Papua 'troop deployment' worries locals: DPD member

Papua 'troop deployment' worries locals: DPD member

Nethy Dharma Somba and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has raised
her concern over the alleged arrival of troops in the troubled
province of Papua, saying that local people are feeling ill at
ease.

Ferdinanda Ibo Yatipay, the DPD representative from Papua,
said here on Tuesday that the soldiers arrived in Manokwari
regency on Aug. 12 and that their number continued to grow.

"People feel intimidated by their presence. We know it as we
have experienced it for years," she said, adding that she
was certain of the deployment of troops aboard five ships
arriving in Manokwari.

According to a local military official, Ferdinanda said, the
soldiers were sent to secure the celebrations of Indonesia's
Independence Day on Aug. 17 in Papua.

"But, why are they still there now? There is no war in Papua
unlike Aceh. We fight for something peacefully," Ferdinanda
said.

She said Papuans were feeling intimidated by the reported
presence of the troops as they could be branded as separatists if
they expressed their concern over human rights abuses in the
resource-rich province.

The DPD member demanded that the Indonesian Military withdraw
its troops from Papua, where rebels have been fighting for
independence from the country.

"That's not the way it is. People must be invited for a dialog
(to resolve the separatist problem in Papua)," she said.

However, Maj. G.T. Situmorang, spokesman of the Trikora
Military Command overseeing security in Papua, denied the report
on the recent deployment of soldiers to Papua.

"The information is not reliable," he said.

Meanwhile, Merauke Military Commander Col. Joy K. Sihotang
said local residents and others in surrounding regencies had been
living in peace and without fear.

"There are no activities threatening people here," he said.

Sihotang said the TNI's reinforcement personnel had been in
Papua since early this year, adding that the number under his
command was only 400 soldiers, or only 40 percent of one military
battalion.

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto recently announced the
establishment of a new division of the Army's Strategic Reserves
Command (Kostrad) in Papua this year.

The new Kostrad division would be based in Sorong. The
military said the location was chosen to facilitate its ability
to deploy or mobilize troops in Papua at short notice.

The TNI will also set up a number of district military
commands (Kodim) in several new regencies across Papua.

The new commands would result in a 50 percent increase in the
number of troops stationed in Papua, from the current 30,000.

Papua has been embroiled in a new conflict over the issuance
of a law that split Papua into three provinces -- Papua, West
Irian Jaya and Central Irian Jaya.

The Papuan administration and many local people rejected the
partition of the province, saying it had to be approved by the
Papua People's Assembly (MRP), which was not yet inaugurated.

The central government took away the political role of the MRP
when it issued a regulation on the assembly.

Recently, thousands of Papuans staged a rally in Jayapura to
express their dissatisfaction over the implementation of the
special autonomy law for Papua, which they said was inconsistent.

The protest came just days after U.S. Congress passed a bill
calling for unfettered access to investigate how Jakarta gained
control of Papua and highlighted human rights abuses in the
province.