Head of the Border and International Cooperation Department of Papua Province, Susanna Wanggai (Jubi)
Jayapura , 12/2 ( Jubi ) – Ten people who were the victims of an attack blamed on Papua New Guinea military personnel were fishermen, an official said.
“There is a cross-border agreement between Indonesia and PNG to manage border passers including local passers who work as fishermen. We do not care whether they are fishermen or traders. The most important think is they are our citizens,” said the head of the Border and International Cooperation Suzana Wanggai in Jayapura , Papua, on Wednesday ( 2/12 ) .
“We are still awaiting a clarification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve this case with the PNG government through diplomatic means,” she said.
Authorities in Papua province have mounted a search effort and continued to work together with the government of Merauke regency.
“Of course, in this case, there are rules enforced because it is in the territorial waters of PNG . And there exists in a basic agreement or an agreement on Indonesian and PNG border cooperation,” she said .
Article 8 of the agreement says if there is an accident or a disaster, the two countries should inform each other.
“We have followed the rule by requesting the Government of PNG through Indonesian consulate in Vanimo to allow rescue teams and Navy teams from Papua to enter PNG territory. It is in the Standard Operations Procedure (SOP) , ” Wanggai said .
The PNG Government, in this case Western Province, and Indonesia are investigating the incident.
” In dealing with this case, we have coordinated with two provinces located in the western and southern parts of PNG and our team in Kyungga are waiting for the results, “ she said .
Meanwhile, Deputy Governor of Papua Province Kleman Tinal urged the PNG Government to handle the case seriously on Thursday ( 2/6) .
” We ask the government of PNG to seriously follow up on the case. If this is crime as reported by five people who survived, we demand PNG government to handle it seriously, so that bilateral relations between countries remain good, ” Klemen Tinal said. ( Jubi / Alex / Tina)
