Indonesian Military kill OPM Member in Papua Raid

By Banjir Ambarita on 1:10 pm February 2, 2014.

Jayapura. The Indonesian security forces killed one member of the Free Papua Movement (OPM) during a firefight in Yapen Waropen district on Saturday, arresting 11 others in the latest crackdown on the separatist group this restive province.

A joint security forces with the Papua Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) staged a raid on a meeting of the OPM in Yapen Waropen on Saturday. When the security forces attempted to storm the meeting, the OPM members allegedly opened fire, injuring three people on the fight.

“We’d got an information that the group was holding a summit, so security officers led by the local police chief and the Yapen military commander headed to the location,” Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Pujo Sulistyo said on Saturday. “As soon as they arrived, though, they were welcomed with gunshots, so a firefight broke out.”

One OPM member, 38-year-old Yohasua Arampay, was killed in the battle.

“Eleven people have been arrested and they’re now undergoing questioning,” Pujo said.

The officers seized guns, bows and arrows and two Morning Star flags from the scene. The flag, the symbol of the Papuan independence movement, is banned in Indonesia.

ENDS

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