Papua shooters OPM, not us: TNI

A top military officer was quick on Wednesday to blame the Free Papua Movement (OPM) for a recent shooting at an airport in Papua that killed one and injured four even though the investigation into the incident has not concluded.

“Of course the suspect were OPM members, who else?” the Indonesian Army chief of staff, Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, told reporters at Merdeka Palace before attending a State Ceremony to welcome British Prime Minister David Cameron.

He was responding to questions regarding the shooting of a Twin Otter plane operated by privately run Trigana Air. The small aircraft was shot at on Sunday morning shortly after it touched down at Mulia Airport in the Puncak Jaya regency.

A journalist was killed and four other people onboard, including the pilot and first officer, were injured. The pilot lost control and the plane hit a nearby warehouse.

Pramono was quick to deny any involvement of TNI members in the recent string of violence in Papua.

“To be honest, I think those who accuse the TNI do not have hearts,” the brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

“We are working together with the police to probe the incident.”

Puncak Jaya regency is known as the “red zone” for its record of numerous attacks by unidentified perpetrators.

Numerous attacks in Indonesia’s easternmost province, which have killed dozens of civilians, remain unresolved. This has resulted in speculation that the attacks were part of intelligence or military operations.

Pramono said cracking down on armed groups in Papua would not be easy given the region’s deep forest and mountainous area.

“The region is difficult. Maybe I should ask journalists to come along sometime so you learn how tough the area is,” he said. (nvn)