AHRC: Military officers arbitrarily arrest and torture civilians based on false claims of rebel activity
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-005-2012
26 January 2012
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INDONESIA: Military officers arbitrarily arrest and torture civilians based on false claims of rebel activity
ISSUES: Freedom of assembly; indigenous people; torture; military violence; police negligence
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Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learnt that on 2 November 2011, seven commanding officers of the Kurulu military sub-district command (danramil Kurulu), arrested and ill-treated three local activists and nine Umpagalo villagers in Kurulu, Papua. This incident occurred without any command letter of authorization, following allegations of rebel activities. The AHRC noted that in Papua, people are frequently victimised based on arbitrary allegations of rebellion, and subsequently tortured. (photo: Kurulu victim)CASE NARRATIVE:
A Kurulu villager named Alex, who reportedly drank and gambled with members of the pro-Jakarta militia
Barisan Merah Putih, provoked Indonesian national military (TNI) officers by claiming there was a meeting between the Free Papua Movement (OPM) and the villagers at Umpagalo on the night of 2 November 2011, at Umpagalo village, Kurulu sub-district, Jayawijaya, Papua without specific evidence. Responding to this vague information, seven armed officers of the Kurulu military sub-district command (danramil Kurulu) prepared to handle the situation without any command letter of authorization (surat izin komando).After the armed officers came to Umpagalo at around 11pm, they beat three local activists, Melianus Wantik, Edo Doga and Markus Walilo, as well as nine villagers, Pilipus Wantik, Wilem Kosy, Elius Dabi, Lamber Dabi, Othi Logo, Nilik Hiluka, Hukum Logo, Martinus Mabel and Saulus Logo, then stabbed them with bayonets for two hours, forced them to crawl and doused them with water for one hour. The officers also humiliated, beat with big wood sticks, kicked and stepped on them with their boots, pointed their guns and threatened that they would cut their heads, and shot at them four times. After that, the officers
brought all the victims to the 176/ Kurulu military headquarters of Wim Anesili Wamena battalion branch (Pos TNI Batalyon 756 kurulu cabang Batalion Wim Anesili Wamena) and allegedly examined them for two hours. The victims were then released without clear reason. Too scared to go to the hospital located around 50 meters from the military post for medical treatment, they made do with traditional remedies. (photo: wounds of beatings and stabbing)The victims’ colleagues complained to the Kurulu sector police following the incident, but the police refused to process the complaint since there is no substantial evidence to prove the allegations and the military officers are beyond their jurisdiction based on law no. 31 of 1997 regarding military court.
Meanwhile, the head of the military district command (Korem) 172/PWY Ibnu Tri Widodo acknowledged the violence. He stated that the seven soldiers who mistreated the civilians were now held in custody of the Wamena Military Police. They would be brought to the military court. Following the mistreatment, all soldiers on duty in the Kurulu sub-district had been transferred. He further promised that the military would no longer act “arrogantly” towards civilians. However, in many cases of military trials, which are not open to the public, the sentences are merely a light punishment, such as a transfer, which is inadequate given the seriousness of the human rights violations committed. Therefore, the TNI
jointly with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) should send an independent investigation team to transparently resolve this case, as well as ensuring the adequate punishment of those responsible. The military court law should be reviewed to ensure that members of the military are brought exclusively before a competent, objective and impartial civilian court that is compliant with the internationally-accepted standards of fair trial, including public access to the process, in cases of human rights abuses by members of the military against civilians. (photo: Kurulu victim)ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:Torture is used in a widespread way by the police and military against indigenous Papuans, notably on persons suspected of supporting independence movements. Such suspicions are often leveled arbitrarily against members of the indigenous community and result in stigmatisation. This case is a clear example of this pattern.
Furthermore, according to the law on military courts, members of the military that commit crimes against civilians, such as extrajudicial killings or torture, can only be held accountable by military justice systems. Military courts are not open to the public, are notorious for only giving lenient punishments, and show a clear lack of impartiality.
