Breaking News: Beatings, Arrests as KNPB Rally forcibly broken up by police
West Papua Media
May 13, 2013
UPDATED WITH PHOTOS 8.15 wp time
Indonesian police in Jayapura have this morning violently dispersed a pro-independence rally being held by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), arresting its leader Victor Yeimo, media worker Marthen Manggaprouw and two KNPB activists, according to early reports.
The rally was being held to commemorate the shootings and violent crackdown by Indonesian security forces on peaceful demonstrations across Papua on May 1, which left four people dead and drew international condemnation up to the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay.
Reports from witnesses at the scene have confirmed that police conducted several rounds of baton charges against rally participants who arrived on motorbikes, and then joined by over 1000 other participants who continued to resist the police charges outside the gates of Cenderawasih University in Abepura. Injuries have been reported by but no particulars are yet available. More arrests are expected according to witnesses.
Jayapura police chief Alfred Papare ordered the arrests of Yeimo, Manggaprouw, Yongky Ulimpa (23), Ely Kobak (17) after intense negotiations from 9am local time between police and the activists to allow the rally failed. In this time, thousand’s of frontline Papuan civilians and activists had gathered ready to march from Lingkaran Abepura (outside the Post office) near the National Housing Complex 3 (the site of late KNPB Chairman Mako Tabuni’s assassination by Australian-trained Detachment 88 officers) to the People’s Assembly Council (MRP) office.
At 1050am local time, the mass gathering was attacked and the activists were arrested, beaten by Police, and media activist Manggaprouw had his camera equipment seized by Police. They were taken to Polda Papua headquarters in Jayapura, where grave concerns are held by human rights workers for their safety and freedom from torture.
At 5.30pm this date WPB Victor Yeimo following his earlier arrest was taken to LP Abepura by the Public Prosecutor led by an escort force of police “with full war apparel” using 2 Dalmas trucks, a police patrol vehicle and one vehicle with darkened windows. Stingers for West Papua Media have reported that Police are working together with the Public Prosecutor regarding a previous case against Yeimo for which punishment was never finalised, hence the Prosecutor has detained him again.
At time of Update, Marthen Manggaprow, Yongky Uliampa and Ely Kobak are still being interrogated at Polda Papua.
KNPB Spokesman Wim Medlama told suarapapua.com, “True, officers had arrested four people on Housing III, near the taxi round. Police officers came down with their trucks, crashing into and damaging several motorbikes as well, and then arrested them. Currently they are being brought to the Papua Police. We beg for advocacy.”
“We want to MRP to hold accountable the government and security apparatus-related deaths in all the land of Papua, especially those occurring in Aimas, Sorong, at the time of Papua’s integration demo day on May 1, 2013 and now,” said Medlama.
The rally had been banned by notorious former Detachment 88 chief, now Papua Police chief, Tito Karnavian, in a move that had been widely criticised by Papuan civil society leaders, including Baptist Church leader Socretez Yoman and Kingmi Church leader Benny Giay.
KNPB Chairman Victor Yeimo yesterday told SuaraPapua.com that the ban would not deter Papuan people from peacefully voicing their aspirations. The Papua Police banning peaceful demonstrations is very unnatural, as well as it being illegal, because freedom of public expression is guaranteed by law in the country of Indonesia.
More to come – this is a developing story
@westpapuamedia
Indonesian security forces conduct violent sweeps, detain scores ahead of mass demos in Jayapura for May 1
West Papua Media
May 1 2013
Indonesian police and army units have conducted heavily armed security sweeps across Jayapura ahead of mass demonstrations to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Indonesia’s annexation of West Papua.
Thousands of members of civil society organisations are today converging on Jayapura, West Papua, to hold the demonstrations, however, reports from West Papua Media stringers on the ground in Jayapura have documented a series of brutal raids to prevent public participation in the planned rallies.
Led by a coalition of pro-independence networks including activists from the National Federated Republic of West Papua (NFRPB) and the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), the demonstrations are intended to “show a peaceful expression of continued and universal opposition to Indonesia’s colonial violence against indigenous West Papuans,” and continue to call for self-determination for Papua’s people, a basic human right now denied by Indonesia with the May 1 50-year anniversary of Papua’s annexation, according to organisers from the NFRPB.
Organisers have also called for rolling and widespread strikes, particularly amongst Papuan members of the Indonesian civil service, and for Papuan university and high school student to join the rallies and use May 1 as a “public holiday for West Papuan people’s future”.
The raids began at 0300 (3am local time) on April 30, after the new Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe endorsed a decision by Chief of the (Indonesian) Papua Police, the Australian-trained former head of the notorious counter-terror unit Detachment 88, Inspector General Tito Karnavian, to criminalise all public gatherings for May 1. Karnavian made significant public statements in both Indonesian and Papuan press saying that he will not tolerate dissent to be publicly expressed today, despite this ban being a breach of the of freedoms of expression and association guaranteed under the Indonesian Constitution.
Police have announced to Jayapura residents and rally organisers, that if demonstrations occur, Police will first attempt to use persuasion to disperse the approach of rally participants, and if rally participants ignored persuasion, then they would use force and “destroy” any gatherings.
Organisers have reported that on top of the extra thousand heavily armed police announced by Karnavian, hundreds of heavily armed plain clothes special forces police and soldiers have arrived in the city, with most moving around on motorbikes. In addition, hundreds of soldiers from the Indonesian Army (TNI) were yesterday witnessed riding on motorbikes whilst in full battle kit in a clear show of force and intimidation against Papuan civilians.
Several student dormitories housing rally delegates from various centres across Papua were raided by heavily armed police on April 30, allegedly including Australian-trained members of the counter-terror Detachment 88 attached to the Jayapura ResKrim (Criminal Investigation Branch), as part of a sweep to capture key organiser and West Papua National Authority Manokwari Governor Markus Yenu. In one raid, police from ResKrim detained for 15 hours an elderly former political prisoner named Alfred Kapisa (72), beat, interrogated and subjected him to violence, because according to human rights sources, he was found with a rally flyer on his kitchen table and was suspected of being involved as an organiser.
A raid on the Manokwari student dormitory at 1442 local time, where Yenu was present with the Manokwari rally delegations, ended with police left empty-handed after the students told the police that the delegation were the student’s official guests.
After Yenu and the Manokwari delegation moved to the Mamberamo dormitory, the Abepura police chief allegedly pressured the Chairman of the GKI (Indonesian Christian Church) Synod Alberth Yocku to issue an eviction demand for delegates to vacate the dormitories, managed by the GKI. A platoon and several carloads of heavily armed Police then arrived in the courtyard of the dormitories, and gave the delegates an hour to vacate, upon threat of arrest. The GKI had often come under criticism from Papuan civil society, churches and even Papuan politicians in the Indonesian parliament as being no more than a puppet of Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Indonesian civil society organisation National Papua Solidarity (NAPAS) has condemned the Papuan police decision to ban public dissent, saying in a statement that the ban “represents a reactive, paranoid and discriminative approach of the Indonesian government that limits the exercise of the civil and political rights of Papuans.”
“Furthermore, the decision would undermine the existing processes and initiatives to find a peaceful solution for Papua conflicts,” NAPAS coordinator Zely Ariane said in the statement.
“The ban to commemorate the 50th anniversary event illustrates the Indonesian government position that aims to monopolies the interpretation of Papuan history for the sake of the state, not for Papuans,” Ariane said.
“When both the Governor of Papua and the Chief of Police of Papua deliberately ban any activities of Papuans to commemorate this historic moment, history repeats itself. Papuan’s rights of free speech of free speech and freedom of movement and of assembly were not protected and guaranteed then and now. Therefore, we question both the local authorities in Papua and the national authorities of Indonesia whether they treat Papuans as citizens or just inhabitants,” said Ariane.
Credible sources in Jayapura have reported to West Papua Media that members of the military and police are very wary of KNPB involvement in the 50 year anniversary demonstrations, after these sources spoke with Kopassus officers posing as ojek (motorbike taxi) drivers. Indonesian security forces have long blamed KNPB members for major acts of violence including “unknown persons” (OTK) shootings, though no credible evidence has ever been proven.
However, organisers have reported to West Papua Media that consolidation and planning meetings for today’s commemorations were held between all participant components of Papuan civil resistance, and successfully developed an understanding for joint action, highlighting the goals of Negotiations, Referendum and Recognition as three points of an agreed campaign pathway agenda. Additionally, all components have reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful actions and non-violence as a strategy for all civil resistance mobilisation.
Activists are pressing on with their plans to hold rallies and commemorate today’s anniversary. Whilst activists are expecting a violent police response, they are prepared with a diversity of civil resistance and non-violence tactics to maximise the strategic backfire on Indonesian security forces.
Reports from the ground in Jayapura have detailed fears of a major escalation in repression by security forces. Currently over a thousand police have illegally set up a camp on the Papuan land that is the gravesite of Indonesian assassinated Papuan independence hero Theys Eluay. Human rights sources have expressed concern that this military occupation of one of Papua’s most important sacred site for self-determination and freedom expression is a deliberate provocation by the military to create outrage and potential violence in public gatherings today.
Elsewhere in Papua, unconfirmed reports have emerged from Sorong that a May 1 rally being held there has already been forcefully broken up by police. Human rights sources have reported that two civilians, Tomas Blesia and Abner Malagawak were shot dead, and Salomina Klaibin and Herman Lokden were wounded by security force gunfire, reportedly as people gathered peacefully for the rally. Conflicting reports have claimed that the victims were members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN), but West Papua Media has not been able to independently verify this claim.
More updates will appear on West Papua Media throughout the day, and urgent breaking news will be available on our Twitter feed @westpapuamedia.
Note: Journalists needing comment or contact numbers for speakers inside Papua are encouraged to call the West Papua Editorial team on +61401222177. This contact is bilingual in English and Bahasa Indonesia. The Coordinating Editor can be reached intermittently throughout the day on +61450079106, but not for immediate comment.
BREAKING NEWS: Indon police allegedly detain and torture non-violent activist on Yapen Island
From West Papua Media sources in Serui:
April 30, 2013
Credible but unconfirmed reports have been received via sms by the West Papua Media team on Sunday, April 28, detailing Indonesian police behaviour of torture Yahya Bonai, a 33 year old, non-violent activist from Menawi village in the district of Angkaisera, east of Serui on Yapen Island.
Local stringers told West Papua Media team that Mr Bonai’s seizure was for suspicion of connection with a fatal attack at the home of Chief Brig. Jefri Sesa, an officer from the Angkaisera subprecinct police station at around 2:00am, West Papua local time, by unidentified group of assailants (OTK), three hours prior to Mr Bonai’s arrest on Saturday.
In response to Chief Brig. Jefri Sesa’s death, the Indonesian police directed the efforts on Mr Bonai as the prime suspect, according to his family.. At 5:00am on Saturday, April 27, Indonesian police went to Menawi village, where Yahya Bonai lives and viciously attacked him while he lay suffering from internal illness in bed with his family.
According to Bonai’s wife, “Yahya suffered a stomach ache and has not left the house since Friday evening,” said Karolina Karubaba. “We are so devastated to see him being beaten up, dragged out of the house, and we (family) watched helplessly as the police vandalised our home.” cried Karolina Karubaba.
Mr Bonai’s wife and kids have taken refuge into neighbouring villages. Local stringers and human rights observers also find it extremely difficult to visit Angkaisera due to the restriction and the curfew in Menawi village by fully armed police and military patrolling on high alert.
Mr Bonai is currently detained in Serui Police custody and has been denied any visits by friends or families.
Angakaisera district has been a pro-independence hotspot, and subject to an ongoing blockade and village raids by Indonesian security forces. Targeted non-violent activists have reported that they have “always experienced ongoing terror, intimidation and fear tactics conducted by Indonesian police.”
West Papua Media teams made several attempts to call the Chief of Police in Yapen today but received no response.
A Human rights monitor in Yapen told West Papua Media, “We need people to advocate by calling the Chief of Police on +6281344621189 and +6285216186194″.
westpapuamedia
Timika Six plead for international intervention after sentence passed despite unproven case
by West Papua Media, with Oktovianus Pogau at SuaraPapua.com
April 18, 2013
Six West Papua National Committee (KNPB) activists from Timika were each sentenced to one year in prison on Tuesday by judges from the Assembly District Court in a trial deemed as opaque and farcical by observers. Sentenced on charges of carrying dangerous weapons and makar (treason/subversion), defence lawyers insisted that the six non-violent activists had no case proven against them and will immediately be lodging an appeal.
