The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says the government needs to evaluate its military operations in Papua, as more soldiers and civilians are injured by gunfire.
“We know there are threats from separatists. However, if we use a military approach to solve the separatism problem, we also have to evaluate the approach’s impact on civilians, especially children,” Kontras Coordinator Haris Azhar said on Wednesday.
He said that the government might evaluate the military operation, but it still had to solve the security problem.
“We need a guide for conducting military operations that reduces the number of victims, especially civilian victims. Evaluations will also contribute to handling the security problem in Papua,” he said.
Haris said that the dialogue approach, which was accepted by all Papua citizens, would help handle the security problems in Papua, especially those caused by separatists.
A series of armed conflicts ignited in Papua recently. On June 25, five people allegedly from the Free Papua Movement (OPM) attacked First Brig. M. Sumar Yazin in Mulia Airport, Puncak Jaya regency, Papua. On July 5, people from the OPM attacked soldiers patrolling Kalome village, Puncak Jaya regency.
Another fight between the military and the OPM in Kampung Kalome on July 12 injured a mother and three children. A gunfight a day later in Monia village, Tingginambut district, left five soldiers wounded.