The murder of an Army officer intensifies the confrontation with the separatists

OPM spokesman Sebby Sambom claimed responsibility for the death of Lieutenant Oktovianus Sogorlay. The soldier was the victim of an ambush along with the local chief of a village in the Painai district. The murder is a consequence of the change of direction that the Indonesian Army has decided with respect to all pro-independence groups.

Jakarta () – The murder of an Indonesian Army officer has once again convulsed the province of Papua, at the eastern end of the archipelago, long shaken by independence tendencies. The victim is Lieutenant Oktovianus Sogorlay, killed in an ambush along with the local chief of a village in the Painai district in an attack by elements linked to dissident groups who opened fire at point-blank range and finished him off with knives. The attack was claimed by Sebby Sambom, spokesperson for the Papuan independence organization (OPM, Organisasi Papua Merdeka), who in a note speaks of “full responsibility” for the bloody episode that occurred last week.

The soldier was riding his motorcycle on the Trans Paniai-Intan Jaya Road, a route considered quiet, when he was suddenly attacked and had no way to react. “This ambush – stated the OPM spokesperson in a statement released today – was led by Major Osea Satu Boma, our local army commander.”

The attack occurred a day after the Indonesian Armed Forces announced the decision to change its attitude towards armed groups or political movements on the island of Papua animated by autonomist and independence impulses, with which they have often clashed. . Indeed, the head of the Army, General Agus Subiyanto, affirmed that all active armed groups will be considered members of the OPM, the organization whose only declared objective is the independence struggle against “the manipulative Indonesian occupation.” To illustrate the decision, the senior officer said he was “fully convinced” that the Army will put an end to the activities of armed groups and added that the security forces are operational in Papua not only in terms of security, but also to guarantee the humanitarian aid to the population.

Since it passed from Dutch to Indonesian sovereignty in 1962, West Papua has been subject to strong independence tensions and the local population has always felt discriminated against by the government in Jakarta. To this day there are groups and movements fighting to separate themselves from the rest of the country, also alleging that a “slow-motion genocide” against ethnic minorities and Christians is taking place in the province.

“The murder of Lieutenant Sogorly has truly been a serious attack on human rights,” added Armed Forces spokesman Major General Nugraha Gumilar. In his opinion, the change of name from “criminal gangs” to OPM is another sign of the Army's commitment to the protection of its soldiers operating in the field. In this way, the militiamen “as armed combatants, are a legitimate target” of a military attack. Politicians and activist groups have long debated in Indonesia the advisability of a massive military campaign by Jakarta against these movements. “Our objective – concluded Gen. Gumilar – is to strengthen the morale of our soldiers in the field, so that they do not have doubts or hesitation when asked to attack armed groups.”