The KNPB Timika 6 back in their cells, photo taken April 17, after trial hearing. (photo KNPB/ West Papua Media)
The six, Romario Yatipai, Steven Itlay, Yakonias Womsiwor, Paulus Marsyom, Alfred Marsyom and Yanto Awerkion, were arrested on October 24, 2012, amidst a spate of high publicity arrests of KNPB activists by the Australian-funded counter-terror unit Detachment 88. The then-incoming Papua Police Chief, former Detachment 88 chief Tito Karnavian, exploited the brutal arrests to increase justification for use of Detachment 88 against political activists at a time when OTK (unknown persons, now known as Orang Terlatih Khusus or Specially Trained Persons) killings were spiralling out of control across Papua.
Despite Jakarta pinning the blame for the killings on non-violent activists from the
KNPB Timika Activist Romario Yatipai
KNPB, no credible evidence had been able to prove KNPB responsibility despite highly politicised and farcical trial processes. Most independent observers have linked responsibility for OTK incidents in Papua squarely in the hands of agents of the Indonesian special forces.
In SMS and email communications to West Papua Media from the prison before and after the trial, KNPB activist and detainee spokesman Romario Yatipai said that the assertions made by police were “Simply lies”.
“We are KNPB activist in Timika, West Papua. Indonesia Police jailed us with no reason.” – Romario Yatipai
“Indonesian police say that KNPB activist are criminals, terrorists, Makar (treason), separatist and so on,” Yatipai explained.
“Actually, KNPB activists in Timika always make peaceful demonstrations with all West Papuans. We always make peaceful demonstrations to demand Referendum, as the best solution for West Papua,” he said.
Central to the police case was that the accused were allegedly carrying explosives to be used against Indonesian police posts and military targets, yet no evidence was furnished that could prove that the accused possessed explosives before t
Despite the Australian Federal Police providing Detachment 88 with state-of-the-art explosives and ballistic forensic testing capability to secure counter-terror convictions, none of this equipment or personnel were deployed in Papua for any of the OTK trials, and no forensic proof was available at the Timika 6 trials that could have linked any of the defendants to use of explosives.
The trial heard wild accusations from prosecutors and police, but defence lawyers led by Gustaf Kawer, objected and expressed surprise when Yanto Awerkion (19) was sentenced.
As to who had ownership of explosives, Kawer explained to Suara Papua, none of the witnesses saw the defendant carrying explosives, but officials forced the defendant to claim possession of explosives.
“Since the moment of the defendant’s arrest along with five colleagues, there were absolutely no explosives he possessed … Yet when he reached the Mimika police station, the officers brought explosives and used it as evidence, and compelled the accused to confess having an explosive. It’s very strange,” Kawer told Suara Papua. ”Our legal counsel will conduct a plea on April 23, 2013. The sixth defendant must be released immediately because of not proven guilty, “
Kawer also objected to the sentencing of the other defendants under makar provisions, saying the judges decision “did not correlate with the examination of the facts.”
“For the first case, it’s not proven that the five defendants were in the possession of sharp weapons. And concerning the treason related article, also during the course of investigation (there was) not any reference to it, but nevertheless the judge decided one year in prison by saying treason that was proven – so we will appeal, ” Kawer told suarapapua. com.
After the defendants returned to the prison cells that have been their home since October 2012, they made a video appeal on their mobile phones, calling on the international community to do more to ensure that Indonesia ceases its persecution of peaceful political activists.
“We hope (the) International community, Amnesty International, IPWP, ILWP support us and pressure Indonesia government, Indonesia Police in Papua and Timika,” Yatipai told West Papua Media. “West Papua activists, and all West Papuans need UN Observers, UN Humanitarian workers, and International Journalists now in Papua.”
“Please support us with prayer and monitoring for us” said Yatipai.
Arbitrary arrests, disappearance of civilians by police in Tolikara and Mulia
Independent human rights workers in Puncak Jaya regency have reported that Indonesian police and army in the remote highlands district of Tolikara have been continuing to arbitrarily arrest civilians, allegedly to fill arrest quotas required for promotion, as part of routine crackdowns on civilians harbouring pro-independence thought in Papua.
Three civilians were also arrested by a combined Indonesian army (TNI) and Police platoon on March 9, at the Pasar Lama market in Mulia town, Puncak Jaya. Nonggop Tabuni, Delemu Enumby and Jelek Enembe, were arrested based on false allegations according to witnesses interviewed by human rights workers, though the exact nature of the false allegations was unreported.
Credible sources have also reported that the same motive was behind the arbitrary arrest and an alleged beating by Papua Police (POLDA) in Tolikara on April 1.
Police from Tolikara station arrested a 35-year-old farmer, Josiah Karoba, 9,.25 am on April 1, while he was standing in front of a kiosk on Jalan Irian Tolikara. The victim was arrested on the pretext of failing to carry his KTP (National Identity Card), a Suharto-era law designed to identify Communists that has been relaxed everywhere but Papua.
Karoba was then arrested “roughly” and taken to the police station Tolikara, according to witness reports, however Karoba’s family have no information about his current status or whereabouts since his arrest. Karoba’s family and human rights workers hold grave fears for his safety and freedom from torture.
Human rights sources have told West Papua Media that the Tolikara arrests are motivated in the interest of police promotion, by arresting innocent civilians and continuing to make victims of innocent Papuan civilians.
There is no indication as yet that the arrests are connected with a massive operation currently ongoing targeting National Liberation Army fighters under Goliat Tabuni, hunted after their killing of six Kopassus special forces soldiers on February 21. With independent media heavily restricted by the operation, details of sweep arrest of other civilians during the operation has been unverifiable, but local sources have reported that hundreds if not thousands of civilians have been detained or forced to flee from their villages during the operation.
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Thousands flee in fear of heavy civilian casualties as TNI begin Highlands reprisal offensive
Major Reprisals begin with house to house searches, village and church burnings in Tingginambut by Indonesian Security Forces after TPN shoot dead 8 Indonesian special forces soldiers.
from the West Papua Media investigative team*
February 28, 2013
EXCLUSIVE: Special Investigative Report
Local communities around Sinak, Gurage, Mulia and Tingginambut in Puncak Jaya regency have felt the first effects of Indonesian military reprisals, after West Papuan independence guerrillas under General Goliat Tabuni confirmed that they had killed eight Indonesian special forces soldiers and four non-Papuan civilians on February 21 in two separate incidents.
The shootings were carried out after Kopassus officers continued to build military posts on a local sacred burial site, despite being requested not to by both community representatives and emissaries from the West Papua National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional Papua Barat – TPN-PB) under Tabuni. TPN spokespeople have said that the shootings were done “to assert West Papuan sovereignty against Indonesian colonial occupation”, and to assert West Papuan cultural rights to defend their customary practices against ongoing military brutality.
A spokesman for the Goliat Tabuni’s TPN-OPM command, Nikolas Tabuni, told West Papua Media in a statement that the killings were not without cause.
Evidence of collective punishment emerges
Despite an effective information blockade imposed by thousands of Indonesian army (TNI) troops and Police, and unchallenged by a compliant Jakarta-based colonial media, detailed reports are beginning to filter through from independent sources in the area of the military offensive, painting a vastly different picture to that reported by Indonesian and international media since the shooting of the Kopassus soldiers.
TNI soldiers manning checkpoint near Sinak, Puncak Jaya (Photo: jpnn.com/ malanesia.com)
At least 1000 members of various Indonesian security forces are currently occupying and laying siege to entire communities around Puncak Jaya, with thousands more troops being sent in from other centres in Papua, according to local church, human rights, and sources in contact with West Papua Media stringers across the conflict area.
TNI 753 Btn interrogating locals in Sinak (photo: Malanesia.com)
According to these sources, the villages of Tingginambut, Trugi and Nelekom have been occupied by TNI forces since Sunday February 24, with villagers being forced to give all their food and houses to soldiers, and being subject to arbitrary and harsh interrogations. TPN sources have also stated that troops are using the villages as strategic hamlets to prepare for a hunt and destroy mission to flush out the forces of Tabuni, who have claimed they are well prepared for guerrilla defence.
In Nambut and Gurake (Gurage) villages in Sinak District, security forces began to carry out house to house sweeping operations on February 26, and in villages in Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya. According to our sources, the TNI Commander in the area has commanded “that the sweeping operation is to be continued until the culprits from last Thursdays killings are arrested”. The TNI have stated to local people they “need to see 11 persons sentenced,” according to the reliable source.
Two civilians were said to be arrested on February 27, according to Indonesian military reports, however independent sources could not confirm if any other civilians have been arrested.
As of February 26, at least 18 houses have been burned to the ground, 5 GIDI churches razed, 2 schools and a library have been destroyed by the combined Police/TNI forces in Tingginambut, according to reliable church sources who have safely relayed data from witnesses to West Papua Media stringers. Witnesses have also reported that soldiers are deliberately burning and destroying food gardens and shooting livestock, including over one hundred pigs. There are fears of a major humanitarian disaster unfolding with the reports of the destruction of food gardens and livestock, an act of collective punishment on a civilian population.
Thousands of people from the surrounding villages have fled to the high mountains and according to church sources, the entire community populations have fled throughout the area of Gurake, Sinak, Tinggi Neri, Trugi and Nelekom. Exact numbers are not currently known but local sources indicate that several thousand people, mainly subsistence farmers, live in the area.
Human rights workers have also reported from Mulia in Puncak Jaya that townspeople are greeting news of the offensive with panic and preparing to flee.
Reports are difficult to verify as the only media personnel allowed into the operations area are those with approval from the Indonesian army, and very few of these journalist have actually ventured into the area. Stringers for West Papua Media in Puncak Jaya and the Baliem Valley have reported that independent journalists and human rights workers have been prevented from travelling into the area by a de facto Military Operations Area being applied across the entire highlands, including the regional centre of Wamena.
Civilians are staying off the streets as reliable local sources report a massive combat army and police show of force, including house to house searches. On the morning of February 28, witnesses have reported to West Papua Media stringers that 8 Brimob trucks have left
Troops patrolling Wamena – February 25 (photo: supplied)
Wamena heading to Puncak Jaya this morning, with large numbers of troops patrolling the streets across Wamena also..
Thousands more troops flooding in to attempt to destroy Tabuni’s TPN.
Thousands of heavily armed combat soldiers from Battalions 751 (Jayapura), 753 (Nabire) , and supported by the Wamena 756 Batallion, are reportedly being flown into Tingginambut over the next few days from several centres across Papua. They are joining together with over 1000 extra Brimob paramilitary police (in addition to the at least 1000 Polda Papua police already in the highlands), and allegedly several units of the notorious Australian-funded Detachment 88 anti-terror commando, to hunt for Tabuni’s forces. Several media reports in Indonesia are also claiming a Kostrad (Strategic Reserve) battalion is being deployed from outside Papua, though this has not been independently confirmed.
Local sources have reported that each TNI platoon is accompanied by a platoon of police, as the operation is officially under control of the Police as a “law enforcement” operation. However, the witnesses have reported that the TNI are clearly in command. TNI spokespeople in Jakarta have told Indonesian media outlets that there is no plan to increase non-organic troop presence in the area, but local sources are reporting a vastly different story.
West Papua Media sources in Wamena observing the airport have confirmed that two TNI Puma Helicopters are involved in the operation constantly ferrying troops between Wamena and Tingginambut, and stopping only for refuelling and crew changes. Three Hercules c130H aircraft have each made 3 drops to Wamena then the troops have entered by road from Wamena. Observers in Nabire have also noted daily departures of three trucks of troops from the notorious Battalion 753 Nabire, to the west of the highlands to reinforce the offensive in Tingginambut.
Human rights and church sources in Puncak Jaya and internationally have expressed deep concern about the potential for heavy civilian casualties to occur with the intensified military campaign, given extra impetus after the Indonesian President, General Susilo Bambang Yudoyhono, called for firm action on Tabuni.
