The House of Representatives Asks Government To Completely Investigate Shooting Leads To Death Of 8 PT PTT Employees In Papua

Nelson Sarira, employee of PT. PTT was evacuated to Timika, Papua, Saturday (5/3/2022). (Antara/Cenderawasih Pendam XVII Handout)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR), Sukamta, believes that the government needs to take firm steps against the perpetrators of the shooting that resulted in the deaths of eight employees of PT Palapa Timur Telematika (PTT), in Beoga District, Puncak Regency, Papua Province.

"The incident of violence that killed civilians in Papua is a barbaric act that the government must immediately respond to firmly," said Sukamta in Jakarta, Monday, March 7, quoted from Antara.

He asked the government to thoroughly investigate the tragic incident and to know the facts on the ground. Furthermore, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the shooting.

"And third, make better security procedures to protect people in Papua from various violent threats from the TPNPB (West Papua National Liberation Army) and OPM (Free Papua Organization) terrorist groups," he said.

The employees who were victims of this irresponsible attack were in Beoga District to repair Telkomsel's tower base transceiver (BTS) 3 and it was a beneficial activity for the Papuan people, he said.

The shooting terror, he said, further emphasized that the TPNPB and OPM groups are trying to hinder development efforts in Papua and create fear in the community.

"Our memories still resonate when 31 Trans Papua road construction workers in 2018 were also shot and killed by this group. There were also various other incidents targeting civilian groups," he said.

He considered the series of cases as if there was a pattern of terrorizing and attacking more and more civilians, so the government should pay attention to it.

Therefore, he added, the government needs to examine in depth the social, political, and security dynamics that occur in Papua, so that various anticipatory steps can be taken from the start.

"The government is more serious about solving problems in Papua. Efforts to accelerate development as contained in the presidential regulation on the Steering Committee for the Acceleration of Development for Special Autonomy in Papua (BP3OKP) and the presidential regulation on the Master Draft for the Acceleration of Development for Special Autonomy in Papua 2021-2041 (RIPPP) must be able to overcome basic problems in Papua," he asked.

The basic thing that must be done is to make the Papuan people more empowered, so that efforts to accelerate development must be able to improve the quality of human resources (HR) in Papua.

In addition, he said, the exploitation and dredging of Papua's natural resources must be stopped immediately because it will always present the issue of injustice to the Papuan people.