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Australia Involved in Military Operations in Paniai, West Papua
EXCLUSIVE REPORT FROM WEST PAPUA MEDIA
21 December 2011
Alex Rayfield
Human Rights Defenders in West Papua accuse the Australian Government and an Australian-owned mining company, Paniai Gold, of being involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai, West Papua.
Mr Ferry Marisan alleges that the Australian-trained Indonesian counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 (also known as Densus 88 or D88), is involved in ongoing military operations in Paniai. According to Marisan, the Director of Elsham Papua, the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua, the joint police and military D88 have been embedded in the Second “Coconut” (Kelapa Dua) paramilitary Police Force (Brimob) sent from West Java for military operations against suspected members of the West Papua Liberation Army (or TPN), based at Eduda, Paniai.
According to Mr Yones Douw, a human rights defender based in Paniai, D88 are currently being deployed against members of the TPN in a jungle warfare operation. John Yogi – the Paniai based commander of the TPN – and his men, believed to number a few dozen, fled into the jungle following an attack on his base in Eduda by the Indonesian military and police between the 12-15 December.
Marisan says that in total 30 people have died during the latest round of violence in Paniai Seventeen people were shot dead during the military operations in Eduda. Only ten of these victims were members of the TPN, according to Marisan. Between the 9th and 14th of December a further three people died, all from exposure related sickness. Amongst the dead were two children aged two and four. Prior to the military operations Brimob also shot dead eight Papuans. Yogi’s men responded by killing two Brimob soldiers, an event that triggered the recent military operations.
In addition Elsham Papua reports that the following six villages were burnt to the ground: Toko, Badawo, Dogouto, Obayoweta, Dey, and Wamanik. As a result of the violence Marisan says that up to 20,000 people have fled their homes. ”They are living in government care centres, or staying with family and friends. Many have also fled to the forest” says Marisan.
SBS Radio reported that a spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says that the “Australian Government does not train or fund Indonesia’s security forces to counter separatism.”
Irrespective of the training that both the Australian and U.S government’s say they provide to D88 , both Douw and Marisan claim that group is being used in military operations against so-called separatists. “Many of the victims in these operations” says Marisan, “are not members of the TPN, they are ordinary Papuan villagers who are supposed to be protected by the state”. D88 was also allegedly involved in the killing of six Papuans at the conclusion of the Third Papuan Congress on October 19.
D88 is not the only link between Australia and the recent wave of violence.
According to both Douw and Marisan, helicopters used at the Derewo River Gold (DRG) project were utilised by the Military and Police in these latest military operations. DRG is operated by Paniai Gold, a fully owned subsidiary of Melbourne based gold mining company West Wits Mining. A local source, requesting anonymity, told West Papua Media that the helicopters are those used by the mining company. “They are white with blue and red markings” the sources said. “They are defiantly mining company helicopters.”
The person responsible for Paniai Gold’s operations is Mr Vincent Savage, a Non-Executive Director of West Wits. According to publicly available company documents “Mr Savage has been intimately involved in all governmental and regulatory issues involving the Derewo River Gold Project as well as working closely with the Company’s local Indonesian partners.”
These same documents state that “security [for the DRG Project] will be provided by the local Paniai police and Brimob (Indonesian paramilitary police) under the supervision of a Company Security Officer”.
West Papua Media attempted to contact Mr Savage for comment, but he was not available.
The 2011 November-December military operations are not the first military operations in the area. Paniai was the scene of widespread military operations between 1963-1969, 1977-1978, and again in 1981-1982. During this period U.S. supplied Bronco aircraft were used to bomb villages while helicopters strafed Papuans with machine gun fire.
“People don’t forget these things easily” says Douw.
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Shootings, village burnings and helicopter attacks continue across Paniai
SPECIAL REPORT AND UPDATE
by Nick Chesterfield at westpapuamedia.info
December 16, 2011
Harrowing accounts of terror and intimidation are emerging from villagers and human rights workers in the remote Paniai district in West Papua overnight, as a massive Indonesian military assault against National Liberation Army guerrillas continues.
Local human rights and church sources are reporting that ordinary villagers are being subjected to significant human rights abuses by a combined Indonesian police and military force, and have called for immediate international intervention in West Papua to stop the violence.
