Kelly Kwalik

Kelly Kwalik (1955 – December 16, 2009) was a senior separatist leader and military commander with the Free Papua Movement (OPM), a separatist organization based in Indonesia's Papua Province.[1]

Kelly Kwalik
Born1955
DiedDecember 16, 2009(2009-12-16) (aged 53–54)
Timika, Indonesia
AllegianceFree Papua Movement
Battles/warsPapua conflict

Papua conflict
Main article: Papua conflict

Kwalik, a known separatist, had been on Indonesia's most wanted list for years.[2] Indonesian police had accused Kwalik of being responsible for a series of shooting incidents and attacks targeting the United States mining company, Freeport-McMoRan, which operates large copper and gold mines on Papua Province.[2] In a 2009 meeting with the police, Kwalik repeatedly denied responsibility for the attacks.[1]

Mapenduma hostage crisis
Main article: Mapenduma hostage crisis

Kwalik's name gained international attention when on January 8, 1996, he and his militia held 26 members of Lorentz Expedition 95, consisting of both Indonesian and international citizens, which resulted in hostage crisis that lasted 5 months and the deaths of two of the hostages in Operation Mapenduma Hostage Liberation by Indonesian military special forces, Kopassus, led by commander Prabowo Subianto. This string of events also led to the 1996 Timika shooting incident in 1996 that killed 16 people on Timika Airport.[3]

Death

On December 16, 2009, Kwalik was shot in a police raid on one of his hideouts in the Gorong-Gorong neighborhood of Timika.[1] Police claimed Kwalik was armed when he was shot while trying to flee.[1] Kwalik died at a hospital in Timika.[1]

Kwalik's body was laid in state at the Mimika Legislative Council building.[4][5] His coffin was draped in a Morning Star flag but police rejected a request by Kwalik's family and supporters to fly the banned flag at his funeral.[5] Kwalik's Catholic funeral mass was officiated by Bishop John Philip Saklil of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Timika.[5] He was buried in Timika.[5]

Following Kwalik's death, the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in January 2010 appointed Jeck Kemong as the new Supreme Commander of its military wing, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and regional commander of Nemangkawi.[6]

According to Undius Kogoya, the leader of the OPM/TPNPB Intan Jaya faction, and Sebby Sambom, the spokesperson of OPM, after killing Joni Botak, the leader of the OPM/TPNPB Kalikopi faction, and Olem Uamang, his adjutant in 2023, both were Indonesian spies who were involved in the death of Kelly Kwalik.[7][8][9]

References
  1. "OPM leader Kwalik dies after shooting incident". Radio New Zealand International. 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  2. Vaswani, Karishma (2009-12-16). "Indonesia police 'kill' Papua separatist Kelly Kwalik". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  3. "ICRC role during the Irian Jaya hostage crisis (January-May 1996)". International Committee of the Red Cross. 1999-08-27. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  4. "Kwalik's men riot at Mimika Legislative Council". The Jakarta Post. 20 December 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  5. "Police Ban Morning Star Flag At Funeral Of Papuan Separatist Leader". Jakarta Globe. 2009-12-21. Archived from the original on 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  6. "Free Papua Movement appoints new military commander". Radio New Zealand International. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  7. Purba, Jonh Roy (2023-04-23). "Duduk Perkara 2 Kubu KKB Papua Saling Baku Tembak di Puncak". detiksulsel (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  8. "Kapolda Papua: Pimpinan KKB Joni Botak Tewas Ditembak Kelompok Lain". CNN (in Indonesian). 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
  9. "Beda Pendapat, Dua Kelompok KKB Saling Serang". Cenderawasih Pos. 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
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