Bishop says Papuans are ‘not animals to be killed at will’

Bishop Bernardus Baru of Timaka said that military means and armed violence should no longer be used in response to Papuan problems. 

Authorities said a military operation was aimed at freeing civilians subjected to violence from the pro-independence West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) militia on October 15. The operation left 15 dead, mostly civilians, local media reported.

Lieutenant Colonel Iwan Dwi Prihartono, who led the operation at Soanggama village in Intan Jaya Regency of Central Papua, claimed those who died were militia members and their supporters.

Bishop Baru, a native Papuan, said violence has proven futile to resolve the long-running conflict in the region.

“I urge them to use a humanitarian approach and dialogue, not a military approach. The blood of many innocent civilians has been shed,” he said.

He said that Papuans are human beings made in the image of God, “not animals to be killed at will”.

TPN-PB spokesperson Sebby Sambon dismissed the military’s claim about the identity of the victims, saying only three victims were militia members and the rest were civilians. Other Christian leaders in the Christian-majority Papua region also condemned the military operation.

Christian-majority Papua has been marred by conflict and deaths since the 1960s, when Indonesia annexed the territory after the end of Dutch colonial rule. A referendum to determine Papua’s future was considered rigged in favour of Indonesia. 

Fighting between rebel groups and Indonesian security forces has left about 500,000 people dead, thousands more injured and tens of thousands displaced, according to rights groups.

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Christian Leaders in Papua Decry Killing of Civilians in Military Operation (UCA News)