Over four full strength combat battalions of Indonesian army (TNI) Kostrad commandos from Battalion 753, Brimob paramilitary police, and elite counter-terrorism troops from Detachment 88 – all units armed, trained, and supplied by the Australian Government – were deployed in an offensive to surround the headquarters of the Paniai Free Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM), under the command of General Jhon Yogi.
TPN/OPM headquarters Markas Eduda burning after TNI attack, 13/12/2011, Paniai, Papua
Paniai villages burning after TNI attack, 13/12/2011, Paniai, Papua
TPN/OPM headquarters Markas Eduda burning after TNI attack, 13/12/2011, Paniai, Papua
Punitive village burnings and raids are continuing in remote villages around the TPN/OPM headquarters of Markas Eduda. At the time of writing, seventy-five houses, six schools, and about 25 other buildings have been recorded as burnt down in a total of 27 villages by Indonesian security forces.
Eighteen people are now confirmed dead – fifteen from gunshot wounds, and three refugees who allegedly succumbed to starvation in the so-called care centres under the control of security forces. The victims’ names from the attack in Eduda are:
Dead:
- Tapupai Gobay (30) was shot in the chest.
- Tawe Bunai Awe (30) head crushed*.
- Uwi Gobay (35) was shot in the abdomen.
- Wate Nawipa (25) was shot in the back.
- Martinus Gobay (29) head crushed*.
- Owdei Yeimo (35) was shot in the back.
- Ruben Gobay (25) was shot in the abdomen.
- Paul Gobay (42) was shot in the abdomen.
- Bernadus Yogi (23) was shot in the chest.
- Demianus Yogi (15) was shot in the back.
- Simon Kogoya (40) was shot in the abdomen.
- Simon Yogi (30) was shot in the head.
- Luke Kudiai (25) was shot in the chest.
- Alfius Magai (20) head crushed*
Note: those with “head crushed” allegedly sustained these fatal injuries through severe beatings with rifle butts and “boot stamping”, according to sources
Wounded:
- Paschal Kudiai (15) hit by a bullet in the head.
- Martinus Kudiai (30) was shot in the hand.
- David Mote (40) was shot in the thigh.
- Amandus Kudiai (43) was shot in the arm.
- Yohan Yogi (21) was shot in the leg.
- Mon Yogi (20) was shot in the back.
Credible reports have also confirmed that two civilian “company” helicopters were provided to Security forces, and were allegedly used to drop live grenades and chemical dispersal weapons onto villages surrounding Eduda, and strafe villages with sniper and machine-gun fire on December 13, 14, and 15. Several independent witnesses have claimed to West Papua Media, and reported elsewhere across social media, that the helicopters are well known in the area for local non-military operations.
"Company" Helicopter alleged by local sources to be used in Indonesia security force offensive in Paniai. Source claims photo taken on Dec 13 aas helicopter was circling group. This photo is not independently verified, however analysis shows the image is consistent with independent witness descriptions, and the terrain and weather conditions are consistent with other photos supplied. (West Papua Media source)
Witnesses interviewed by local human rights workers have claimed that at 0800 local time on December 13, the Company helicopter launched CS gas salvos into the village of Markas Eduda, the TPN headquarters, to flush out villagers and guerrillas. According to a separate account sent to West Papua Media by TPN/OPM sources, the helicopters landed troops and occupied Eduda for most of the day, with guerrillas taking to forests in retreat. In retaliation, TPN/OPM fighters shot at the helicopters, unsuccessfully, and several hours of intense fighting ensued which was suspended when Free Papua fighters witnessed many village houses and schools being simultaneously burnt in the surrounding area. According to the TPN/OPM source, villages were set on fire around Eduda and gunshots were heard for the rest of the day and through the night. Free Papua fighters have retreated to the forest and are awaiting orders for their next moves, according to the source.
Villagers from across Paniai are continuing to be displaced by the operations, forced to flee en masse into areas around Enaratoli, on the opposite side of Lake Paniai. As reported on December 14 by West Papua Media, over 131 villages have been abandoned causing at least 10800 Paniai villagers to flee the military operations.
