches, providing bore wells for clean water, repairing schools, delivering healthcare, and deploying soldiers to teach in remote areas.
“So we go there to help accelerate development and improve the welfare of the people there, to speed up development,” Agus said.
Agus said security and development approaches must be pursued collaboratively so that efforts to address Papua’s problems are not viewed solely through a military lens.
Earlier, OPM Kodap III Ndugama-Derakma leader Egianus Kogoya and operations commander Major Belia Kogeya protested the TNI’s use of Super Tucano aircraft in military operations in Nduga, Highland Papua.
Both rebel figures voiced objections to the use of heavy weaponry and aerial strikes during ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the area.
The separatist group claimed airstrikes and heavy fire wounded six members, alleging military operations targeted coordinates near their Nduga headquarters.
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Translator: Devi NSR, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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