The arrest on treason charges of dozens of political activists in Papua will only add to the long list of human rights violations in the region, activists say. However, the police said it was in accordance with the law.

The West Papua National Committee (KNPB) claims there was no declaration of 'Free Papua' in its organisational activities in Tambrauw Regency, Southwest Papua.

Meanwhile, the police said they had two pieces of evidence related to three KNPB members in Tambrauw as treason suspects with a life sentence or a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The police denied that this was part of the suppression of civil and political rights.

On the other hand, a number of groups consider that the arrest of three KNPB members on treason charges will only add to the long list of civil and political rights violations in Papua.

KNPB's version of the arrest chronology

In a statement to BBC News Indonesia, KNPB national spokesperson Ones Suhuniap said, "There was no declaration whatsoever."

This refers to the arrest of 19 KNPB members in Tambrauw, Southwest Papua on Friday (09/06).

"There, the KNPB has a sector management, in this case, the community environment in the countryside. They were there to inaugurate the sector management," said Ones.

After the inauguration activities were completed and the participants were "sitting eating and drinking coffee" suddenly the police came with complete weapons, and made arrests.

"The activity did not interfere with residents' activities... It did not interfere with anything. Disrupting public activities, and disturbing other people, that doesn't exist," Ones continued.

He also dismissed allegations that his organisation was affiliated with TPNPB-OPM.

"Has the KNPB ever held a gun and killed the police? Did the KNPB shoot civilians, be it indigenous Papuans or non-Papuans in Papua?" Ones wondered.

According to Ones, the activities carried out by the KNPB are guaranteed in Law No. 9 of 1998 concerning Freedom of Expression in Public.

He urged the release of the three members because "There is no legal basis for detaining them."

According to Ones, his organisation still "exists", because the problems in Papua are "getting murkier".

Even though for more than a decade, the four roots of the Papuan problem have been clearly raised in the research, he said.

However, they have not been resolved, making the conflict in Papua protracted, Ones added.

He then explained what he called the "four roots of the Papua problem".

These are, among others, the issue of the history and political status of Papua's integration into Indonesia, and protracted military operations that only create collective wounds.

Then, what he called the "marginalisation of Papuans from the modernisation process, and the failure of Papuan development".

The Indonesian government under President Joko Widodo is trying to boost development in Papua, which consists of Papua Province and West Papua Province, mainly through infrastructure projects.

Since 2001, the central government has also implemented a special autonomy policy in Papua, which is characterised by, among other things, the disbursement of funds for the benefit of the Papuan people.

This special autonomy policy is claimed to be evidence of Jakarta's seriousness in solving problems in Papua, however, some experts say the funds have failed to be utilised properly and have been misused several times.

Police claim to have two pieces of evidence

Of the 19 arrested, three KNPB members were named as treason suspects. A total of 16 others have been released, police said.

It is said that the three suspects with the initials UK, YY and WY are threatened with life imprisonment or a maximum imprisonment of 20 years.

Tambrauw Police Chief, AKBP Bendot Dwi Prasetyo, said his party had pocketed two sufficient evidences.

"Here, we have obtained these evidence tools, witness statements that the suspects have committed the act," he said.

In addition, the KNPB's activities are under police supervision because the organisation is "not registered" with the National Unity and Politics Agency (Kesbangpol). In a report by the Antara news agency, a number of KNPB members were also suspected of carrying out an attack on Posramil Kisor in 2021.

"So, that is what grounds us that the KNPB is a banned organisation," said AKBP Bendot Dwi Prasetyo.