Church sources have further reported that refugees seeking shelter in the Enaratoli area are enduring worsening conditions without any relief. Armed Indonesian security forces have established a police supervised secure “Care Centre” at Uwatawogi Hall in Enaratoli, and have crammed into it 1715 people from Kopabutu and Dagouto villages. According to local activists in reports to West Papua Media, local residents are being threatened with arrest and beatings if they try to provide detainees with adequate humanitarian relief. Police are also preventing people held at the hall from leaving for food or sanitation needs, according to sources. At the time of writing, three people have died at the “care Centre” since December 9 from Diarrhoea. They are :
- OTOLINCEA DEGEI age 2 years , died 8:20pm, 9/12/11;
- YULIMINA GOBAI Age 4, died 3pm, 14/12/2011;
- ANNA DEGEI Age 47, died 1030pm, 14/12/2011.
No food, sanitation or medical aid has been made available by any government agency to give relief to this large number of internally displaced people.
Over 9000 refugees are either hiding in the forest or seeking shelter with their own extended families in the region area. Those with their families are considered safe, however their needs and conditions are difficult to monitor and assess given their isolation
Local teachers have also been in contact with West Papua Media’s stringers. Since 27 November 2011, teaching and learning activities have been suspended indefinitely in all village schools surrounding Markas Eduda. Schools such as SD YPPK in Badao Dei, Yimouto, and Obayauweta villages have been suspended, as has Primary, Junior High, “shop” (trade school) and Elementary Instruction in the towns of Dagouto, and Uwani. The students of these schools have been evacuated with their parents.
A teacher in junior YPPGI Uwani said while repression was occurring in the villages that: “For while we have closed the schools, because school children are frightened and fled with their parents. In addition, we as teachers do not feel safe to make teaching and learning activities. All the teachers have fled Paniai district, and to Nabire. “
On December 15, the army / police battalions have returned to the villages of Uwamani, Dei and Obaipugaida to prepare a major attack for a new phase of the campaign. It is believed strongly by local activists that the “company” helicopter will still be used in addition to Unconfirmed reports have been received by West Papua Mediathat the Indonesian arsenal against civilians in Paniai includes one Mil Mi-24 SuperHind gunship, one of two usually stationed near Jayapura.
650 Kostrad troops from Battalion 142 being deployed from Palembang to Paniai in Papua, boarding their troop ship on December 9, 2011
West Papua National Committee (KNPB) activists in Paniai reported on December 15 that after the assaults on villages, the Indonesian military forces are now arresting, intimidating and carrying out interrogation on all residents across the districts of Toko, Kopabaida and Uwamani. According the KNPB, Indonesian police have arrested scores of children and adults, and are conducting brutal and physical interrogations and questioning from 11.00 am until the end of the day
The offensive was ongoing throughout December 15, with Indonesian security forces opening fire in many locations around Eduda. Overnight, from 0200 to 0600, heavy gunfire erupted across the Degeuwo River valley. Human rights sources in villages and also with refugees conveyed reports that people were being shot at by snipers if they were moving anywhere after dark, even to collect, food, water, or to secure pigs. It is not known how many people were killed during the night, but local source are expecting the toll to rise.
According to a report provided tonight by a local pilot, Indonesian security forces shot eleven times into houses in the village of Gekoo, where mourners were gathering for a the funeral of a local man who died from illness. Villagers alleged that some bullets even landed in their cooking fires, exploding their food pots.
Witnesses reported a series of helicopter raids from 11am on December 15, with helicopters being used to machine-gun the villages of Obaiyepa and Uwaman. Human rights workers have been unable to access these areas to see if any casualties were sustained.
Unidentified village burnt down 13, dec 2011, near Eduda, Paniai
Helicopters landed at Eduda ceremony ground 11 times from 11:00 to 13:00 hours, and residents suspect logistics, ammunition and additional forces were being deployed.