Multiple narratives from Jakarta
The exact circumstances of the deaths of the eight Kopassus special forces soldiers are now mired in claim and counter-claim, with soldiers’ personal accounts of the attack conflicting with the official narrative picked up by Jakarta media. What is confirmed is that the eight commandos – Sertu (Chief Sergeant) Udine, Sertu Frans, Sertu Romadhon, Pratu (Private 1st class) Mustofa, Sertu Edy, Praka (Chief Private) Jojon, Praka Wempi and Sertu Mudin – were killed by a cascading attack led by guerrillas of Goliat Tabuni’s TPN group as they went to the Sinak airstrip to collect cellular monitoring equipment designed to track international phone communications in the area.
However, one survivor of the attack testified in the Jakarta Post that his group was attacked by men, women and children all carrying spears, machetes and knives. According to the TNI survivors as relayed to JP, the platoon of Kopassus was unarmed at the time of the attack, which happened as the soldiers were installing and moving communications monitoring equipment.
Troops in Tingginambut after being shot at in helicopter by TPN, Feb 21 (Photo: TNI)
TPN forces also opened fire on a Puma helicopter that was evacuating the wounded commandos, lightly injuring three helicopter crew.
West Papua Media sources have provided a highly credible and technical but unconfirmed report that two “very large weapons” that were being moved into Sinak, and went missing during the raid by TPN. According to our sources, there is “extreme concern from the TNI around this particular issue.”
“Apparently they have been trying to find out the whereabouts of these weapons, which suggests they might be too heavy to quickly and easily move,” explained the source. Further investigation is still required, but credible observers in the area believe that these heavy weapons may be artillery pieces – the presence of which in Puncak Jaya represents a serious and dangerous escalation of TNI hardware to be used against civilians. West Papua Media believes any confirmed presence of artillery is connected with the TNI’s stated aim to destroy Goliat Tabuni’s group, but any use of these weapons will place a large number of civilians at risk. It is not the first time the TNI have used artillery against West Papuan civilians: the Bloody Wamena massacres of 2000 and 2003, as well as the aerial bombardment campaigns in the 1977 and 1984.
Indonesian outrage fuels civil society questions on Papuan motivations for resistance
The killings of the soldiers have generated outrage in Jakarta, with nationalist politicians calling for cordon and destroy missions in what human rights observers have said amount to collective civilian punishment by an occupying force.
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin – indicted as a war criminal
Indonesian Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant-General (LG) (Rtd) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin - indicted as a war criminal by the UN for his role in East Timor - on Friday ordered the TNI to conduct heavy “tactical actions” in order to prevent the shooting from occurring again. “The tactical action includes to chase, apprehend and destroy,” the deputy minister said here on Friday. He said the latest shootings by the separatist rebels did not affect TNI`s strategic policies in Papua. TNI so far did not have a plan to send more troops to Papua, he added.
However SBY also claimed in an interview with MetroTV that “no violence” would be used to solve the situation. The situation on the ground has illustrated that security forces have no interest in making SBY’s words truthful.
Despite the nationalist rhetoric, there are many in Indonesia who are seeing this as a wake up call to end Jakarta’s use of state violence against civilians in Papua as it default policy.
The presence of the non-organic personnel from TNI special forces cause animosity among Papuan groups, who have launched attacks against them, according to the report. “If Jakarta wants to end violence, the militaristic approach has to stop, and all non-garrison troops from the military elite forces must be withdrawn from the two provinces because their presence and their irregular operations have triggered attacks on garrison troops and innocent civilians,” DPD deputy chairman Laode Ida said on Tuesday.
A coalition of Papuan human rights groups urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to conduct a thorough investigation into the soldiers’ killings, saying the presence of Komnas HAM could prevent human rights violations that occurred during TNI sweep operations after shooting incidents, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe.
“We encourage law enforcers to be professional in carrying out their tasks. They must ensure that their attempts to find the perpetrators do not turn into seeking revenge against all Papuans,” Ferry Marisan from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) said in Jayapura on Monday.
The TNI has loudly complained in Indonesian media of hurt feelings about the loss of its soldiers, with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) leaders have been forced to apologise for “insensitive” remarks saying killing soldiers is not a human rights abuse. But not all observers are showing sympathy for the loss of the soldiers lives, pointing to the fact that the military are occupying Papuan land against the wishes of the local people.
“One has to remember that soldiers who were shot were Kopassus special forces who have been involved in ongoing human rights abuses right across Puncak Jaya, including village burnings, collective arrests and punishment, burning of villages, and acts of torture. Many observers suspect these soldiers were part of units involved in conducting many OTK (Unknown persons) shootings blamed on West Papuans,” a long time human rights worker in the highlands told West Papua Media by email. “These are not innocence, nor babes in the woods; Kopassus are the original wolves in the forest.”
Still, other observers believe the actions point to an assertion of tribal identity, as a complex motivator behind the declaration of Papuan sovereignty inherent in the armed resistance against Indonesia’s militarist policy in the highlands. An Australian church worker who worked for many years with highland communities in Puncak Jaya made the observation to West Papua Media that this was not simply an act of resistance to Indonesian colonisation, but an assertion of traditional and indigenous Papuan law and cultural survival against the onslaught of an occupying colonial army.
“This must be looked at from another perspective that is relevant. As many indigenous communities including Australian Aboriginal Peoples and traditional highland Papuan people, observe around the world, if outsiders came into their sacred lands, they would also feel compelled at whatever cost to themselves to spear the outsider to compensate (violations of) their traditional law if they belonged to the clan that was legally responsible (under customary law) to guard that site,” she explained.
“Indigenous Law is simply not negotiable on things like that. Things have only changed in Australia because non-Indigenous systems have for years now in Australia been locking up those indigenous peoples who have acted to maintain their law,” the former church worker explained.
“As I understand the TNI despite warnings were acting in a way that broke the Papuans’ traditional laws regarding adat (Customary law), and as the TPN are still holding strong to their traditional laws, so they acted in accordance with the laws they are living by. I can’t see any difference at that level as Melanesian peoples separated historically but only a short distance of water. The difference is that the TPN OPM represent groups that have not yet been overcome by the laws of a colonising power whereas RI does not recognise the traditional Papuan customary laws,” she said
A prominent Papuan human rights activist, Yasons Sambon, has reported that the killings are causing many military families to reconsider their support for the Indonesian colonial occupation of Papua. In an interview with the wife of one of the eight soldiers killed at Sinak, recorded on February 23 after the soldiers funeral in a car by the old market in Sentani, the widow called for Indonesia to abandon its occupation of Papua.
Funeral of Sentani based Kopassus officer killed in SInak incident, Feb 24. (supplied)
The wife of an Indonesian soldier from Sentani said in a regretful tone, “SBY would be better off giving independence to the people of Papua if it meant our husbands wouldn’t become victims. Our husbands have been murdered. What will be my fate, and the fate of my children, now that my husband has been murdered? We want to hold onto our husbands but they also have a duty to the country. They are murdered and it’s the women and children who become victims, because if they aren’t at work, then what will we eat?”
“It’s better if independence is given to the people of Papua so that we can be safe,” she said.
*from the West Papua Media Editorial team, with additional reporting from stringers in Wamena, Tingginambut, Jayapura, Nabire and sources in Jakarta.
Related articles
- Media Wake Up Australian Media Report on West Papua (femonymous.com)
- Eight soldiers and four civilians reported killed in West Papua: Plus Comment (westpapuamedia.info)
- Cause For Concern: Backlash In West Papua (pacific.scoop.co.nz)
- 8 Indonesian soldiers killed in Papua ambush, independence OPM blamed (pacific.scoop.co.nz)
- National Commission on Human Rights in Papua, 2010: Perpetrators of Violence Dominated Security Apparatus (voiceoflovetruthandjustice.wordpress.com)
- Victor Yeimo: 22 Members of KNPB killed in 2012 (westpapuamedia.info)
- Police fail to provoke violence as demo in Manokwari ignores protest ban (westpapuamedia.info)
- Australia concerned by soldiers’ killings in Papua (abc.net.au)
AHRC: Guards torture 20 prisoners at the Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-025-2013
22 February 2013
———————————————————————
INDONESIA: Guards torture 20 prisoners at the Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua
ISSUES: Inhuman and degrading treatment; torture
———————————————————————
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture of twenty prisoners at the Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua, on 21 January 2013. Information gathered by local activists reveals that the torture was conducted by three prison guards with the acquiescence of the head of the prison. The victims were beaten with bare hands as well as whipped with thick wire until some parts of their bodies were bleeding. Despite the injuries suffered the prison guards did not give any medical treatment to the tortured prisoners.
CASE NARRATIVE:
According to local activists from KontraS Papua, Bersatu untuk Kebenaran (BUK), and SKPKC Fransiskan Papua, three new prisoners were admitted to the Abepura Class II.A Correctional Facility at around 6pm on 21 January 2013. The other prisoners made spontaneous comments to welcome the new prisoners such as “welcome to the prodeo hotel” and “welcome to isolation”. Not long afterwards, two prison guards named Bonifasius Manuputy and Yulianan Wanane ordered the inmates’ coordinator (tahanan pendamping, tamping) to unlock cell number 5 and asked all the five prisoners staying there to exit the cells. The prisoners were ordered to walk in a crouch position to the guards’ office which is about 100-150 meters away from the cell.
Bonifasius Manuputy started beating the prisoners once they reached the guards’ office. At this stage, another prison guard called Eli Asip Wamuar also joined Bonifasius in torturing the prisoners by whipping them with a thick white wire. The diameter of the wire was about 10 inches and its length was around 2 meters. As the prisoners from cell five were being beaten, the other prisoners staying in other cells made noises, asking Bonifasius not to torture the prisoners from cell number 5. It was alleged that the beating took place because the guards got annoyed with the prisoners’ welcoming remarks addressed to the new enrolled prisoners.
At around 6.30pm on the same day, Eli Asip Wamuar ordered the inmates’ coordinator to unlock cell number 2 and 3. There were seven prisoners inside cell number 2 and eight prisoners inside cell number 3. All prisoners staying in both cells were asked to walk to the guards’ office in a crouch position as well. As their fellows from cell number 5, those prisoners were also whipped by Eli Asip Wamuar in their body using the thick white wire. As a result, the prisoners suffered wounds and injuries to different parts of their body including arms, back, and shoulder. Some parts of their body were also bleeding and bruised. One of the prisoners, Pelius Tabuni, had his left arm broken, allegedly caused by the severe beating with the thick wire. The head of the Abepura Correctional Facility, Nuridin, as well as the Head of the Correctional Facility’s Security Unit, Juwaini, were present as the torture was taking place.
After the beating the prison guards simply put the prisoners back in their cells without giving them any medical treatment which could have been made available at the prison’s clinic despite the injury they suffered.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
This is not the first time that a report on the allegation of torture at the Abepura Correctional Facility has been received by the AHRC. Previously in June 2012, the AHRC released an urgent appeal concerning the torture of 42 prisoners and detainees at the same correctional facility. The AHRC was informed that after heavy criticism directed by human rights activists at that time, the then Head Correctional Facility Liberti Sitinjak was replaced by Nuridin in 2012. However, no criminal investigation was conducted on this matter that those responsible for such abuse remain unpunished.
In a greater picture, torture is no longer a new issue in Papua in general. In 2010, a video revealing military officers torturing a Papuan man was released but the perpetrators were sentenced only to 9-12 months imprisonment. The AHRC has also recently published an urgent appeal concerning the torture of seven Papuans by Indonesian police in Jayapura on false allegations for having a relationship with pro-independence activists.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below asking for their intervention in this matter. The torture allegation should be impartially and effectively investigated that those responsible for it will be punished proportionately. Please also urge the authorities to provide compensation and medical treatment needed for the loss and injury suffered by the victims.
