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| Ilustrasi |
VANIMO, PNG POST COURIER) ----Two Indonesian
soldiers and OPM rebels were reportedly injured in an eight-hour
gunfight last weekend at the Papua New Guinea-Indonesian border near
Wutung in West Sepik Province.
A PNG intelligence officer, who is
currently on the ground, told the Post-Courier that the OPM have taken
to the jungle on the PNG side of the border after the confrontation with
the Indonesian military, which continues to increase its presence.
The
situation is quiet but tense, he said while emphasising that the PNG
Defence Force could not contain and prevent members of the OPM from
entering PNG territory, as they were only a section comprising 10 to 15
soldiers.
The soldiers are part of a company from the PNGDF
Vanimo forward base, which is part of the 2nd Royal Pacific Islands
Regiment based at Moem Barracks in neighbouring East Sepik Province.
The
primary objective of the PNGDF soldiers deployed to the border is to
conduct surveillance to ensure the safety of PNG citizens, especially
Wutung villagers who live a kilometre from the border posts and not far
from the scene of the fighting.
Members of the OPM last week
pulled down the Indonesian flag and hoisted their West Papua and United
Nations flags before embarking on a path of destruction, which saw the
burning of Indonesian government facilities at the border post and a gun
battle with the Indonesian police and military.
The gun battle
ceased after dark as reports emerged of Indonesian military presence
rolling into Batas in recent days. PNG Foreign Affairs Minister Rimbink
Pato confirmed on Sunday that a diplomatic note was given to the
Indonesian government highlighting PNG’s concerns over recent
developments on the border between the two countries.
However,
Opposition Leader Belden Namah yesterday warned that failure to address
the issue could have long-term implications for bilateral relations.
“I
have stated on numerous occasions that the border is a time bomb
ticking away. I call on both the PNG and Indonesian governments again,
to take immediate steps to address key issues affecting our border, and
in particular the need for a more precise demarcation of the
international land border,” he said in a statement.
Wutung
Villagers are also frustrated at the lack of action from authorities and
have petitioned the PNG Government to speed up the reopening of the
border post so they can return to their gardens and normal lives.
“Wutung
people have most of their gardens across the Indonesian border, where
80 percent of their land is located and closing of the border will
prevent them from accessing their gardens to harvest food for their
daily consumption,” said the intelligence official.
Meanwhile,
the rebel group Organisasi Papua Merdeka, along the PNG-Indonesia
border, will not harm or destroy anything on PNG soil, says an OPM
insider.
He said the rebels who identify themselves as the
revolutionary army for the Free West Papua Movement have verified that
nothing has been destroyed and no people will be harmed.
They
said claims that the PNG government’s border administration facility was
burnt down is not true. The government lodged an official protest note
on Sunday with the Indonesian government saying that rebels had razed
the local border facility to the ground.
The insider confirmed,
however, that reports the rebels lowered the Indonesia flag and raised
the West Papuan and UN flags are true. According to him, the incident
occurred last Thursday when the Defence Force was at the Batas area. An
eyewitness has verified these claims and assured the people of PNG that
all property is intact and no harm has come to citizens following the
incident.
The recent report which implies that the rebels are
building up in numbers and may be a threat to the lives of Papua New
Guineans have been rejected by the insider.
“We just want an independent West Papua, our fight is with Indonesia and not with Papua New Guinea,” said the insider.