Abubakar "Kuburan" Kogoya (1995/1996 – 4 April 2024), known as Abubakar Tabuni, was an Indonesian Papuan separatist militant and leader of the

West Papua National Liberation Army The West Papua National Liberation Army (; abbreviated as TPNPB), officially referred to in Indonesia as the Armed Criminal Group (, abbreviated as KKB), and after 2021, Separatist Terrorist Group (, abbreviated as KST), is a Western New Guinea ...

Activity

Born in

Tembagapura Tembagapura is a district in Mimika Regency, part of the Indonesian province of Central Papua, centered on an urban village built to support the Grasberg Mine. The district covers 2,586.86 km2, and it had a population of 16,917 at the 2010 Census ...

, Tabuni was a subordinate of Guspi Waker and one of the operation commanders in the Intan Jaya faction of Undius Kogoya (Kodap VIII) of TPNPB-OPM, the armed wing of the

Free Papua Movement The Free Papua Movement or Free Papua Organization (, OPM) is a name given to a separatist movement that aims to separate West Papua from Indonesia and establish an independent state in the region. The territory is currently divided into six ...

, a separatist organization which is seeking the

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

of the territory currently administered by

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

as the provinces of

Central Papua Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province () is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 25 July 2022 from the former eight western regencies of ...

Highland Papua Highland Papua () is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Lano-Pago (often shortened to La Pago). It covers an area of and had a population of 1,467,050 according to ...

, Papua,

South Papua South Papua, officially the South Papua Province (), is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the southern portion of Western New Guinea, Papua, following the borders of the Papuan customary region of Anim Ha. Formally establ ...

Southwest Papua Southwest Papua (; ) is the 38th provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia to be created, and was split off from West Papua (province), West Papua on 8 December 2022. Despite being named "southwest", this is actually a misnomer and this prov ...

, and West Papua, serving as one of the group's leaders. Tabuni took part in three attacks near the

Grasberg mine The Grasberg mine has one of the largest reserves of gold and copper in the world. It is located in Mimika Regency, Central Papua, Indonesia near Puncak Jaya. It is operated by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI, ''see below''), a joint venture amon ...

, including a March 2020 attack that killed Graeme Thomas Weal, a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

er and wounded six others, a road

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

in October 2017 that left one police officer dead, and another attack in November the same year that wounded a company truck driver. Tabuni was killed alongside fellow leader Natan Wanimbo by the

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

on 4 April 2024, during a shootout near the mine. He was 28.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabuni, Abubakar 1990s births 2024 deaths People from Mimika Regency West Papuan independence activists Indonesian rebels