JAKARTA: 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 suspects 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.