Army Chief Of Staff: Our Operations In Papua Against Guerrillas Are Less Than 50 Percent Of Combat

Army Chief Of Staff (KSAD) General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak accompanied by TNI AD/DOK ANTARA officers

BANDUNG - Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak said M would not use a full combat approach to reduce the conflict in Papua. According to him, the conflict in Papua occurred because of differences in understanding that ignited them to separate themselves from Indonesian territory. "Our operation in Papua is to fight guerrillas. So the operation was carried out for our brothers and sisters who had different understandings and so on so that there was less than 50 percent of the fighting there," Maruli said in West Bandung, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, March 5. Furthermore, instead of choosing a war approach in resolving the Papuan conflict, Maruli said, his party emphasized a dialogical approach in the form of development of only territorial functions. Maruli also emphasized that the Indonesian Army only uses weapons when they are in a pinched state, but as much as possible the conflict is resolved in more humane ways so that there are no casualties in its resolution. "Maybe 80 percent is territorial, how to invite people to return to the lap of Mother Earth, build a better life, that's our priority," said Maruli. Furthermore, Maruli considers insurgent groups that are members of armed criminal groups (KKB) and political criminal groups (KKP) spread across Papua.

"So you can think about it, if we do deploy it, the problem is considered solved. But we also don't want our brothers and sisters to be victims," he added.