The AHRC is writing separately to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
To support this appeal, please click here:
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear ___________,
INDONESIA: Prison guards tortured 20 prisoners at Abepura Correctional Facility, Papua
Name of victims:
1. Pelius Tabuni, 32 year old, left arm got broken and suffer wounds in his shoulder and back;
2. Gidion Hanuebi (Bob), 37 year old, suffers wounds in his back;
3. Serko Itlai, 19 year old, suffers wounds in his back;
4. Yoris Fernando W. Rengil, 17 year old, suffers wounds in his back;
5. Ami Wenda (Soy), 25 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
6. Roy Olvin Wally, 31 year old, suffers wounds in his back and left arm;
7. Ormi Wandik, 17 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
8. Roy Kabarek, 37 year old, suffers bruises in his forehead and jaws as well as wounds in his back;
9. Irsan Mananggel (Irs), 19 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms that he could not move his arms for a couple of days;
10. Yosua Merahabia, 41 year old, suffers wounds in his back and left arm;
11. Samuel Waren, 26 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
12. Yakobus Bue, 20 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
13. Hendro Wambrau, 21 year old, suffers wounds in his back, left arm and left elbow;
14. Ibe Huby, 22 year old, suffers wounds in his back as well as bruises in left ear;
15. Kaharudin, 28 year old, suffers wounds in his back and right arm;
16. Kaleb Mantanaway, 21 year old, suffers wounds in his back and arms;
17. Imanuel Mauri, 21 year old, suffers bruises in his back of head and ears;
18. Zikenele Hisage, 20 year old, suffers wounds in his back and right arm;
19. Widodo Santoso, 26 year old, suffers bruises in his forehead;
20. Ahmad Alia, age unidentified, suffers wounds in his back.
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Eli Asip Wamuar, prison guard
2. Bonifasius Manuputy, prison guard
3. Yulianan Wanane, prison guard
4. Juwaini, Head of Abepura Correctional Facility’s Security Unit
5. Nuridin, Head of Abepura Correctional Facility
Date of incident: 21 January 2013
Place of incident: Abepura, Papua
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the torture of prisoners which took place in the Abepura Class II, a Correctional Facility. I received the information that 20 prisoners were tortured by three prison guards with the acquiescence of the Head of the Correctional Facility as well as the Head of the Correctional Facility’s Security Unit on 21 January 2013.
I have been informed that on the day in question at around 6pm, three new prisoners were admitted to the correctional facility. Responding to it, the other prisoners were making spontaneous welcoming remarks such as “welcome to isolation” as well as “welcome to the prodeo hotel”. Not long afterwards, two prison guards named Bonifasius Manuputy and Yulianan Wanane asked the inmates’ coordinator (tahanan pendamping, tamping) to unlock cell number 5 and ordered the prisoners staying there to walk to the guards’ office in a crouch position. Once they reached the office, the prisoners were beaten by Bonifasius and whipped with a thick white wire by another prison guard named Eli Asip Wanuar. The white wire was about 2 meters long. During the beatings and whippings, the other prisoners made noises asking the prison guards to stop torturing their fellow inmates.
Eli Asip Wanuar later ordered the inmates’ coordinator to unlock cell number 2 and 3 and also asked the prisoners staying there to walk in a crouch position to the guards’ office. Similarly, the prisoners from these two cells were beaten and whipped by the prison guards. Nuridin, the Head of Abepura Correctional Facility, as well as Juwaini, the Head of the Correctional Facility’s Security Unit were present during the torture and did not do anything to stop it from happening.
I was told that due to the beatings and whippings, the twenty prisoners suffer wounds and injuries to several parts of their body. It was reported that one of them, Pelias Tabuni, had his left arm broken. Even though the prisoners were injured and bleeding, the prison authorities did not provide them with any medical treatment afterwards and just put them back in their cells.
I am concerned that torture is still practiced in your country, despite the fact that Indonesia is a state party to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the right not to be tortured is guaranteed under the 1945 Constitution. I am particularly disturbed knowing that this is not the first time I received the report that torture is taking place in Abepura Class II.A Correctional Facility. I am aware it was previously reported that 42 prisoners and detainees were tortured at the same correctional facility in April last year and that the perpetrators are still unpunished as of today. It saddens me that the Indonesian government and law enforcement officials do not take torture as a serious matter that deserves serious concern and efforts. Those who are responsible for such abuse are hardly taken before the court. Even for cases that managed to reach the court, the perpetrators have always been punished with light sentence that does not reflect the gravity of the abuse.
I therefore urge you and your institution to prove your commitment in combating torture and enforcing law and human rights in your country. The torture allegation in this case should be impartially and effectively investigated that those responsible for it are punished proportionately according to law. I also wish to emphasise that, under international human rights law, not providing detainees or prisoners with adequate medical treatment may also constitute torture that you are also obliged to give any health assistance needed by the victims in this case. Compensation should also be adequately granted to them.
I look forward for your positive and prompt response in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President of Republic of Indonesia
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 386 3777, 350 3088.
Fax: + 62 21 344 2223, 3483 4759
E-mail: presiden@ri.go.id
2. Ms. Harkristuti Harkrisnowo
General Director of Human Rights
Ministry of Law and Human Rights
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta 12940
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 525 3006, 525 3889
Fax: +62 21 525 3095
3. Mr. Mochamad Sueb
General Director of Corrections
Ministry of Law and Human Rights
Jl. Veteran No. 11
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 385 7611
Fax: +62 21 345 2155, 231 2140
4. Gen. Timur Pradopo
Chief of the Indonesian National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 384 8537, 726 0306
Fax: +62 21 7220 669
E-mail: info@polri.go.id
5. Ir. Gen. Drs. Tito Karnavian
Chief of Papua Regional Police
Jl. Dr. Sam Ratulangi No. 8
Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: +62967 531 014, 533 396
Fax: +62967 533 763
6. Mr. Otto Nur Abdullah
Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission
Jalan Latuharhary No.4-B,
Jakarta 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 392 5227-30
Fax: +62 21 392 5227
Email: info@komnas.go.id
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
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- AWPA letter to Sen Carr (pacific.scoop.co.nz)
- Violence and intimidation of journalists in Papua in 2012 (westpapuamedia.info)
Amnesty: Two men detained, feared tortured in Papua
UA: 48/13 Index: ASA 21/005/2013 Indonesia
22 February 2013
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL URGENT ACTION
Two Indonesian men now arbitrarily detained in Jayapura, Papua province, are believed to have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated by police.
Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap are currently detained at the Jayapura district police station in Papua province. Police officers allegedly tortured or other otherwise ill-treated them and five other men while interrogating them about the whereabouts of two pro-independence activists. They have not received medical treatment and they have not had access to a lawyer since their arrest.
According to credible sources, plainclothes police officers arbitrarily arrested Daniel Gobay and two other men on the morning of 15 February 2013 in Depapre, Papua province. The three men were first forced to crawl on their stomachs to the Depapre sub-district police station approximately 30 metres away and then moved to the Jayapura district police station an hour later. There they were then forced to
strip, were kicked in the face, head and back, and beaten with rattan sticks. Police officers allegedly pressed the barrels of their guns to their heads, mouth and ears. They were interrogated until late at night and in the morning of the following day.
Matan Klembiap and three other men were arbitrarily arrested separately by plainclothes police officers on the morning of 15 February in Depapre and taken to the Jayapura district police station.
The four men were also forced to strip and were kicked and beaten with rattan sticks and wooden blocks by police officers. One of the men has testified on video that police gave him electric shocks.
On 16 February, five of the men were released without charge but Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap remain in police custody and are reportedly to be charged with “possession of a sharp weapon” under the Emergency Regulation 12/1951.
Amnesty International has asked that readers “Please write immediately in English, Indonesian or your own language calling on authorities in Indonesia” to take the following urgent action:
- To ensure that Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap are not tortured or otherwise ill-treated;
- To ensure that the two men have access to medical treatment, and to lawyers of their choosing; and
- To immediately order an effective and independent investigation into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of the seven men by police officers. Suspected criminal offences involving human rights violations must be dealt with through the criminal justice system, rather than only internally and as disciplinary breaches to ensure that all those responsible for torture and other ill-treatment, including persons with chain of command responsibility, are brought to justice in fair trials, and that victims are provided reparations. Particular attention must be paid to the protection of victims, witnesses and their families.
Amnesty International
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- Indonesia sends 100 mobile-brigade policemen to Papua after deadly attacks (nzweek.com)
- Violence and intimidation of journalists in Papua in 2012 (westpapuamedia.info)
- KNPB: Regional Police Chief Must Wipe Clean ‘Wanted Persons’ (DPO) list (westpapuamedia.info)
Seven Papuans are arrested and tortured on false allegations of having a relationship with pro-independence activists
By Asian Human Rights Commission
Urgent Action report
19 February 2013
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arbitrary arrest and torture of seven Papuans which took place on 15 February 2013. The victims were driving home in two cars when the police stopped them as they were looking for two pro-independence activists. The victims were later brought to the police station where they were further questioned on the whereabouts of the activists. They were severely beaten, kicked and electrocuted before being five of them were released without charge the next day. However, as at the time of writing two of the victims remain in police custody.
CASE NARRATIVE:
An hour after they arrived at Depapre Sub-District Police Station, Daniel, Arsel and Eneko were taken to Jayapura District Police Station. The police started questioning three of them on the whereabouts of Terianus Satto and Sebby Sambom, two pro-independence activists whom Daniel, Arsel and Eneko do not have any relationship with. Eneko Pahabol told the local activists that he was repeatedly kicked in his face by officers who were wearing police boots. The officers kicked him both in his left and right knees which caused them to bleed. Eneko and his friends were also beaten with a rattan stick as well as being electrocuted on their legs. The police officers pressed the barrels of their guns to their heads, forced them into their mouths and ears. Arsel Kobak told the AHRC that he was asked to take his clothes off and kicked on his head, face and back by the police officers. As a result, his mouth and nose were bleeding, his forehead was wounded and he is now experiencing hearing difficulties.
On the next day on 16 February 2013, five of the seven arrested persons were released without charge. As the time of writing, Daniel Gobay and Matan Klembiap are still detained in the police custody, allegedly for possessing bladed articles. However, the charge and their reason of detention are still subject to clarification. Neither Daniel nor Matan has any legal representation as of the time of writing.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In his report in 2008, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment highlighted that torture is practised widely across Indonesia, including Papua. In 2010, for instance, the AHRC released a video online which depicts military officers brutally torturing an indigenous Papua. Last year, the AHRC also issued an urgent appeal on the torture of 42 prisoners and detainees by prison authorities at Abepura Correctional Facility.
Despite the abuse took place, little have been done by the Indonesian authorities to make sure the perpetrators are punished proportionately to provide justice for the victims. Military officers who were responsible torturing a Papuan on the video in 2010 were sentenced only to 9-12 months imprisonment while the allegation on torture at Abepura Correctional Facility has never been investigated by the police.
Indonesia has been a state party to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment since 1998. Torture is not yet a crime under the country’s legal system that state officials who conducted such abuse are usually unpunished or charged with provisions on assault under the Penal Code whose punishment do not reflect the gravity of the act. For example, the Muaro Sijunjung District Court recently sentenced four police officers responsible for the torture and death of two minors only to 18 months to three years imprisonment.
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- West Papua Report January 2013 (westpapuamedia.info)
Statement by LP3BH regarding Young Papuans Congress
In my opinion, Articles 24 and 25 of Law 39/1999 regarding Basic Human Rights guarantee the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of association, and the freedom to state one’s opinions in public.
In view of this, the convening of the Second Congress of the KNPP in Manokwari is a peaceful event which is aimed at discussing the working programme and activities of the organisation, in order to strengthen unity between young Papuans in their struggle for the basic rights of the Papuan people.
The action taken by the police is clearly intended to prohibit and postpone, even to restrict the right of assembly and the freedom of expression of the views of Papuan people as citizens of the Republic of Indonesia.
As a member of the Steering Committee of the afore-mentioned Congress, I regard the decision by the police to refuse to acknowledge the letter (STTP) because the said organisation is not registered with the Kesbangpol in West Papua as a procedural matter which can be dealt with by means of negotiations.
Concerns regarding the security arrangements are always being given by the police even though the KNPP and the Steering Committee have taken all the necessary measures to guarantee and safeguard the security of the Congress
Yan Christian Warinussy
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- Growing international solidarity for West Papua freedom campaigns (westpapuamedia.info)
- West Papuan campaigner tells of life of struggle against Indonesian rule (pacific.scoop.co.nz)
- Response to Call to Apply Indonesia’s Anti-Terrorism Law in West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
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Arrests in Mantembu, Yapen ahead of major demonstrations
West Papua Media
January 16, 2013
Local human rights and independent media sources have reported that an Indonesian Army (TNI) unit has arrested seven non-violent activists in Serui on January 16, ahead of major planned demonstrations.
