Desertion widespread among indigenous Papuan troops

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua

The Trikora Military Command, which is responsible for military affairs in the troubled province of Papua, has dishonorably discharged at least 63 soldiers this year, mostly on account of desertion, an officer said here on Monday.

The discharges were ordered by the Jayapura Military Tribunal, the court's president Lt. Col. Masrul Malik told The Jakarta Post.

He said that almost all the troops, all indigenous Papuans, were drummed out of the military for deserting their posts.

"There were 52 cases of desertion, one murder case, two sexual offenses, four cases of bullying, one case of destruction of property and three insubordination cases," Malik said.

He said that of these 63 cases, 52 involved in absentia trials as the defendants had failed to show up in court.

"Because the defendants in question were summoned three times but failed to put in an appearance, the military tribunal tried their cases in absentia," Malik said.

"Only the desertion cases can be tried in absentia," he added.

Those discharged had been absent from their posts for at least three months as a result of which their superiors filed complaints of desertion against them with the Jayapura military police, Malik said.

He said that the 63 dishonorable discharges were part of more than 200 cases that had been tried by the military tribunal since last January.

During the last three months this year alone, the local military court had tried 68 cases and ordered the discharging of 16 of the defendants, he added.

Malik said that if a soldier was absent from his post for one month, he would receive a reprimand from his superior.

If he was absent from his post for two months, his wages would be withheld, while if he was absent without leave for three months, he would be considered to be a deserter and could be dishonorably discharged.

Malik said the increase in the number of desertion cases was contributed to by the geographical situation in Papua, a vast province that is home to less than 2.5 million people.

"For example, to get to a town in Papua from a remote area takes a lot of money because it can only be reached by plane. This is a major problem for soldiers who do not earn much. So, they have to leave their posts for a long time, which eventually leads to their discharge from the military."

However, he said such difficult conditions were no excuse for soldiers to abandon their posts for a long time.

"It is a lesson for every soldier who is not disciplined. A soldier must accept conditions in the field as it's his duty as a soldier," Malik said.

Trikora Military Commander Maj. Gen. Nurdin Zainal said last year that only 38 soldiers, all indigenous Papuans, were discharged from the provincial military command, mostly on desertion charges

He blamed the "poor mentality" of Papuans in serving as soldiers for the increase in desertion cases.

Papuan troops were easily influenced by others to abandon their posts, Nurdin said without elaborating.