Jakarta – The National Police Headquarters will change the Nemangkawi Task Force (Satgas) operation to the Cartenz Peace operation at the end of January 2022. This operation is predicted to no longer prioritize law enforcement in hunting down the Armed Criminal Group (KKB) in Papua.
The Head of the Public Information Bureau (Karopenmas) of the National Police Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan explained that the name change would be carried out in line with the end of the Nemangkawi Task Force’s term of office on January 25, 2022.
“Later, the Nemangkawi Operation will end, and its name will be changed to the Cartenz Peace Operation 2022,” he said when confirmed, Monday (10/1).
Ramadhan said that in the operation, the police would prioritize persuasive and preemptive methods. According to him, there are three functions that are the focus of the Damai Cartenz operation, namely the intelligence function, the community development function (binmas), and the public relations function (PR).
Regarding legal action, he said it would still be carried out in the Cartenz Peace operation. It’s just that Ramadhan emphasized that it is only a supporting function.
“The way of acting that is put forward in the Damai Cartenz operation is persuasive and preemptive. By prioritizing the intelligence function, the public relations function and the public relations function,” he said.
“It is supported by the Preventive Task Force and the Gakkum Task Force (law enforcement). This is not prioritized, but a supporting function,” he added.
Previously, Ramadhan had also said that the Nemangkawi Task Force would take a new approach and approach this year. Ramadhan said this new approach would prioritize aspects of the welfare of the local community so that there would be no more victims of violence in Papua.
To note, the Nemangkawi Task Force is a joint team of TNI-Polri officers tasked with dealing with armed criminal groups (KKB) in the Papua region. The task force is under the command of the Papuan Police Chief and the Cenderawasih Regional Military Commander.
In the pursuit of KKB, the Nemangkawi Task Force noted that there were four districts considered prone to violence, namely Intan Jaya Regency, Mimika Regency, Puncak Regency, and Nduga Regency.
Based on police data, a total of 44 victims died due to gunfights that occurred in Papua over the past year. Of the total fatalities, 15 of them were members of the TNI-Polri.
The Papuan Police Chief Inspector General Mathius Fakhiri said that the number of shooting cases had increased when compared to 49 cases in 2020. In 2021 there were 92 shootings.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD had said that currently there are 19 KKBs being fought by the government related to various violent and separatist acts carried out in Papua.
Mahfud emphasized that the government in this case is not fighting the Papuan people, but groups of people who move in a separatist manner and often commit violence and have been labeled as terrorists.