The raid on the heavily targeted village of Mantembu, on Yapen Island, was carried out at 0830 am local time by Kostrad Unit of Indonesian Army led by Corporal Gidion Karubaba, arrested the seven for allegedly “supporting Papuan independence”, according to local human rights sources.
The names of the arrestees are:
1. Yohan Ayum,
2. Lamkiur Ayum,
3.Penina Pangkurei,
4. Oki Warkawani,
5. Mambiwa Wandamani,
6. Simeon Ayum,
7. Isak Warkawani.
No information was received if those arrested were subjected to mistreatment during their arrest, however Mantembu has been long targeted with extreme brutality by Indonesian security forces seeking to quell pro-independence sentiment. Regular raids and house burnings are arbitrary conducted, and the village has seen one of the highest rates of oppression of any single village in Papua.
The ex-political prisoner Yawan Wayeni, who was disembowelled, taunted and left to die whilst being filmed by Brimbob paramilitary police in Mantembu in 2009, has his death seen by the world on a Youtube video that galvanised awareness of the systemic brutality of the Indonesian occupation forces.
The arrests came the day before large demonstrations for Papuan basic rights were to be held on January 17 in Yapen and Manokwari, organised by activists from the Federated Republic of West Papua alternative government.
Westpapuamedia
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Police kidnap pro-democracy activist in Biak: Reports
by West Papua Media from human rights workers in Biak
December 29, 2012
Unconfirmed Reports have emerged from Biak that Indonesian armed police have disappeared local Papuan pro-democracy activist Anthon Kafiar.
At 15:00 local time on December 28, 2012, outside the offices of the Supiori Regent, several heavily armed police officers used pistols to accost and bundle Anthon Kafiar into a Four Wheel Drive Vehicle Type Avanza, numberplate DS 900 DD. The vehicle then drove off, and Kafiar’s whereabouts remain unknown, according to local human rights worker Dorus Wakum, from NGO Kampak Papua.
It is not yet known if the police were local police officers, or roaming members from the Australian-funded special anti-terror Detachment 88 unit, whose members have engaged in a campaign of kidnappings and shootings against Papuan pro-democracy activists since the appointment of new Papua Police Chief Tito Karnavian, the former commander of Densus 88.
According to the NGO, Biak citizens and witnesses visited the Kapolres (local Police Chief), the Supiori Regent and Supiori Council members to demand that Kafiar be immediately found and released.
This is a developing story. More to come.
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- Australian media only tells half the story about West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- ELSHAM: Reverting to the DOM era: Papua back to being a Zone of Military Operations (westpapuamedia.info)
- Papuan human rights activist calls on Komnas HAM chairman to resign (westpapuamedia.info)
- KNPB: ‘When one is shot dead, a thousand will rise up!’ (westpapuamedia.info)
- KNPB leader reportedly resurfaces after disappearing upon release from police detention (westpapuamedia.info)
Four killed in OTK shooting in Raja Ampat
English: Map of Raja Ampat islands, Papua (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tabloid Jubi
December 23, 2012
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ELSHAM: Reverting to the DOM era: Papua back to being a Zone of Military Operations
PRESS RELEASE FROM ELSHAM PAPUA
December 19, 2012
ELSHAM PAPUA
Lembaga Studi dan Advokasi Hak Asasi Manusia
(Institute for Human Ri ghts Study and Advocacy of Papua)
Reverting to the DOM era: Papua back to being a Zone of Military Operations
There was a significant increase in the intensity of the conflicts and violence in Papua between August 2011 and December 2012. ELSHAM Papua reported on several incidents that had resulted in serious casualties and although the growing severity of the incidents was disturbing, these did not prompt the Government to react. These events include the overwhelming offensive called “Operasi Aman Matoa I 2011”, terror actions and shootings by unidentified perpetrators (OTK), cases of internal displacements, as well as cases of extrajudicial killing of civilians by the police.
“Operasi Aman Matoa I 2011” is the designation for an armed crime prevention operation that was set up in the areas of Puncak Jaya and Paniai. This operation was under direct command of the Chief of Police, and was run by the Operations Task Force (Satgas Ops) through police telegram letter No. STR/687/VIII/2011 dated 27 August 2011.
The Operations Task Force for Operasi Aman Matoa I 2011 was led by Drs. Leo Bona Lubis, the Commissioner of Police. During the execution of Operasi Aman Matoa I 2011 in the Paniai Regency, a number of grave human rights violations were perpetrated, which include:
(a) the taking of the lives of two civilians, Salmon Yogi (20) and Yustinus Agapa (30) who died as a direct result of the armed conflict,
(b) the inflicting of injuries to at least four civilians: Yulian Kudiai (22), Melkias Yeimo (35), Yohanis Yogi (25) and Paskalis Kudiai (21), who became victim as a result of the armed conflict,
(c) great material loss due to the armed conflict in Eduda District which includes 78 houses that were burnt by the Operations Task Force; educational activities at 8 elementary school (SD) and 2 Junior High School (SMP) that had to be halted; religious and worship services could no longer be ensured in eight Catholic churches, seven Kingmi churches and four GKII churches; hundreds of machetes, knives, saws, hammers, bows and arrows were confiscated;
(d) villagers no longer felt secure in their own homes and they fled. As many as 37 people perished while in displacement: 13 toddlers, 5 children, 17 adults and 2 elders;
(e) communities from the Districts of Komopa, Keneugida, Bibida, East Paniai and Kebo have endured material loss due to their displacement. The villagers were forbidden from going to their gardens by the members of the Operations Task Force. As a result, this primary source of livelihood for the communities was left neglected and unattended. Prior to the evacuation, 1581 heads of livestock were forcibly slaughtered, including as many as 478 pigs, 3 cows, 11 goats, 132 rabbits, 381 ducks, and 576 chickens. After returning to their homes and villages, the residents experienced severe food shortage. Members of the Operations Task Force had also damaged the fences built by the residents, as they used those as firewood.
Violent acts committed by the security forces, both the military and the police, are still common and they are in flagrant violation of a number of international humanitarian standards and principles. Some of the cases that we note are as follows:
a. The heavy-handed assault carried out by the police against Persipura fans at Mandala Stadium on 13 May 2012, which led to 18 people suffering from respiratory problems due to tear gas that had been fired indiscriminately and six others being detained arbitrarily.
b. The shooting of four people in Degeuwo by the police on 15 May 2012, by which one person was killed and the other three were seriously wounded.
c. The assault against civilians in Honai Lama Wamena on 6 June 2012, by members of the Indonesian army (TNI) Battalion 756 Wimane Sili, which resulted in one person dead and 14 others seriously injured.
d. The arbitrary arrest and torture by the police of 10 people in the town of Serui, as they were commemorating the International Day for Indigenous People on 9 August 2012.
e. The forced disbanding by the police of a KNPB-led demonstration that was about to start in front of the campus of the State University of Papua in Manokwari on 23 October 2012. A total of 15 people were detained by the police, nine of them were tortured, and 2 others suffered gunshot wounds.
Summary executions by the police of pro-democracy activists who are active within the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) continue to occur. The extrajudicial shooting of Mako Tabuni (34), First Chairman of the KNPB on 14 June 2012, is clear evidence of acts of police brutality against civilians. A similar killing occurred in Wamena on 16 December 2012, when the police shot dead Hubertus Mabel (30), militant KNPB Chairman for the Baliem region.
Other violent acts such as terror acts and shootings by unknown assailants increased, both in 2011 and 2012. From 5 July to 6 September 2011, there were 28 shooting incidents where 13 people were killed and at least 32 people were wounded. Meanwhile, throughout 2012, there were 45 attacks by unknown assailants, killing 34 people, injuring 35 people and causing severe trauma to 2 people.
One of the worrisome events that received very little attention from the Government was the crisis which lasted from July to November 2012 in the Keerom where villagers fled their homes as they no longer felt secure because of activities conducted by the security forces. A joint effort between ELSHAM Papua and the Keerom Catholic Church enabled the return to their homes of 38 internally displaced people (IDPs) who had fled into the jungle.
Various cases of violence and human rights violations that occurred in Papua totally escaped the attention of the central Government and that of local Papuans. Conditions such as these indicate that the status of Papua as an autonomous region has turned into a status of “Special Operations Region”, similar to what was experienced in the decades between 1970 and 2000 when Papua was designated as a Military Operations Area (DOM). Legal impunity for the perpetrators of the violence becomes flagrantly visible as the perpetrators of such violence are practically never brought to justice, nor do they receive fitting sentences.
Prohibiting international humanitarian organizations, international journalists and foreign researchers from accessing the Papuan region inevitably gives way to the increasing acts of violence by security forces in that region. Elite units, such as Anti-Terror Special Detachment 88, are conducting activities that are contrary to their mandate as they themselves are the ones creating terror against activists of the pro-democracy movement in Papua.
Bearing in mind the socio-political conditions faced by Papuans today, ELSHAM Papua is calling for:
1. the Indonesian Government, to open access to international humanitarian agencies, international journalists and foreign researchers to the region so they can freely visit and monitor the human rights situation in Papua;
2. the police of the Republic of Indonesia, to immediately reveal to the public the identity of those responsible for the numerous attacks and mysterious shootings that have occurred lately in Papua;
3. the Indonesian Government and groups opposing the Government, to choose dialogue as a way to end the conflict and the ongoing violence in Papua;
4. the military and the police, to uphold and respect the universal principles of human rights that have been ratified by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.
Related articles
- Densus 88 shoot and arrest KNPB leaders near Wamena as tensions rises (westpapuamedia.info)
- UK Embassy denies fake journalism in Bintang Papua article (westpapuamedia.info)
- Five Months As Refugees Eating Only Sago Worms and Wood Worms (westpapuamedia.info)
- Victor Yeimo and others arrested as police crackdown on December 1 protests in Jayapura (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indonesia cannot kill our spirit for freedom: West Papuan leader (westpapuamedia.info)
- 38 Papuans flee TNI/Polri security sweeps in Keerom (westpapuamedia.info)
- Indonesian special forces hunt West Papuan environmentalist (westpapuamedia.info)
- KNPPB A Rival Organization Created By Indonesia To Compete With KNPB (westpapuamedia.info)
- Australian media only tells half the story about West Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
Densus 88 shoot and arrest KNPB leaders near Wamena as tensions rise
Shooting victim believed to be either Hubertus Mabel or Natalis Alua (CONFIRMED PHOTO; unconfirmed identity) in Wamena hospital, 16 Dec 2012. Both Victims died from their wounds by sunset, according to human right reports. (Photo via Buktar Tabuni/KNPB)
compiled from reports of Tabloid Jubi, Victor Mambor and West Papua Media stringers in Wamena
December 17, 2012
A West Papua National Committee (KNPB) activist has been killed, and a farmer has died from his wounds in hospital, after being shot by members of the Australian-trained anti-terror unit Detachment 88 outside Wamena on December 16, following raids that arrested at least six activists on Sunday morning, according to multiple sources.
KNPB activist Hubertus Mabel (aged 30) died shortly after being taken by police to Wamena hospital after the shooting at 1030am in the village in Milima (or Kugima) in Kurulu district outside Wamena. Local farmer Natalis Alua (34) died in coma in hospital after being shot in the same incident, according to latest reports from human rights sources in Wamena.
According to journalist Victor Mambor, at this time Hubert was still alive and this was confirmed both by the police and Victor Yeimo (National KNPB Chairman). “Police told me that Hubert was shot in the leg at 09.30 (morning). Hubert was taken to hospital by police and then died at the hospital because of loss of blood…. At 6 (afternoon), Hubert claimed by police died in hospital.”
Hubertus Mabel’s body being prepared for burial, late December 16, 2012 (photo: KNPB/ West Papua Media)
“Some peoples in the Kugima Village, the place where Hubert was shot, told us police entered the village in full force. They brought two people who had been arrested before (Meky Kogoya and Wene Gombo) to the village to tell them where Hubert lived.”
