Human Rights Watch, one of the biggest human rights advocates based in the US, condemned the action of mass killing committed by the Free West Papua military organization (OPM) in Nduga, West Papua earlier this month. They urged the international society and Indonesian government to investigate and bring justice to the perpetrators of such horrendous massacre. 

The OPM (Organisasi Papua Merdeka) or the armed separatists of West Papua were born through devide-et-impera (divide and conquer) politics and the Dutch fake promise of freedom by giving them a West Papua flag and a West Papua song. However, nowadays the armed separatists' goals are more about power and money. 

Elaine Pearson, a researcher from HRW, has indicated that the attack by OPM is spreading a sense of terror in Papua. She is calling on OPM members to stop unlawful killings, and this is a milestone in the history of Indonesia-West Papua political dynamics, when an internationally recognized organization finally took a stance that OPM is indeed hurting Papuans. As much as we would want to think that it is not true, the OPM themselves have confirmed this fact.

Goliath Tabuni as the commander of OPM, the armed wing of Free West Papua separatist movement, has admitted that his side was responsible for the killing of 31 people in Nduga. The purpose of the action was to forcefully stop the construction of Trans Papua road, as a rejection towards Indonesian government development programs.

He told the West Papua news that he was the one who gave the order to kill, and that he would happily execute anyone who “disturbs” the celebration on December 1st, or any other events and efforts to separate Papua from the Republic of Indonesia. He also admitted with pride that his organization kills numbers of Indonesians every year, and he is not stopping unless his demand gets fulfilled. The armed separatists’ crimes are endless.

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The sentences coming from Goliath Tabuni have exempted OPM and Free West Papua from the category of separatist movement, and so we have to put them in a more fitting category: Terrorist group. By nature, OPM/Free West Papua is now an organization that spreads terror and kill civilians in exchange for political bargain; precisely a goal of calculated terrorism.

The OPM members have been employing the basic tactics of terror and radical movements. First, they create small circles of radical communities, especially in highland areas where they are distant from the reach of mainstream media and government facilities. Second, they hide themselves in a bigger Papuan community, in order to protect themselves from investigation and arrests.  Third, they blur the lines between the radical separatists, moderate, and the nationalist Papuans. This way, they are creating the illusion that the number of separatism supporters are bigger than it actually is. 

It is crucial for the international media to conduct peace journalism in times of peril and chaos, just like we are having now in Papua. Currently, there is still an imbalance of foreign journalism  in looking at the West Papua issues, where most publications are feeding on provocative titles to gain ratings and popularity in social media. Unfortunately, this practice tends to create bias against the Indonesian government, who has to defend itself against the attacks from armed OPM members.

The Human Rights Watch also suggested Indonesian government to ensure transparency and freedom of movement for the foreign journalists. On this matter, the international media are currently supplied by local journalists for information, and once the security affairs are settled, foreign journalists will also be able to report safely from West Papua.

Rumour has it that Indonesian government is “banning” foreign journalists from entering Indonesia, but the truth is that there are at least 18 international media currently reporting on what is happening in West Papua.

For example, Alfian Kartono, an Indonesian journalist from Associated Press (AP) reported on December 6th that Indonesian forces have located the bodies of 16 people killed in West Papua by the OPM. Niniek Karmini, a journalist based in Jakarta, also contributed news regarding the situation for New York Times. The report was also confirmed by newsrooms such as ABC, Fox News, and Washington Post. In total, there are at least 7 international newsrooms that verified and used this data for their news and reports. In summary, the Indonesian government has much eased the re