Residents of the Papua New Guinea Border Reject OPM

Residents of the Papua New Guinea Border Reject OPM

Papuan New Guinea (PNG) residents, precisely in the border area with Indonesia, reject the presence of Papuan separatist militants in their territory. They asked the authorities to send them back to Jayapura. Community leader Ray Tanji said the presence of Papuan separatist elements in PNG had caused many problems for border residents.

"I ask the Government of Papua New Guinea to get rid of these people from Vanimo, because it is they who have caused problems at the border so far," he said.

Tanji is a community leader in Wutung, Vanimo, West Sepik Province, which borders directly with the Skouw district, Jayapura, Indonesia. He asked PNG officials to investigate the presence and activities of Papuan separatist elements in order to maintain the security of local residents, because PNG residents at the border had suffered from the actions of the separatist fighters.

"The PNG government only needs to do one thing, return them to their own territory, namely to Jayapura," said the traditional leader of Papua New Guinea.

As a result of the incident, the authorities immediately closed the Indonesian-PNG border access in Skouw-Wutung, Muara Tami District, Jayapura, because the sound of gunfire was heard several times at 6:00 CET CEST causing concern among the border residents.