Hubertus Mabel (Photo: KNPB)
At 9am, the same joint police/army and Densus 88 squad conducted a armed raid in the village of Kosi Hubi Holima, in Wamena. KNPB Wamena Chairman Simion Daby was arrested with human rights activist Baroy Sambon, Meki Jikwa (Kogoya), John Huby, Pie Huby, Herae Huby, and Ima Mebel, allegedly at the house of Meky Kogoya, who was accused by police of being responsible for a bombing incident in Wamena. They were all taken forcefully by police to Jayawijaya police headquarters.
It is believed that human rights worker Sambon was arrested as he was trying to alert international media to the situation, but this has not been verified.
The KNPB have repeatedly denied involvement in planning or carrying out acts of violence or bombings in Papua, a view supported by the Churches, human rights organisations and legal networks in Papua. Police have yet to provide any credible evidence that shows their involvement, despite millions of dollars being provided to Densus 88 by Australia for forensic evidence analysis.
There have been reports of an alleged West Papuan National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional or TPN) retaliation against police over the shooting of Hubertus Mabel, but human rights workers have cast doubt on the involvement of TPN forces, instead accusing Indonesian security forces of acting up to continue to create a false scenario for conflict.
‘On 10.25pm, there was an exchange of fire between the TPN-OPM (the military wing of the OPM) and the TNI/Polri , Indonesian army and police, somewhere between Misi Market and Sinakma, Yusodarso Road. The situation in Wamena was said to be tense and there were calls for help,’ according to a local report as quoted by Jubi.A local resident, Yason, confirmed reports of the sound of gunfire which was still continuing. It is alleged that this was in response to the shooting of Hubertus Mabel. Another local resident named Vita told JUBI that the local police station had been burned down in response to the shooting of Hubertus Mabel. According to Vita, ‘Mabel and member of the KNPB was shot by the security forces as he was suspected of a bombing the Wamena, which led to the police station being burned down.’The local police chief later confirmed to JUBI that there had been an exchange of fire, but West Papua Media was unable to find any witnesses or evidence that any armed TPN unit was in the area.
Markus Haluk said that the “Alleged drunks burning kiosks in the market (is) scripted by the security forces to divert attention from the arrests and shootings of civilians and KNPB activists, and is a conscious Scenario consciously to burn the office and create psychological pressure against the leaders and members of the Papuan Customary Council Lani Pago Baliem Region.”
Local human rights workers believe this latest round of security force misbehaviour is due to the payment to the new Papua Police Chief Tito Karnavian (former Densus 88 commander) of Ten Billion Rupiah (approx US$1 million) from the Papuan Governors office, for the provision of “Phase 2″ security for the Papuan Gubernatorial Election campaign, which was also earmarked to maintain a peaceful environment in the lead-up to Christmas.
“Many parties are upset with these incidents,” said Haluk. “For catching, shooting in Wamena occurred on Sunday, when people were seeking to church to worship. While the arson of the DAP offices were do middle of the night, when the community was quiet for the night, ” he explained.
“On receipt of the funds, the Papua Police Chief conveyed the importance of maintaining the security and peace of Christmas and the election of Governor. Instead, he led police officers making arrests, shootings and arson of Balim Traditional Council offices,” an exasperated Haluk told West Papua Media.
Papuan homage (16/12) to tomb of murdered OPM General Kelly Kwalik, blocked by heavily armed intelligence personnel (note Buleh Densus 88 advisor). (Photo courtesy Beni Pakage)
Also, in news from the Paniai, Brimob paramilitary police have reportedly shot and captured Yakobus Utii in Enarotoli on Sunday, alleging that he was a senior figure in Jhon Yogi’s TPN command.
West Papua Media
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- Victor Yeimo and others arrested as police crackdown on December 1 protests in Jayapura (westpapuamedia.info)
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- Breaking News: Knpb Leader Victor Yeimo Among Arrests on December 1 Flagraising Day (westpapuamedia.info)
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Papuan serving 20 years dies in prison
He had been suffering from 2010 up until December 2011. The prison authorities reached an agreement with his family that, in accordance with the family’s wishes, he would be able to stay with the family so as to ensure that he died surrounded by his family because of his physical condition as well as the fact that he had become mentally unstable.
1. Kanius Murib was serving a sentence of twenty years.
2. The government paid little attention to his state of health and just allowed his condition to linger on.
3. None of his children have been able to go to school.
The way he was treated is extremely unjust. This is the way all Papuans are being treated. The Indonesian government has ignored the recommendations made during the Universal Period Review, while the Co-ordinator Minister for Politics and Human Rights said while on a visit to Papua in 2012 that there are no political prisoners in Papua.
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AHRC: A Papuan was tortured on the unreasonable allegation of engagement with separatist group
<http://www.urgentappeals.net/support.php?ua=AHRC-UAC-201-2012>
11 December 2012
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INDONESIA: A Papuan was tortured on the unreasonable allegation of engagement with separatist group
ISSUES: Arbitrary arrest and detention; inhuman and degrading treatment; police violence; torture
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Dear friends,
*The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you of the case regarding the torture of a Papuan in Mimika, Papua. The victim was arrested by officers from the Mimika Sub-District Police wearing civilian clothes without any warrant. The police randomly accused him for being involved in the separatist movement organised by Free Papua Organisation (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM). As result of the torture, the victim was severely injured and could not walk for four days.
CASE NARRATIVE:
According to the information from the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Evangelical Christian Church in Papua (JPIC GKI), Frengki Uamang was visiting a church and about to buy mineral water from a local shop on 27 November 2012 when a silver-painted car approached him at 11am. Two unidentified men wearing civilian clothes came out the car and arrested Frengki. One of the men told him that he was a police officer.
Frengki was taken in the car to a place located about 20 metres away from the church and asked for the reason of his visit to the church. Frengki explained that he was attending a religious event at the church but the police instantly told him ‘don’t lie to us. You want to buy weapons, so don’t lie to us!’
The police later took Frengki to Kwamki Baru Sub-District Police at 11.45 where he was interrogated and accused of committing various actions, one of which was providing food for the military members of OPM. During the interrogation, the police tortured Frengki for approximately four hours. Frengki was kicked by police officers wearing boots and he had his head, ears, face and chin kicked and beaten. The police also hit Frengki on his chest, legs and tights which resulted in him not being able to walk for four days.
At 3.30pm on the same day, the police took Frengki out of the police station and drove him to Irrigation Street in Mimika. In addition to the car that was taking him, another car full of police officers was also following. In total there were about 10-12 police officers came to Irrigation Street with Frengki. The police asked Frengki to show them two houses where OPM’s military members were allegedly hiding in. Frengki told the police officers that he himself is only a visitor to Mimika and he has no idea of what houses they were talking about, yet the police insisted on taking him to Irrigation Street.
On their way to the Irrigation Street, the police again tortured Frengki. The police officers pulled his fingernails using pliers. As they arrived at the Irrigation Street, the police took Frengki to a plantation area. Frengki was asked to slither on his stomach while his hands were handcuffed. Three police officers pointed their guns at Frengki and asked him to pray. One of them told Frengki, ‘you killed my fellow police officers. You are a member of OPM’s military. You’re obviously from Kali Kopi’. Kali Kopi is one of the headquarters of OPM’s military.
As the three officers were pointing their guns at Frengki and he himself was praying, the rest police officers coming with Frengki randomly opened fire towards the trees, creating the impression that they were in crossfire against the OPM’s military members. Out of nowhere, one of the police officers took Frengki to Mimika Sub-District Police. Frengki was again interrogated, yet this time the police asked him of his link to the shooting that took place in the area owned by PT Freeport, an American gold mine company. Frengki was detained at the police station for one night, his hands and legs were chained to a table in the police’s cell.
The next day at around 2pm, Frengki was released by the police. He was not able to walk so a police officer took him to Immigration Street where Frengki was staying.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
As of today, torture is yet to be criminalised in Indonesia and the legal proceeding on such abuse is far from independent. Due to the absence of law criminalising torture, state officials who committed it are usually charged with provisions concerning physical assault which is not in accordance with the definition of ‘torture’ stipulated in the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UN CAT). As the physical assault article under the Penal Code only carries a maximum punishment of two years and eight months imprisonment, those who committed torture are sent to light punishment, if they were punished at all.
In addition to the absence of law criminalising torture, the unavailability of independent legal mechanism to investigate torture allegation has aggravated the problem. For a criminal proceeding on torture allegation to take place, the victims need to submit a criminal complaint to the police whereas it’s actually the police themselves or their colleague who committed the abuse. As a result, most of torture complaints are not followed up and criminally investigated by the police. Torture victims may also submit a complaint to the monitoring mechanism within the police called the Professionalism and Security Division (Propam). Yet this mechanism is not transparent and only has the power to impose disciplinary punishment to police officers practising torture.
http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-201-2012
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Manokwari Riots: Human rights investigation Report
Report of Human Rights Investigation by Monitoring Team from LP3PH (Institute for Research and Development of Legal Aid), Manokwari, as assembled from various local sources and members of the victim’s family.
December 6, 2012
Wednesday 5 December 2012, the weather was overcast without rain, seeming to restrain the usual busy activities of the local population, government and private company staff, white and blue collar workers, market traders, farmers, fishers, schoolkids and students, plus the security forces: army, police and intelligence.
From early morning the atmosphere was tense: from about 07.00 to 09.oo [Papua time] groups of local people could be seen moving to blockade various major road intersections in Manokwari Town. Primary official routes like Jl. Yos Sudarso, [near Sanggeng in front of the Bank Mandiri, Bank BRI and Bank Papua complex] as far as the three-way intersection on Jl. Merdeka & Jl. Gunung Salju [Makelew Fanindi complex] were blocked by mobs using wood, old tyres set on fire, tables, and tree branches, all thrown on the road. Various intersections of roads heading out to the residential areas of Fanindi beach [beside the Swissbel Hotel], Arkuki [beside the Bahagia store], Sanggeng market, and Jl. Serayu Sanggeng were blockaded by a populace brewing with anger.
While the atmosphere in Manokwari has been tense there has never been any trouble between groups in civil society or between the local community and the security forces. Several witnesses said that ‘people are very emotional, they are making these protests because of the shooting of Timo Ap’. The police secretively shot and killed Timo Ap, and then took his body to his house in Wirsi, Manokwari.
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![Demainus Waney [red circle] in the hands of authorities after demanding the crowd to break up using a loudhailer](http://westpapuamediaalerts.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/heboh_manokwari5.jpg?w=150&h=87)
- Demainus Waney [red circle] in the hands of authorities after demanding the crowd to break up using a loudhailer
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- Timo AP’s coffin is returned to the people by the Police
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- The atmosphere at Jl. Siliwang in front of the West Papuan Governor’s office: many street traders’ sites have been smashed and burned.
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![The victim Timo Ap has been bandaged around the chin after death [rigor mortis]](http://westpapuamediaalerts.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/foto0071.jpg?w=150&h=112)
- The victim Timo Ap has been bandaged around the chin after death [rigor mortis]
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- Mrs Nelestin, the victim’s aunt, opens the victim’s clothing to show his wound.(LP3PH)
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- Several news sources in Manokwari reported that the victim had been shot in the head, however it is clear there is no injury to his head.
