27-4-2024 (JAKARTA) In a significant development amidst the ongoing unrest in Indonesia’s restive Papua region, a rebel fighter who had aligned himself with the Goliath Tabuni-led armed group has surrendered to an army post in Kisor Village, Maybrat District, Southwest Papua. The surrender of Setam Same was confirmed by Colonel Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa, the spokesman for the Joint Defense Regional Command (Kogabwilhan) III.
According to Suriastawa, Same surrendered on Wednesday (April 24) and declared his allegiance to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Upon his arrival at the army post, the rebel fighter was found to be in poor health, prompting a team of army medical personnel to provide immediate assistance.
Following his surrender, Same was handed over to local police authorities, as he had been on the most wanted list for his alleged involvement in a deadly attack on the Kisor military post in 2021. The assault, carried out by 50 members of the Goliath Tabuni-armed group, resulted in the tragic deaths of four soldiers.
The surrender of Same comes amid a prolonged campaign of violence and unrest in parts of Papua, where armed Papuan groups have employed hit-and-run tactics against Indonesian security personnel and mounted acts of terror against civilians in the districts of Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Puncak. The targets of these attacks have ranged from construction workers and motorcycle taxi drivers to teachers, students, street food vendors, and even civilian aircraft.
One of the most brutal incidents occurred on December 2, 2018, when a group of armed Papuan separatists mercilessly killed 31 workers from PT Istaka Karya, who were engaged in the Trans Papua project in Kali Yigi and Kali Aurak in Yigi Sub-district, Nduga District.
More recently, on March 2, 2022, members of an armed Papuan group operating in Beoga Sub-district, Puncak District, killed eight workers from Palaparing Timur Telematika (PTT) who were repairing a base transceiver station (BTS) tower belonging to the state-owned telecommunications operator Telkomsel.
The ongoing violence has not spared foreign nationals either. On February 7, 2023, New Zealander pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens was taken hostage by the Egianus Kogoya-led armed group after his aircraft, belonging to Indonesian airline Susi Air, landed in Nduga District. The rebels set the aircraft on fire shortly after capturing Mehrtens.
The unrest has also claimed the lives of Indonesian security personnel. On October 16, 2023, Papuan separatists attacked several traditional gold miners in Yahukimo District, Papua Pegunungan Province, killing seven of them. Four months later, on November 25, 2023, four soldiers were killed in a gunfight with Papuan rebels in Paro Sub-district, Nduga District, Papua Province.
More recently, on January 19, 2024, a gunfight broke out between Indonesian security personnel and members of an armed separatist group operating in Intan Jaya District, Central Papua. In this clash, Alfando Steve Karamoy, a National Police elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) ranger assigned to the Operation Peace Cartenz Task Force in Central Papua Province, sustained gunshot wounds and later succumbed to his injuries at Intan Jaya Public Hospital.
