Papua special committee scrutinises security posts amid Maybrat conflict
“This will also be recommended further so that the TNI Commander or the National Police Chief evaluates better methods for how troops are deployed in conflict areas.”
Sorong (ANTARA) - The Papua Special Committee (Pansus) of the DPD RI has recommended an evaluation of the security approach in Maybrat Regency, Southwest Papua, so that conflict handling continues to allow residents to carry out their daily activities.
Filep Wamafma, Deputy Chair of the DPD RI Papua Special Committee, speaking in Sorong on Tuesday, said an evaluation is needed because residents still feel afraid due to the security situation and the presence of security posts in a number of villages.
“This will also be recommended further so that the TNI Commander or the National Police Chief evaluates better methods for how troops are deployed in conflict areas,” he said.
According to Filep, the presence of security posts with strict security procedures in several areas has had an impact on residents’ activities, including gardening and other social activities.
Beyond the security approach, the DPD RI Papua Special Committee is pushing for the resolution of the shooting of civilians in Maybrat, which occurred on 13 August 2026 in Kampung Ainot, Aifat Timur Tengah District.
Filep said residents are still awaiting certainty over who is responsible for a number of shootings and violent incidents.
He called on the Southwest Papua Regional Police and the Maybrat Resort Police to promptly conclude their investigations and identify the perpetrators based on the evidence obtained.
“A relatively long time has passed since the shooting, and with the evidence available, the Southwest Papua Regional Police Chief and the Maybrat Resort Police must now reveal the perpetrators. Whoever they are, they must be revealed,” he said.
Such steps include the possibility of summoning the Southwest Papua Regional Police Chief to conduct verification based on the evidence held by the special committee.
Based on the aspirations received from residents, he said, there are several issues considered linked to the conflict, including ideology, investment, and public trust in security institutions.
According to him, resolving the conflict is not enough through a security approach alone; it must be accompanied by development and the restoration of residents’ livelihoods.
The government, he said, needs to pay attention to basic facilities in conflict areas, such as schools, healthcare facilities, residents’ homes, clean water, and other basic needs.
“It is already a conflict area, and there are no development facilities left, which makes it very risky. So the government must pay attention to development in conflict areas,” he said.
“Do not use them for security posts. Churches are for worship, community health centres and integrated health posts are for healthcare facilities, and schools are for education,” he said.
According to data from the Southwest Papua Provincial Government, the conflict that occurred in Kisor, Maybrat Regency, on 21 September 2021 displaced residents from five districts and 51 villages.
In the handling carried out by the Maybrat Regency Government together with the TNI and the National Police, 5,456 residents have been returned to their home villages, whilst 37 villages have been restored.
Filep said the DPD RI Papua Special Committee will continue to examine the situation in Maybrat as part of its task of gathering data and information relating to security, humanitarian, and development issues in Papua.