Five survivors from the incidents of seedboat burned in PNG (Jubi)
Jayapura, 10/2 (Jubi) – The burning Papuan fishermen’s speedboat by people suspected to be Papua New Guinea soldiers, if true, is a violation of the international law of the sea, said an Indonesian diplomat in PNG, Jahar Gultom.
“If the fishermen’s report is proven true, it means that the PNG army has broken the border agreement and the international law of sea,” said the Indonesian consul in PNG, Jahar Gultom on Monday (2/10).
He said relations between Indonesia and PNG were good in dealing with border issues and such an incident should have not happened if the agreement had been implemented.
Merauke and PNG are closely linked through culture and trading activities.
“As reported, 10 fishermen who went to PNG to buy sea cucumbers had their immigration papers with them. There should be a clarification by the PNG government,” he said.
Gultom said if the story was true, he urged the Department of Borders in Papua to send a protest letter to the PNG consulate in Jayapura.
A fisherman who survived the incident , Anton Basik Basik, told tabloidjubi.com on Saturday night that he and his nine friends had gone to PNG by speedboat to buy sea cucumbers, but. when they entered Karu waters, a number of heavily armed-PNG soldiers boarded the boat.
“We were told to knee at gun point. A few minutes later, two PNG soldiers took a bucket of gasoline, poured on the speed boat and burnt it. The soldiers then left with one packet of cigarettes and some cash money that we would use to buy sea cucumbers,” said Anton.
He said he and four others managed to swim ashore while the other five went missing (Jubi / Arjuna/ Tina)