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- A wound has been stitched in the stomach where the victim was shot
All Photos: LP3PH/West Papua Media
Chronology
A chronology of events has been put together as follows, from various civilian sources including the family of the victim Timotius Ap:
1) More than 3 days ago the victim Timotius Ap, grandson of the late Timotius Ap, [former area head of Wirsi complex in West Manokwari], returned from Java to Manokwari: in Java he had been staying with family and working as a Marine;
2) Timo Ap returned home to Manokwari with his wife Iwanggin;
3) Timo was rarely present at the Wirsi house, he was mostly elsewhere due to being on the DPO [Wanted List], related to various cases that the Police accused him of;
4) On Tuesday, 4 December 2012, as morning was turning to midday, Timo Ap was hanging out with his friends at Wirsi and wanting to eat areca nuts [?] but after eating them, his friends cannot account for his whereabouts;
5) By the evening of 4 December, at around 09.00 Papuan time [21.00?] Timo was received and treated at the Dr Azhari Hospital [Navy Hospital] Manokwari;
6) Around 10.00 [22.00?] Papuan time on 4 December, a friend of the family brought a message to Timo’s aunt Nelestin Ap, to ‘please come to the hospital to see Timo, whether he is still alive or already dead’. So then Timo’s aunt and other relatives hurried to the Navy Hospital but on the way they passed police and medical vehicles taking Timo’s corpse home to his grandmother’s house at Jl. Simponi Rindu, Wirsi, West Manokwari;
7) On arriving at the house, there was only the victim’s grandmother, in her 70’s, living alone. She had no idea that her grandson’s body was being brought to her house. ‘The employees bringing in the corpse said nothing at all to the grandmother’, and then those employees just left the coffin there and went off;
8) After several minutes the aunt and several of the victim’s loved ones arrived, or came back from the hospital and cried hysterically upon seeing the body wearing only underpants and a clean T-shirt that he had been dressed in. His friends said that he had no other clothes apart from the clean T-shirt and underpants he had been dressed in. At the hospital he had been wrapped up in bandages around his chin and neck as though he were injured, but there appeared to be no injury to his neck, chin or head in general. His only wound was discovered to be on his stomach near the centre, where a surgical incision to remove the projectile [bullet] had been stitched up.
9) By 11.30 the news had started to spread widely, that the victim Timo Ap had been shot dead by Police, and the local community began arriving to pay their respects and condolences.
10) In the morning at about 06.00 [Papua time] various family members began blockading the route into Wirsi [Jl. Simponi Rindu]. Blockades then spread to various road junctions in Manokwari, while the local daily paper MEDIA PAPUA released in its Headline news that Timo Ap had been shot dead by the OPNAL [Professional Operations Team] of Polsek [Police sector] Manokwari town at Maripi beach, South Manokwari district at about 16.00 Papua time. This was due to his opposing the officers with an improvised pistol; he was killed with a shot to the head;
11) From around 07.00 to 09.00, Papua time, the community closed off the main roads of Mankwari such as Jl. Yos Sudarso, Jl. Merdeka, the route to Sanggeng settlement, Jl. Siliwangi, Jl. Soedjarwo Condronegoro [?], Jl. Gunung Salju [heading to Ambun];
12) At the same time, activities in Manokwari came to a complete standstill. The business centre, Hadi department store, Orchid Swalayan, the market, stalls and shops were closed en masse by their owners. Offices also shut their doors – the Manokwari Regency Government office of West Papua province, schools, banks: from early this morning until mid-morning as this report is written;
13) At 10.00 Papua time, large groups began violent action, smashing shops along the length of Jl. Yos Sudarso and Jl. Merdeka as far as Jl. Siliwangi. Tens of buildings along the road suffered quite serious damage, and many cars and motorbikes were wrecked by the mob;
14) Around 12.00, as the mob moved towards the town centre right in front of the West Papuan governor’s office, patrols of Brimob [mobile brigade], Dalmas Polres [area police] backed up with Indonesian Army forces were seen closing off the intersection that the crowd wanted to pass;
15) A local man, Demianus Waney held a megaphone in front of the security forces, asking the crowd to disperse and go home…. ‘I say go home’… said Demianus Waney….. but hearing those words, the crowd became more worked up. In the process of their demonstrations against Demianus Waney, a number of buildings, restaurants owned by transmigrants around the harbour and PT Pelni [national shipping line] became targets of their anger;
16) The police, Brimob and TNI [Indonesian army] started to rush forward but were stopped by an attempt at negotiation by a priest, who said he had been the victim’s priest [i.e. Timo Ap who had been shot and killed]. However at the same time Demianus Waney said that every avenue had been tried already, inviting the armed forces to action;
17) The security forces then moved forward to break up the crowd. The police, Brimob and soldiers using trucks, paddy-wagons and Barracuda vehicles moved rapidly to take over the main road that had been controlled by the mob;
18) Around 13.00, Papua time, the situation had become calm and back to normal.
Related articles
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- LP3BH-Manokwari calls for dialogue between Papua and Indonesia (westpapuamedia.info)
- Update on Manokwari police beating of journalist Oktovianus Pogau (westpapuamedia.info)
- Crackdown Across Papua: October 23 Knpb Demo Updates (westpapuamedia.info)
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“Victor, we are ready to wreak havoc and clash with all of you” : Reflections by an unrepentant leader
by Victor Yeimo
Witness: Participant Analysis
December 3, 2012
Police Captain Kiki Kurnia: “We’re Ready To Clash.”
“Victor, we are ready to wreak havoc and clash with all of you.”
Those are the words spat out by police captain Kiki Kurnia, who yesterday (December 1) led hundreds of fully-armed police officers to put a stop to the Long March of students and the people. I was very sad to hear these words so righteously issued by the police, who present themselves as being on the side of safety. Do the police want safety, or do they not?
When I was the leader of the Long March headed for Expo Waena on December 1 in Sentani, police backed by the Indonesian military had already closed off access to the people of West Papua who would pray. Since the late afternoon (30/11), Theys H. Eluay field, which is the field of (great significance and sacredness to) the West Papuan national struggle, had been controlled by the military and by the national police, although all the civil society organizations had long since said that their prayers and celebrations would take place there.
On November 19, police entered a prayer room in Aula STAKIN in Sentani and tried to stop me as I was giving a reception after prayers, and then yesterday on December 1 the people wanted to worship and eat at the Theys H. Eluay field but were prohibited, blockaded and arrested by the full force of the military. The question is, why did the military and the police force deliberately take control of the field and then shamelessly hold a traditional stone cooking event (a Indonesian-appropriated Papuan Custom) with a handful of residents who were offered money?
If the police are tasked with security, why exactly is that security so insecure when facing inhabitants who are conducting prayers peacefully? Is the Theys H. Eluay field, owned by the traditional people of West Papua, only permitted for use by the Indonesian military and the police force? If the law is just, why wasn’t police captain Kiki Kurnia charged with incitement to violence? As he himself clearly (attempted) incited the mass action I led to commit violence on the streets in front of Dian Harapan Hospital yesterday.
If the police prohibit students from campaigning to put a stop to AIDS on West Papua’s Independence Day, why must it be prohibited? Do the police not want HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns to take place? Isn’t his proof that the police are ensuring and championing ethnic cleansing in West Papua? Why do the police prevent worship on West Papua’s Independence Day? Why do the police see more political and economic motivations than the goodwill and intentions of the people who want to interpret December 1, 2012 as World AIDS Day, the opening of Christmas festivities and the Independence Day of West Papua?
I lead my people safely and with restraint. I have personally guaranteed that I will be arrested or shot if there is a criminal act committed by people, but why in the safe Long March were we forcibly dispersed and captured like animals? Actually, who was it that committed the crime? Was it the people, or the police?
The police did not only incite the violence that happened, but yesterday (1/12) the police, through (Adjunct Senior Commissioner) Alfred Papare, publicly lied. Myself and the masses did not throw rocks at the police, however it was covered by several media sources that the police chief said we did so. In an era of openness such as this, why is there a need for mutual deceit when everybody saw yesterday that the police had no reason to blockade, arrest and attack people with tear gas? After I “escaped” from Abepura Sub-District Command, I had not received a call from the Jayapura Chief of Police, the aforementioned Alfred Papare, as stated by Wakapolda Papua, Paulus Waterpau, to Tabloid Jubi.
Better for the Police to become the Social Services
The idea of Papua’s Chief of Police, Tito Karnavian, to give out groceries and distribute help the mountain people of Papua in Jayapura and the Jayapura municipality makes me wonder a little. Has the police chief already switched functions from a chief of police who must preserve security, only to become the head of the Department of Social Services who must give social support to the people? Is this country unhealthy? Money for providing support to the people is redirected into the Police Department and the Police Department takes over the functions of the Department of Social Services.
For me, the efforts of the police department to muffle and destroy the basis of the Papua Independence conflict are obviously speculative, as well as inappropriate. Go ahead, if the police department and the Republic of Indonesia believe that our ideology can be bought off with money. Tens to hundreds of millions have been redirected to the Asrama Rusnawa Uncen, since becoming the basis for conflict, and the police are very hopeful that students will regard them as righteous people, as kind people. Well, again, it is better that the Police Institution in Jayapura be renamed as the Department of Social Security or the Department of Education, so that matters concerning the improvement of the Asrama Rusnawa Uncen and student welfare can just be taken over by the police.
Does Indonesia believe that money can silence the aspiration and ideology of independence for the people of West Papua? I am convinced the people of Papua that are given money and material aid from the police are only making use of them, because within the individual West Papuan person there is a flesh-and-blood desire for Papuan Independence, however difficult it is. So, go ahead, half-dead police and a waste of money to the people of Papua. Go ahead and pan the sympathy and dreams of the people who have hated the occupation of this land. Almost half a century practicing the policies of the Republic of Indonesia, and all models of development cannot turn the people of West Papua into people of Indonesia. Papua will rise and awaken by itself alone.
Idea of Separatists and Terrorists is a project of the TNI and Police
There are no separatists and terrorists in West Papua; only those who demand the right to self-determination as legally protected under international law. The idea of separatists and terrorists is created by the state to disgrace the legal struggle of the West Papuan people, and created by the Indonesian military and the police with a view to expanding their territory, and their wealth. For the sake of money alone, the circumvention of the state apparatus and the deception of the state apparatus, alias “bullshitting a lot” (direct translation).
My organization, the National Committee of West Papua (KNPB), struggles in peace and does not want to create chaos that will strengthen the funds of the military and the police force. Consequently, the national police force does not like peaceful action, because in a situation that is safe and peaceful, the military and the police force will be poverty-stricken. Many security institutions in Indonesia have hundreds of troops that must be paid by the state. Moreover in Papua, there are now many civilian militias formed by the state; thousands have been recruited, and must be paid. All are created with the objective of “stripping bare” the security responsibility from the Indonesian government in West Papua that fall under the name of “eradicating separatists and terrorists.”
Forgive me; my group and I will not accept food from the military or the police, so there is no need to criminalise or drop that bomb on the National Committee of West Papua to stigmatise us, so that the project money can be maintained. These ways have become commonplace, and we are bored of them. The people are smart, and getting smarter: they have already been taught these ruses by the colonialists. Ways such as this will finally tarnish the image of the Republic of Indonesia in West Papua. So it is best not to try to painstakingly search for such an image. Oh, and yesterday in Guyana, Member of Parliament told Benny Wenda: “Oppression alone will burn the spirit of the independence struggle.”
Why not kill me, or imprison me? Why was I released? Oh, it is certainly not because I cheated. I will see this for what it truly is. There are demonstrations in the streets. Now that I have planted the seeds of resistance here and the invaders sow these seeds with their own actions. I must thank the colonialists for continuously teaching us to aspire to true humanity by means of rebellion.
Victor Yeimo wrote this article immediately upon his release from police custody on Monday December 3.
Translated by West Papua Media volunteer translators
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Victor Yeimo and others arrested as police crackdown on December 1 protests in Jayapura
By West Papua Media, with Victor Mambor at TabloidJubi.com, and Julian Howay at SuaraPapua.com
December 2, 2012
UPDATED DECEMBER 3, 2012
Three leaders of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) who were detained at a West Papuan independence rally on December 1 have been allegedly disappeared by Indonesian security forces, prompting fears of ill treatment at the hands of police.
As reported earlier by Tabloid Jubi and West Papua Media, Victor Yeimo, Alius Asso and Usman Yogobi were arrested by Police while leading a long march enroute to a planned mass rally commemorating the West Papuan “Day of Independence” of December 1st at the tomb of Theys Eluay. All three were arrested for allegedly being responsible for these demonstrations, according to Police who spoke with Jubi.
Victor Yeimo, Chairman of KNPB, negotiating with Kalpores Alfred Papare moments before his arrest, December 1, 2012, Abepura (Photo: WK, KNPB)
Indonesian police prevent KNPB demo; arrests of Victor Yeimo (Photos: West Papua Media stringers)
KNPB members and human rights lawyers are currently trying to confirm his whereabouts and legal status, however Indonesian police have claimed to West Papua Media that all detainees being held at the Police headquarters. Legal access has not been allowed at time of writing and human rights observers hold grave fears for the safety of the detainees.
