The Indonesian military has identified a Papuan man, Wani Tabuni, as
having acted as an informant for a rebel group that was responsible for
the death of a soldier in Tingginambut, Papua, last week.
Military
spokesman Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said Wani helped the Papuan rebel
movement GPK in a shootout at an Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) base in
Tingginambut that resulted in the death of First Private Wahyu Prabowo.
Second Lt. Reza Gita Armena was also injured in the firefight.
“A civilian by the name of Wani Tabuni visited the TNI post in
Tingginambut. Thirty minutes after he left, the post was under heavy
fire. We sent reinforcements and we fought back,” Iskandar said on
Tuesday.
“We’re still not sure of Wani’s role in the shootings
but we believed he’s involved. We suspect that he was leaking
information on the post’s weaknesses and soon after he left, the GPK
launched an attack.”
Iskandar said Wani was suspected of acting
as a double agent. The TNI was not suspicious of Wani’s visit because he
was known to have a close relationship with the military.
“We’re tracking his whereabouts right now. After the shooting, he fled into the forest, making him hard to find,” he said.
Last
week eight soldiers and four civilians were killed in two separate
incidents in the mountains of Puncak Jaya district, known as a rebel
stronghold.
“We tried to reduce the use of guns in the region to
reduce tensions, but our good intention was misinterpreted and was
taken advantage of,” Iskandar said.
The TNI and police are still investigating the attacks, but have yet to determine if they were related.
“We’re
still chasing the separatist movement. The police have set up 11 teams
of Mobile Brigade [Brimob] to investigate this. We will back them up,”
Iskandar said.
Iskandar said there were three separatist
movements in Papua, each consisting of 50 to 100 members and armed with
15 to 20 rifles and machetes.
“They could have gotten their guns
from outside parties or taking other people’s weapons,” Iskandar said.
“We will chase, hunt and arrest the killers. They will be put to
justice.”