The former head of Indonesia's elite anti-terrorism unit is set to become the new Papua Police chief, according to a copy of the decision letter obtained by the Jakarta Globe.
Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian, 47, was head of Densus 88 from 2004 until
last year, when he was appointed deputy chief of the recently formed
National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT). Under his watch, Densus 88 was
able to arrest or kill several key members of the Al-Qaeda-linked
terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah, including Noordin M. Top and
Azhari.
Tito is replacing Insp. Gen. Bigman Lumban Tobing, who critics say has
failed to secure Papua, which has seen increasing violence since late
last year.
The decision letter was dated Sept. 3, 2012. The official handover
ceremony is usually held one week after the decision letter is signed.
Rumors that Tito was being considered for the Papua post have been
circulating since June in response to the escalating conflict in the
restive region.
Indonesia Police Watch chairman Neta S. Pane has previously voiced
opposition to the move, saying the police should choose someone who
could consolidate the security apparatus in Papua and engage the
citizenry in dialogue, not clamp down with increasingly harsh force.
“We strongly reject the efforts of the National Police to deploy Densus
88 in Papua because the problem in Papua is not terrorism but prolonged
socioeconomic gaps,” Neta said in June.
Police have said the violence in Papua was the work of the separatist
Papua Free Organization (OPM). On Sunday, Papua Police successfully
arrested 22 OPM members, including its leader Daniel Kogoya, who is said
to have claimed responsibility for several spouts of violence and
shooting incidents in the past year.
Densus 88, frequently criticized by human rights organization for its
harsh treatment of terrorism suspects, has been involved in a number of
crackdowns against separatists in Papua and Maluku, with officers saying
their participation was justified because the nation’s Law on Terrorism
categorizes armed insurgence as an act of terrorism.
In August last year, counterterrorism officers were deployed in Papua
after four people were killed in an ambush by suspected armed
separatists in Nafri village, on the outskirts of Jayapura.
Last week, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ran a story on
Papuans testifying that Densus 88, which is trained and supplied by the
Australian government, was involved in the June killing of Mako Tabuni,
then-chairman of the pro-independence West Papua National Committee
(KNPB).