This is a comment from the website to the article entitled “Same foes, same woes behind Papua chaos” on the front page.
Daemonic
tragedies pre- and post-election Aceh seemed to have inspired the
uninspired Papuan rebels to do the same. I assume, these actions have
been planned for a long time, before the Indonesian officials realized
what was really happening and found themselves in an uncontrollable
situation.
There are similarities in the series of coercive actions and
intimidation in the last 18 months in Aceh and Papua that have claimed
dozens to lives and injured hundreds of others.
As we all
already know, the Aceh Party won the gubernatorial election amid
intimidation and violence against Acehnese voters. Those “tools”
succeeded in halting and delaying the election date, changing the
government’s policies, softening the principal of democracy and beating
the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
The scenario in Aceh seems to
have inspired the Papuan rebels. Over the last 18 months, more than 35
people have been killed by the same “tools” as in Aceh. They have taken
advantage of the government’s inability to control the situation. The
security apparatus seems paralyzed in dealing with this situation. The
goal is to undermine people’s confidence that the government still
exists.
Obviously, they have won the battle, but not the war. I
would say that a real victory would win the hearts and minds of the
people.
David Webb
Jakarta