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A6 WORLD NEWS
Monday 17 april 2023
Gunmen attack Indonesian troops deployed to rescue NZ pilot

By ALFIAN KARTONO and Widjojono said the military
NINIEK KARMINI operations in Papua were
Associated Press launched with a view to
JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) avoid a large number of
— Separatist gunmen at- casualties.
tacked Indonesian army “TNI has never stepped
troops who were deployed back even once in main-
to rescue a New Zealand taining our territorial sov-
pilot taken hostage by the ereignty,” Widjojono said.
rebels in Indonesia’s restive “And this is being imple-
Papua province, leaving at mented consistently in
least six dead and about 30 Papua.”
missing, officials said Sun- The rebels in February
day. stormed a single-engine
Initial information from army plane shortly after it landed
reports said there were on a small runway in Paro
about 36 soldiers at a post in remote Nduga district
in the hilly district of Ndu- and abducted its pilot. The
ga, when attackers from plane initially was sched-
the West Papua Liberation uled to pick up 15 construc-
Army, the armed wing of tion workers who had been
the Free Papua Movement, building a health center af-
opened fire on Saturday. Indonesian military spokesman Rear Admiral Julius Widjojono speaks during a press conference ter separatist rebels threat-
At least six died and 21 at Indonesia military headquarter in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, April 16, 2023. ened to kill them.
others fled into the jungle, Associated Press Saturday’s fighting is the
according to the military how many Indonesian the position of the pilot and were killed in Saturday’s at- latest in a series of violent
reports seen by journalists. army troops died and were his abductors. The rebels tack. incidents in recent years in
A military spokesman con- injured,” Taryaman said. shot a soldier who fell into Sambom urged Indonesia’s Papua, a former Dutch col-
firmed only one dead. Nine “We are still searching, but a 15-meter (49-foot) deep government to stop its mili- ony in the western part of
soldiers were reportedly heavy rain, foggy weather ravine, and launched a tary operations in Papua. New Guinea that is ethni-
being held by the rebels. and a lack of communica- second attack while troops He also said his group had cally and culturally distinct
Papua military spokesper- tion have hampered our were getting his body out, offered to negotiate with from much of Indonesia.
son Col. Herman Taryaman search and evacuation ef- Widjojono said. He con- both the Indonesian and Conflicts between indig-
said the soldiers were part forts.” firmed only one fatality so New Zealand governments enous Papuans and Indo-
of a group that was search- First Adm. Julius Widjojono, far. for the pilot they took hos- nesian security forces are
ing for Phillip Mark Meh- the spokesperson for the In- Rebel spokesperson Sebby tage, but said they had not common.
rtens, a New Zealand pilot donesian National Armed Sambom said in a state- received a response. Papua was incorporated
for the Indonesian aviation Forces, or TNI, told a news ment that the group’s fight- “Indonesia’s government into Indonesia in 1969, after
company Susi Air who was conference in the capital, ers carried out the attack must stop its security opera- a U.N.-sponsored ballot that
abducted by the rebels in Jakarta, that the search in revenge for the killing of tion in Papua and be willing was widely seen as a sham.
February. operation will be carried two rebels in a shootout to negotiate with our lead- Since then, a low-level in-
He said authorities were out “with maximum force.” with Indonesian security ers under the mediation of surgency has simmered in
searching for about 30 sol- He said the rebels confront- forces last month. He said a neutral third party from the region, which is divided
diers. ed troops when they tried at least nine members of In- a United Nations agency,” into two provinces, Papua
“It’s still unknown exactly to comb an area close to donesia’s elite army force Sambom said. and West Papua.q

Europe’s most powerful nuclear reactor

kicks off in Finland

which has 1,600-megawatt of electricity and plays an Finland was more than four
capacity, was connected important role in the Finn- decades ago.
into the Finnish national ish green transition,” TVO The Olkiluoto 3 is Western
power grid in March 2022 President and CEO Jarmo Europe’s first new reactor in
and kicked off regular pro- Tanhua said in a statement. more than 15 years. It is the
duction on Sunday. Opera- The company added that first new-generation EPR, or
tor Teollisuuden Voima, or “the electricity production European Pressurized Re-
TVO, tweeted that “Olkil- volume of Europe’s largest actor, plant to have gone
uoto 3 is now ready” after a nuclear power plant unit online in Europe. It was de-
delay of 14 years from the is a significant addition to veloped in a joint venture
The turbine hall of the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto 3 ‘OL3’ is original plan. clean, domestic produc- between France’s Areva
pictured under construction in Eurajoki, south-western Finland, It will help Finland to tion.” and Germany’s Siemens.
March 23, 2011. achieve its carbon neu- Construction of Olkiluoto 3 Primarily because of safety
Associated Press
trality targets and increase began in 2005 and was due concerns, nuclear power
By JARI TANNER completed a test phase energy security at a time to be completed four years remains a controversial is-
Associated Press lasting more than a year when European countries later. However, the project sue in Europe. The launch
HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s and started regular output, have cut oil, gas and other was plagued by several of the Finnish reactor co-
much-delayed and costly boosting the Nordic coun- power supplies from Russia, technological problems incides with Germany’s
new nuclear reactor, Eu- try’s electricity self-sufficien- Finland’s neighbor. that led to lawsuits. The last move to shut down its last
rope’s most powerful by cy significantly. “The production of Olkil- time a new nuclear reac- remaining three nuclear
production capacity, has The Olkiluoto 3 reactor, uoto 3 stabilizes the price tor was commissioned in plants on Saturday.q