Jayapura, Papua (ANTARA News) - Major General Hotma Marbun here Monday took over the Cenderawasih regional military command (Kodam-XVII) overseeing Papua and West Papua provinces from Maj Gen Azmyn Yusri Nasution.

The ceremony marking the transfer of duties from Yusri Nasution to Hotma Marbun was led by Army Chief of Staff General George Toisutta and attended, among others, by Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu and West Papua Governor Abraham Octavianus Ataruri.

"The area overseen by the Cenderawasih regional military command shares a border with Papua New Guinea with which we should maintain good relations," Toisutta said on the occasion.

The Army Chief also asked the new regional military commander to continue his predecessor`s efforts to give guidance to the military in the region on how to help ensure the smooth and secure implementation of development programs in the provinces of West Papua and Papua.

"The law must be upheld because we do not want the Indonesian nation and state to be torn apart by groups that undermine the unity and integrity of the Republic of Indonesia," he said. (*)