Indonesian press reporting the last couple of days suggests the reason why the Indonesian military have not moved in with force on the kidnappers is that a great many people died in an incident in 1994. Republika (28 & 29/1/96) quotes Kopassus chief Prabowo as saying Abri did not wish to repeat the mistakes of the past. Kelly Kwalik sometime in 1994 forced 3000 villagers towards the PNG border, and Abri attacks on the column led to 'a number' of deaths. In the next sentence it said 70% (2100!) of the group 'died on the way'. I have never seen such a high figure mentioned anywhere else, and it may be wrong. The incident, according to Republika, occurred after Kwalik's group had killed an Indonesian soldier in an attack on a post, and had used the villagers as living shields. Abri had shot 'tens' of villagers, it said, before realizing they were not guerillas.
It now seems the group with its foreign kidnap victims has moved westwards towards Paniai lakes, not eastwards towards the PNG border. Abri is not confident they will be able to intercept its movement.
Among documents received (taken from OPM?) by Abri is one suggesting the OPM recently received 'three containers' of weapons from overseas. Anothers source says they have received 300 HK-40 rifles in the Vanimo area. Four Australian ex-military men were said to be training hundreds of OPM guerillas in their use. If true, and the story has been denied both by Abri and the OPM spokesperson in Sydney, it would be a significant boost to OPM's current armoury, which Abri estimates at less than 100 firearms.
An Indonesian parliamentarian has suggested Australia is obliged by its new defence treaty to assist Indonesia in monitoring the PNG-Irian Jaya border (Repubika 29/1/96). Aisyah Aminy, PPP parliamentarian who chairs Commission I (?foreign affairs) says the imported weapons rumour should lead Australia to help overcome PNG's inability to keep a close watch on the border. This is precisely the kind of 'internal' issue with 'external' ramifications that many commentators on the Indonesia-Australia defence treaty were concerned about. The treaty only mentions serious security challenges, but verbal glosses from both sides were given that the intention was only to give assistance in the event of an external challenge to Indonesia.
Meanwhile, two Indonesian schoolchildren kidnapped near the border on the north by Mathias Wenda of OPM, were released into PNG government custody near Vanimo last Monday. It seems no ransom was paid. Gatra (13/1/96) reports that the kidnapping of these two students from South Sulawesi had caused conflict within OPM, since one OPM commander, Alimuddin, himself comes from South Sulawesi. That makes two South Sulawesian commanders identified in recent days, and suggests either that Irian Jaya is acquiring an echo with other regionalist unrest, or is proving an attractive hiding place for men of violence from elsewhere. Alimuddin fought with Kahar Muzakkar in South Sulawesi before 1965, and entered the jungle with OPM in the 1980s.
Gerry van Klinken, editor, 'Inside
Indonesia' magazine.
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