POLICE, MILITARY HUNTING DOWN PAPUA SEPARATISTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 3 (ANTARA)  -  Police and the military are to hold a joint operation to comb areas suspected  to be the hideouts of the unidentfied gunmen who killed four civilian and one soldier in Nafri, Abepura, Papua, early this week.          Police believe that the attackers were members of the separatist OPM (Free Papua Organization) based on the fact they had found a  "morning star" flag, cartridges, arrows, spears and a knife at the scene of the Abepura violence.          In order to assist local police and military, the National Police Headquarters is sending a team of Densus-88 anti-terror personnel to Tanjakan Gunung Merak, Nafri, Abepura, Papua to team up with local mobile police and military personnel in the operations.          "The Densus-88 anti-terror police of the Police Headquarters are fielded to assist Papua police and the military in combing the suspected hideouts of the OPM members," National Police Spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam said here on Wednesday.          Basides, the National Police Headquarters also sent a forensic laboratory team to Papua.          "The Forensic Laboratory Center of the National Police has sent a team to Tanjakan. There are five officers and now they scrutinizing the incident scene," Anton said.          From Witnesses, it was also known that the OPM members were hiding behind trees and then ambushed police personnel from the left and right sides of their car. And then they disappeared.          As a result of their attacks, four people were killed, one a military officer and three civilians.          In the meantime, Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that the government was not ruling out that the possibility Monday's violence in  Abepura  was an insurgent activity although  police still had to find the perpetrators and ascertain their motive.          During an investigation at the scene, police found cartridges, arrows, spears, a knife and a morning star flag.          To assure the attackers were OPM insurgents, police are still investigating it. The National Police is also sending a team of investigation from the Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim). So far, seven witnesses had been questioned with regard to the ambush incident.          "We have examined seven witnesses who are residents around the location," National Police Spokesman Insp Gen Anton Bachrul Alam said.          He said that the number of witnesses who were questioned was likely to increase. "We are also sending a team of investigation from the Police Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim). We are not yet informed of the perpetrators," he said.          Defense Minister Purnomo said the government would take  firm action based on the law against any effort to undermine the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).  "We do not want  NKRI to break up. This is a basic principle," he said.          Purnomo said he believed the violence in Abepura was linked to politics as police had found a separatist "morning star" flag at the scene.          Chief security minister Djoko Suyanto meanwhile confirmed that shooting incidents had happened in Papua. The actions the government was taking to deal with separatist elements should not be easily branded as violating human rights, he said.          "Operations by security agencies must not always be perceived as actions that violate human rights," he said.          Earlier, Deputy House Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso asked police to act soon to overcome a shooting incident that killed four in Jayapura, Papua province, so that it would not escalate.          "I ask state apparatuses to intervene soon to overcome the bloody incident. It should not happen that apparatuses ignore it," Priyo said at the parliament building on Monday.          He said that all sides should restrain themselves. He was referring to the incident where  four people were shot dead and stabbed by unidentified gunmen at 8.15 a.m. early on Sunday Eastern Indonesia Time (WIT).          Of the four, three were civilians and one was a member of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI). Five other people were injured, who are at present being treated at Abepura hospital.          The four who were killed were First Private Don Keraf, driver Sardi of Koya Timor resident, and a couple, husband and wife Wisman and Titin.          In a previous incident,  the OPM members were also involved in an exchange of fires with police Paniai region at 8. a.m local time on Friday.  "The incident took place at 8 a.m Eastern Indonesia Time (WIT) on Friday,"   Insp. Gen Anton Bachrul Alam.          Recounting  the chronology of the incident, Anton said the incident began at 7.20 local time  when about 16 OPM members, five of whom carried riffles, came to  a Papua TV tower construction site.          "Brandishing a long-barrel fire arm, one of them approached construction workers Andi Laupe and Benediktus Brian and asked them to stop working," Anton said.           The workers soon afterwards reported to two police officers on duty at the Paniai district head's house, namely First Brigadier Solihin and Second Brigadier Kristianto. "Upon receiving the report, Solihin contacted the Paniai Police Resort chief who ordered a number of Paniai Mobile Brigade (Brimob) members to visit the scene," Anton said.          Arriving at the scene, the Brimob detail was greeted  with a hail of bullets which forced the police to return the fire, he said.          The OPM separatists then fled eastward. While they were hunting the OPM members, police found proof such as SS1 and Mouser ammunition as well as bayonets.***3*** (t.A014/A/HAJM/23:52/a014) 04-08-2011 00:20