In the forest beside the stream, a group of armed men wearing camouflage uniforms and holding semi-automatic rifles were confronting Jiang Feng, Ma Yun, Ma Tao, Qi Tian and Wang Daqing, with their guns pointed at the young special police officers.
Jiang Feng and others also showed their weapons, and the scene was full of gunpowder.
Just when the situation was tense, Gao Fei and Tang Ning rushed over.
The leader of the group of militants opposite, a middle-aged man wearing a beret crookedly, turned his head and glanced this way, his eyes fell on Tangning's face, and he was stunned.
Tangning also recognized this person and quickly waved and shouted, "Lieutenant Colonel Gale, do you still recognize me?"
"Of course!" The man in the beret smiled, "Dear Ms. Bron, long time no see, are you okay?"
"Not bad. How have you been doing this year?"
"Things are tough, Ms. Bron, but we still have to keep fighting."
Lieutenant Colonel Gale put the pistol back into his waist and asked his men to put down their guns.
When the SWAT team saw that the crisis was over, they also put away their weapons.
"Sister Tang, what does 'Bron' mean?" Gao Fei asked in a low voice.
"Burung in Batavia means 'flying bird', which is my pen name." Tangning replied with a smile.
"Which army does the group of militants across the street belong to? The leading officer seems to be familiar with you?" Jiang Feng also came to inquire.
"They are a guerrilla group under the Papua Free Army. They mainly operate in the southern part of Irian Island. Lieutenant Colonel Gale is the second-in-command of the guerrilla group and is considered an old friend of mine."
"Wow! Sister Tang, do you have friends in the military? You are indeed a famous journalist who has won the Pulitzer Prize. You have a lot of friends!" Ma Yun said with admiration on her face.
Tangning shook her head and chuckled: "Xiaoyun, you have misunderstood. The Free Army of Papua is not the regular army of the Republic of Batavia. In fact, they are anti-government armed forces."
At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Gale walked over, looked at Gao Fei and others warily, and asked Tangning in a dialect that outsiders could not understand: "Are these friends of yours also journalists?"
"They are all my colleagues."
Tang Ning responded with the unique skills of a journalist, neither lying nor revealing the identities of Gao Fei and others.
Lieutenant Colonel Gale's expression softened and he asked her: "What's your purpose of coming here?"
"My colleagues and I plan to sneak into the Hitti Gold Mine to investigate the inside story of some things."
"Ha! I understand, you want to make a big news, exposing the evil practices of gold mines that brutally exploit labor, destroy the ecological environment, and plunder the wealth that should belong to us Papuans!"
Lieutenant Colonel Gale looked excited.
Tangning smiled helplessly, not knowing that he might be wrong.
"Come with me, Ms. Bron, bring your colleagues, come to our camp to have a rest, and then discuss cooperation!"
"Lieutenant Colonel, I haven't planned to cooperate with you yet..."
"You should cooperate with us, ma'am, I dare say it will be good for us all!" Lieutenant Colonel Gale said meaningfully.
"you mean?"
"We also plan to attack the Hitti Gold Mine. You and I have the same enemy, why not join forces?"
Tangning hesitated for a moment, then turned around and translated Lieutenant Colonel Gale's invitation to Gao Fei and others, asking for their opinions.
"We should accept Lieutenant Colonel Gale's invitation." Ma Tao said solemnly, "If we don't accept cooperation, we may be regarded as enemies by the other party and attacked by this anti-government armed force."
"They are just a group of terrorists with old equipment. There is nothing to be afraid of."
Qi Tian crossed his arms in front of his chest, with a sneer on his lips.
"Xiaotian, don't cause trouble!" Wang Daqing's face darkened, "As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot overwhelm the local snakes. It is not a good thing to have too many enemies on other people's territory!"
"I also think we can consider cooperating with them." Jiang Feng said, "But I am not afraid of causing trouble, but I am worried that they will ruin our affairs."
Goofy understands his girlfriend's subtext.
Even if this guerrilla force is not difficult for itself, you will go your way and I will go my single-plank bridge. If both sides are trying to develop the Hiti Gold Mine, they will either cooperate or they will inevitably clash.
For example, when we are sneaking into a gold mine, the guerrillas also launch a fierce attack on the gold mine. Bullets don't have eyes. What if it causes accidental damage?
To say the least, if the guerrillas alert the mercenary team stationed at the mine and increase their vigilance, it will also cause a lot of trouble for the special police team.
Thinking about this, Gao Fei also made up his mind and said to Tangning: "Let's go to the guerrilla camp and exchange information with their leader. If we can cooperate, we will cooperate. If we can't get along, we can at least say hello in advance to avoid holding each other back."
."
Tangning nodded, translated Gao Fei's words into Papua dialect, and told Lieutenant Colonel Gale.
"Excellent, distinguished guests, please come with me!"
Lieutenant Colonel Gale seemed very enthusiastic, and glanced at Gao Fei more intentionally or unintentionally.
Based on Tang Ning's demeanor when she was talking to Gao Fei and others just now, this shrewd guerrilla leader had already figured out that Gao Fei was the talker of the "press corps".
On the way to the guerrilla camp, Tang Ning took the initiative to tell Gao Fei the ins and outs of his association with the anti-government armed forces.
"Last spring, I planned to write a book that introduced the 'Free Papua Movement' in depth. In order to collect information, I went to Irian Island and interviewed many guerrillas, including Lieutenant Colonel Gale and his superior Wei.
Colonel Lun."
"The so-called 'Free Papua Movement' refers to a separatist organization active on Irian Island, and also includes the anti-government armed forces affiliated to this organization. Its program of action is to seek the separation of the Irian Jaya region from the Batavia government
rule and realize the establishment of an independent country."
"The main supporters of the 'Free Papua Movement' are the indigenous Papuans on the island. They believe that they have no historical and cultural ties with the Republic of Batavia. In terms of language, religion, food, and physical appearance, they are all related to the Republic of Batavia.
Davia is culturally incompatible with mainstream society.”
"The Batavia Republic's rule over Irian Island is, in the view of these indigenous people, an illegal military occupation."
"In addition to cultural factors, Papuans and the Batavia government also have deep conflicts on the economic level."
"The western part of Irian Island has the world's largest gold mine and the second largest copper mine, as well as rich natural resources such as palm oil, natural gas, spices, and forests, all of which are monopolized by the Batavia government and Western multinational companies."
"The 5.4 million indigenous people living on this land cannot enjoy the economic benefits brought by natural resources at all. They watch the wealth on this land being plundered, and it is inevitable that they will feel resentment."
"The West Papua independence movement began in the 1960s when West Papua was annexed by the Republic of Batavia. To this day, instead of subduing, it has intensified."