Victor Yeimo, KNPB Chairman, has been on a wanted list (Daftar Pencarian Orang or DPO) and has up to now evaded a massive Papua-wide manhunt by the Australian trained Detachment 88 counter-terror unit, allegedly on treason charges imposed after his appearance on the Australian ABC 7.30 Report where he presented evidence of the Densus 88 assassination of his predecessor Mako Tabuni.
However, after the arrests, the whereabouts of Victor Yeimo, Alius Asso and Usman Yogobi remain unknown until time of writing, with no indications if they still being detained or have been released by police.
“Yes. There are journalists who say that Victor (Yeimo) was released earlier. But we do not know where he is. KNPB members are still trying to find him. Their mobile phone (three KNPB’s members were arrested) was (switched) off.” Sebby Sambom, a Human Rights Activist, told tabloidjubi.com on Saturday afternoon (1/12).
Some human rights lawyers who commonly accompany Papuan activists also still looking for them (Victor Yeimo, Alius Asso and Usman Yogobi). Because when they checked into the both of Police Office (Polda and Polresta), human rights lawyers was told by police that no one was arrested after rally this morning.
“We had been to the police office, Polda and Polresta, but they (Victor Yeimo, Alius Asso and Usman Yogobi) were not there. Police said no one was arrested there (Police and Police),” said Olga Hamadi, a Papuan human rights lawyer.
Papua Police Head of Public Relations, Chief I Gede Sumerta Jaya confirmed to tabloidjubi.com, mention that the three activists will be released after the investigation at the Police Sector office of Abepura.
“After being interrogated in Abepura police station, according to the police chief, three of them will be released as they could not to do any further investigation.” said I Gede Jaya Sumerta.
However, West Papua Media twice contacted the Police Sector (Polsek) headquarters in Abepura this (Sunday) morning, where an officer named Mas Arbi claimed that Yeimo and the other prisoners were still in custody. Officers immediately volunteered further information on the second phone call that “none of the prisoners have been tortured,” despite West Papua Media having not yet asked that question. WPM has not been able to independently verify the claims of police, as legal representation is still barred from seeing Yeimo.
Massive security presence
The December 1 commemorations in Jayapura were amongst national mobilisations in most centres across Papua, and solidarity gatherings internationally.
Reports from Abepura early in the morning described a massive security presence to prevent West Papua people from engaging in peaceful acts of free expression, and from engaging in flagraisings of the Morning Star flag, the Indonesia-banned West Papuan independence flag.
Unknown persons had blockaded the entrance to the Cenderawasih University (UNCEN) by welding iron crossbars and erecting a 2 metre high steel fence around the university in anticipation of events.
From 7.30 on Saturday morning, students and activists with KNPB leaders (including Yeimo) gathered in small numbers by the site of former KNPB head Mako Tabuni’s murder, in front of the Perunmans 3 Housing Complex in Waena, where many highland students are domiciled.
Intelligence officers and plain-clothed Densus 88 personnel posing as ojek (motorcycle taxi drivers) become more aggressive towards participants converging prior to the long march, according to West Papua Media stringers and SuaraPapua.com.
At 0845 three platoons of heavily armed Dalmas riot police arrived on site, followed by Jayapura police chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Alfred Papare and his men. Papare began negotiations with Yeimo on the route and plan of action for the day, which was to make speeches and a prayer service at the tomb of slain Papuan leader Chief Theys Eluay, to commemorate December 1 and also World AIDS Day.
Participants carried many banners also demanding that the Indonesian government do more to combat HIV/AIDS, which is taking a heavy toll on Papuan society, in a situation that many Papuans believe is a deliberate policy by Jakarta of neglect and genocide.
Kapolres Papare asked the students to not go to Eluay’s tomb as he “could not be held responsible for anything that happened outside his Jayapura jurisdiction”, according to our stringers. Having heard the explanations and assurances from the students who accompanied Victor Yeimo (KNPB Chairman), police chief Papare then left the scene and ordered the Jayapura Police Dalmas riot police officers to leave the Perumnas 3. After negotiation, the students resumed speeches for the next 1 hour.
The march began slowly from Waena, passing an Indonesian army (TNI) post about 50 meters from the housing complex, which was packed with military personnel moonlighting as taxi drivers, and several platoons of heavily armed TNI on guard, who rang a warning bell as students ran past.
According to reports from Suara Papua, the march was blocked by dozens of police officers from Jayapura Police at the corner near Dian Harapan Hospital (RSDH) in Waena. forming a three layer formation blockade. The first layer is riot police, while the second and third layers are heavily armed police, who were supported by large numbers of plainclothes police who parked their motorcycles and cars nearby.
Yeimo’s Arrest
Yeimo told police through a megaphone that more students were joining them to continue the journey to Sentani. The Police Head of Operations AKP Kiki Kurnia ordered participants to disperse, but students refused the order to move on. Kiki Kurnia then advanced toward Victor Yeimo and seized him violently. Yeimo did not resist as Kurnia gave the command to capture him and a large number police descended on Yeimo, violently immobilising him as Yeimo, Julian Douw and Usman Pahabol were thrown into the Dalmas truck and taken away, according to witnesses.
According to an Australian counter-terrorism source operating in Indonesia, who securely contacted West Papua Media on December 3 on condition of anonymity, the “gentleman holding Yeimo’s left arm” during his arrest, “is a Densus 88 officer”.
Victor Yeimo’s arrest on December 1 (Photo: West Papua Media/KNPB)
The source elaborated that this individual received training from the Australian Federal Police run Joint Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation in Jakarta. West Papua Media has been unable to independently verify the source’s claims with police in Jayapura, nor with Australian Federal Police, before updating this story.
Just as the three were taken away, at about 11 am outside Dian Harapan Hospital (RSDH). police violently dispersed the remaining group of students to disperse them, firing tear gas and six live warning shots into the air. A number of students were also beaten by police, according to witnesses.
Soldiers from the TNI post also joined in the pursuit of students who were forced to flee via alleyways between homes, most running back in the direction of the Perumnas 3 dormitories, and all the armed police began raids again.
According to reports from Suara Papua, dozens of students desperately sought shelter inside the UNCEN Campus, where they were funneled into a dead end by police, back at the locked front gate, though they managed to escape for the time being. KNPB sources have reported that several students sustained injuries from beating, but this has yet to be independently verified.
However, unconfirmed reports to West Papua Media overnight have said that the police, allegedly backed by Densus 88 personnel, have been conducting brutal raids on student dormitories and highlander’s residences across Jayapura.
It is confirmed that at 1235 local time Densus 88 raid occurred on the KNPB office in Sentani an hour later, seizing laptops, Morning Star flags and the United Nations flag. No reports of injuries or arrests were received during that raid.
More to come.
West Papua Media
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BREAKING NEWS: KNPB LEADER VICTOR YEIMO AMONG ARRESTS ON DECEMBER 1 FLAGRAISING DAY
BREAKING NEWS
West Papua Media
December 1, 2012
(Jayapura) Indonesian security forces have arrested several people in West Papua today as demonstrations were held to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the original declaration of West Papua’s independence.
Victor Yeimo, the Chairman of the West Papua National Committee, has been confirmed as being arrested by police, according to independent witnesses and direct communication with his brother. It is currently unknown if Yeimo was arrested by the Australian funded and trained Detachment 88 counter-terror unit, who had committed to hunt Yeimo.
Several other people have been confirmed arrested jointly by Indonesian military (TNI) and police outside the headquarters of TNI battalion 752 at Expo Waena. The two confirmed detainees are Usman Yogobi and Alius Asso, according to West Papua Media stringers at the scene. More names will be provided as soon as confirmed.
Major rallies were also held in Melbourne (Australia), and were planned to be held in Sorong, Nabire, Fak Fak, Manokwari, Wamena,, Timika and Serui. Information from these rallies have not yet been forthcoming.
More to come – please stay tuned.
WESTPAPUAMEDIA
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Police chief calls on Papuans to ‘remain calm’ as 1 December approaches
Ironic Morning Star Moon Landing (Artwork: AK Rockefeller)
Tabloid JUBI
The police chief of the district of Mimika, Jeremias Runtini has called on the people to ‘remain calm’ as1 December approaches. He said that people should act together to safeguard security and public order and should avoid getting involved in activities that tend towards subversion such as flying the Morning Star flag.
He said that to mark its anniversary, the OPM, Organisasi Papua Merdeka, the Papuan Freedom Movement, usually flies the Morning Star flag and other people join in this as well.
‘There is nothing special about 1 December,’ he said, adding that the police and the military will be patrolling the area, after mustering their men on Timika Indah Square,’ he told journalists, as 1 December approached.
He said that in anticipation of people flying the Morning Star flag, his men will be mounting patrols throughout the region of Mimika. ‘I very much hope that people will not get involved in activities that are in violation of the laws in force in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, ‘especially bearing in mind that flying the Morning Star flag is regarded as an act of subversion and is therefore against the law.’
Repeating his call for people to ‘remain calm’ and avoid doing anything that is against the law, he called on people to support all the development activities that are being undertaken. ‘Let us join together and get involved in these development activities; I am ready to be a partner in these joint endeavours.’
He told journalists that during the three days approaching 1 December, the police will be at the top level of readiness during these three days.
‘All of us must think positively and refrain from doing anything that is in violation of the law, so as not to disrupt peace and tranquillity.’
[Translated by TAPOL]
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CRACKDOWN ACROSS PAPUA: OCTOBER 23 KNPB DEMO UPDATES
UPDATE
WESTPAPUAMEDIA.INFO
1400 WEST PAPUA TIME OCTOBER 23, 2012
CURRENT SITUATION UPDATES:
Two demonstrations held; 1 in Waena, one at Taman Imbi. Jayapura is spread out across a wide area.
Taman Imbi event was banned by police, so majority of folks moved to Waena or went home after seeing police show of force.
Confirmed from Waena, Jayapura dispersal this morning: 5 arrests including Misael Maisini, Chairman of Front Pepera. Tear Gas and Water Cannon used, while KNPB were holding rally at the site of former KNPB leader Mako Tabuni’s assassination by Densus 88 troops in June. Outside the Perunas 3 Housing complex (Yakuhimo dormitory) that was raided last night by joint TNI/Police force hunting for KNPB activists. Rally due to end soon, please stay tuned.
Police arrest KNPB activists in front of Manokwari uni campus, beaten, & taken into police trucks, according field journo Oktovianus Pogau.
Oktovianus Pogau of SuaraPapua.com was badly beaten by five Indonesian police today while covering KNPB demo outside State University of Papua, Manokwari. Pogau showed press card but still beaten. His lips were bleeding. – via Andreas Harsono.
Independent sources confirm that KNPB peace demo forcibly broken up by hundreds of armed riot lice from Kapolres Manokwari, at 0930 West Papua Time.
Manokwari, latest unconfirmed reports: 3 Wamena men shot dead instantly, 2 critically wounded and in hospital, by massive TNI/Polri hunting party that has raided the Highland dormitories at the State University of Papua, searching for KNPB activists who have dispersed in terror, according to informants in Manokwari. Unconfirmed Reports that 2 Indonesian men on Motorbikes, believed to be undercover Special Forces or Intelligence officers, have been shot with bow and arrow allegedly from highlanders. Witnesses dispute if it was in retaliation for earlier shooting deaths, or was self-defence during raid – difference of less than a minute. Raids are currently ongoing, reports of hundreds of people being rounded up by Indonesian security forces shutting down KNPB demos. Developing story – please stay tuned.
Confirmed names of four Wamena victims of Manokwari UNIPA raid by TNI/Polri: – 1 critically injured man is now dead:
1. Eduard Wantik
2.Edy Peyon
3.Maikel sama
4.Melkias Wanagau
BIAK
Unconfirmed reports of arrests in Biak at KNPB demo. Currently verifying.
Police reportedly dismantle stage for KNPB rally at Tambarui Complex, Fakfak. Demo banned, no reports yet of violence.
Communications have been cut, last reports of entire 756 Battalion and all police on streets preventing any one from gathering. Grave fears for Wamena civilian safety.
More to come – please stay tuned
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