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The recent attacks in Papua, especially those around the Freeport mining complex, were aimed at provoking the military into committing human rights violations that would grab the attention of the international community, a military spokesman said on Tuesday.

Armed Forces (TNI) spokesman Brig. Gen. Christian Zebua said the perpetrators — who he referred to by the military’s code name, the Security Disturbance Movement, rather than by the official name, the Free Papua Movement (OPM) — were setting up a scenario whereby the country’s security personnel would be dragged into a deeper conflict that could result in them committing rights abuses, which would then make news internationally.

“They would applaud if we took strong action against them. So we must be careful not to get trapped in that scenario,” Zebua said.

He said there were still many guerilla units in the area, including Goliath Tabuni’s group and Kelly Kwalik’s group, which were always ready to run with such a scenario, adding that some former local government officials, disappointed because they could not take part in running the bureaucracy, were also part of the movement.

Unfortunately, he said, a number of foreign countries are also involved in the conflict.

“Why do they operate in Indonesia? Because of our rich natural resources. In Papua, we have the Freeport mine,” Zebua said, declining to name the countries.

Speaking in Jakarta, Choirul Anam from the group Human Rights Watch said that government authorities too often approached Papua solely as a security problem involving separatist aspirations.

“While, on the other hand, the people of Papua also need justice, access to welfare and identity recognition,” Choirul said.

He cited past cases of human rights violations in Papua that had yet to be addressed by the government. He pointed to the Wasior Wamena case, where a National Human Rights Commission investigation had found rights violations, but the Attorney General’s Office decided not to bring the case to court.

Choirul also said the government and the military always reacted in anger when Papuans raised the Morning Star flag, which would be better seen as an expression of local culture.

He said the current government should look back to when former President Abdurrahman Wahid visited Papua and accepted the raising of the Morning Star Flag together with the national flag.

“So, we must be look for the real problems in Papua, only then will we get down to some real problem solving,” he said.

A series of violent attacks since July 11 close to PT Indonesia Freeport’s Grasberg mine have left three dead and 13 injured. Freeport’s operations and staff members have been the targets of blockades, bomb attacks and arson since production began at the mine in the1970s.

The company is also a frequent target of demonstrations by locals, who argue that the spoils from exploiting Papua’s vast resources have been distributed unfairly.