Launch of the Free West Papua Campaigns 2017 global petition calling for an internationally-supervised vote for West Papua at Westminster last week. Video: Pouk Malay
By Badriyanto in Jakarta
Indonesian military (TNI) chief General Gatot Nurmantyo was relaxed in response to news that there is a West Papua people’s petition seeking to separate West Papua from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
“Everything’s okay with West Papua right. There isn’t any problem,” said Nurmantyo during a hearing with the House of Representative’s Commission I overseeing information and communications, defence and foreign affairs at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta.
Nurmantyo said he was not going to get upset over the various petitions initiated by “criminal” groups because it was a waste of time and energy on matters that were of little substance.
Nurmantyo also said that the Ministry of Communication and Information (Kominfo) had already blocked a number of websites that had been circulating the petition.
“If the petition’s not from an official group then why should we bother about it, it’s tiring right. Who made this [petitions], who makes them, there’s no end to them,” said Nurmantyo.
As already reported, an online petition has been circulating supporting West Papua’s separation from the NKRI.
The petition is targeting 20,000 people and will be taken to Geneva and handed over to the United Nations.
First published by Okezone in Bahasa on January 26. Translated by James Balowski for the Indoleft News Service. The original title of the report was “Tanggapi Masalah OPM, Panglima TNI: Papua Barat Baik-Baik Saja”.
