PRESS RELEASE
Response to news reports of incidents at the East Palapa Ring project in Beoga District, Puncak Regency, Papua
Papua | March 4, 2022
Regarding the news of an incident in Beoga District, Puncak Regency, Papua, according to a preliminary analysis by the PT Palapa Timur Telematika (Company) team, there was a suspected security breach at the Company's Tower B3, identified by surveillance cameras at the tower in the early hours of Wednesday, March 2, 2022. On Wednesday morning, March 2, 2022, the Company sent supplies by helicopter to Tower B3, but found no Company employees at the location. Therefore, a follow-up review of the surveillance camera footage was conducted. A review of surveillance camera footage from Wednesday, March 2, 2022, early in the morning indicated activity from unknown persons, which is suspected to be a potential security disturbance. Therefore, the Company immediately tried to contact 4 Company employees, 4 employees from the Company's contractor, and 1 local community guide, but obstacles were encountered. As a follow-up on this matter, on March 3, 2022, the Company decided to send a helicopter to the tower location to obtain information on the field situation, which was hampered by bad weather. Until this press release was published, there had been no direct review of the Company's tower location due to access and weather constraints, so the Company has not been able to provide confirmation regarding information circulating in a number of mass media regarding fatalities and injuries or the physical condition of tower B3. For information, the location of tower B3 is at an altitude of over 3000 meters above sea level and can only be reached by helicopter. Current weather conditions are hampering the team's identification process to the tower location.
The Company is making every effort to ensure the safety of its employees, local community guides, and the security of its sites. This includes requests for assistance and assistance from security forces (the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri), the Central and Regional Governments, and the security forces to implement security measures at all sites within the East Palapa Ring project, a National Strategic Priority Infrastructure Project. In this incident, the security forces requested assistance in evacuating Company employees, contractors, and local community guides. These security measures are essential, with the full support of the Central and Regional Governments, as well as the security forces (TNI and Polri), given the repeated security disturbances by unknown individuals at the Company's sites since the commencement of operations at the East Palapa Ring project in 2019. This full support is necessary considering that the project is a National Strategic Priority Infrastructure Project that provides telecommunications services to the public.
Prior to the incident, Tower B3 was undergoing repairs to restore the telecommunications network. The workers were working to restore the network, hoping to restore telecommunications services to the Papuan community. The company has taken all necessary steps to ensure the continued functioning of the Palapa Ring Timur telecommunications service. To date, there have been no significant network disruptions to the Palapa Ring Timur telecommunications network as a whole. The company is also making every effort to evacuate its employees.
For further information, please contact:
PT Palapa Timur Telematika Public Relations
