Source: West Papua Media Alerts – TPN/OPM letter:
‘We will never surrender’
“To the very last drop of blood.”
General John Magai Yogi (leader of the TPN/OPM Makodam Pemka IV Division in Paniai) declared in a letter that they will not withdraw a single step in their operations against the Indonesian army and police which have been under way since August, 2011.
Senior OPM leader Kelly Kwalik was killed by Indonesian Police in a raid on December 16, 2009.
He said that their struggle was a continuation of the struggle of their predecessors to achieve the aspirations of the people of West Papua.
“We, the TPN/OPM throughout the Land of Papua, will never surrender and will continue to resist the forces of Indonesia to the very last drop of blood.”
John Magai Yogi wrote
in the letter, dated
5 January:
“The only weapons we hold in our hands are Ukaa Mapega, bows and arrows, but we have pledged to God Almighty that we are ready to confront the Brimob troops of the Indonesian police and Densus 88, the elite forces of Indonesia, who are equipped with modern weapons and are at present in control of the district of Paniai.”
“Will soon be called to account…”
On November 19, 2011 Dutch & Papuan people in The Netherlands gathered to raise awareness for West Papua with Lush Cosmetics.
John Magai Yogi made two other points in his letter we should seriously consider:
The first is:
The United Nations, the USA and the Netherlands will soon be called to account for the mistakes they made in the past which sacrificed the Papuan people.
And the second is:
The UN and the USA must speedily resolve the Papuan problem because this problem will never be resolved by means of bargains and Indonesian development activities in Papua.
“Even Though They Are Ordinary People”
John Magai Yogi further states in the letter:
“We will never surrender.
The People living in the kampungs and near the forests are always deemed to be part of the TNP/OPM, even though they are just ordinary people.
They [the military] are now chasing the TPN/OPM and we are not free from military pressure in the forests of Paniai because the chief of police has ordered a large number of Brimob troops from Kalimantan and Densus 88 to come here and encircle our headquarters.
They are threatening our lives. The troops that have been sent here are disrupting our tranquillity and are trying to destroy us, the TPN/OPM.”
He went on to write that since the encirclement and attack against their Eduda headquarters on 13 December 2011, members of the TPN/OPM division have held on to their position in the forests of Paniai.
“This does not mean that we have surrendered.”
The letter concludes with the following words:
“All people and groups have basic rights which must be respected by everyone, including the right to self-determination. This is the right which we Papuan people demand from the UN who never listened when our rights were trampled upon by the forces of Indonesia and the USA.”