The area around Paniai has been long subject to conflict and heavy Indonesian military offensives against civilians, however in recent months the Indonesian police have taken charge of punitive operations against West Papuans harbouring pro-independence sympathies. The conflict has recently escalated over land rights and the control of local gold mining operations, with Brimob deeply involved in both joint venture security, and direct involvement in gold businesses and associated activities. The Australian gold mining company Paniai Gold is also operating in the Degeuwo River region.
Indonesian soldiers in Paniai, December 2011
Civilians in the foothills are in panic and reliving the trauma of past operations, according to the report from a local pilot. “They are concerned emotions again will open in Wegeuto of the 1982 war Memoria Passionis (memory of suffering) and again when the Army conducted ongoing military operations (DOM – Daerah Operasi Militer) from 1989-1993 across the Badauwo area, near Eduda, ” the source said via email. He explained that during the last DOM period the army accused and stigmatised civilians as being members of the TPN-OPM, and subsequently tortured thousands of villagers. Human rights sources at the time documented villagers being waterboarded / tortured for 24 hours; residents’ houses burned, raped girls and married women, extrajudicial killings, burning off fingers, moustaches and beards, pulling fingernails and quartering villagers with armoured vehicles. Troops also conducted burning and destroying food gardens, killing livestock and pets, and fouling water supplies.
Residents are concerned that the current angry and emotional behaviour by the TNI-police toward TPN / OPM will be vented on civilians living on the slope of the hamlet Wegeuto especially, directly adjacent to Markas Eduda. In a message delivered to West Papua Media local villagers have pleaded for International Advocacy to get Military and Police immediately withdrawn from Eduda and Paniai in general.
Much trauma is being felt by civilians across Paniai as a result of the offensive. Independent journalist Sonny Dogopia, from Papuan Voices , interviewed local villagers by telephone on December 14. Magda Tekege, a housewife from Deiyai District, said civil society is very scared and depressed. ” Here also TNI / Police beat us and put us under surveillance, and are one full alert status, ” she explained. Deiyai Magda called the situation unusual , “this is probably due to invasion by TNI / police in Paniai, therefore Deiyai also suffer the effects.”
Reports from Tuesday described the exercises that the Australian trained, funded and armed Brimob Gegana unit, upon arriving in Enaratoli proceeded to take over the streets immediately, causing normal town life to be immediately disrupted as local people emptied the streets to hide.
On December 6, Human rights, church sources and local activists had independently claimed that 542 people have been forcibly evacuated by troops from the Special Gegana Brimob “Counter” terrorist police unit. The villages of Dagouto and Kopabatu and surrounding hamlets in the Dagoutu Paniai district were evicted after the Gegana unit decided it wanted to expand a new headquarters facility to deploy in the offensive against Jhon Yogi, the local leader of the armed guerrilla unit of the National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM).
The Gegana unit, a specialised elite anti-terrorist unit of the Indonesian police has been deployed heavily across Papua to crackdown on pro-independence activists engaged in non-violent resistance, as well as to eliminate the armed struggle groups. Gegana is one of several elite Indonesian police units that receives arms, funding, and training from the Australian Government, and was blamed on December 3 for burning down a church and school in Wandenggobak, in the highland regency of Puncak Jaya.
As this article was going to press, an update was received from a trusted human rights worker in Paniai. “At 2300 in the evening, Brimob Coconut Battalion 2 burned down buildings of Paniai Districts’ tourism assets, located in Bukit Dupia, in the same location as the Regent’s residence. This evening in Paniai the situation is very tense”. TPN fighters reportedly have returned fire on the attack and heavy fighting is still occurring,
The situation is ongoing and developing and West Papua Media will continue to closely monitor events.
Please urgently help us continue this work. @westpapuamedia ia working tirelessly to end impunity in Papua with effective journalism. But we need your help – PLEASE DONATE NOW wp.me/P1aPlR-116
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Breaking News: Indonesian troops reportedly raze Paniai villages and attack by helicopter
December 13, 20011.
Urgent text messages have been received reporting an attack on Markas Eduda by Brimob and the TNI. According to people in Paniai and those close to sources near Markas Eduda, the base of TPN commander Jhon Yogi, by 13:30 the base had been surrounded by troops. At 14:05 a Paniai based contact reported that the TNI and Brimob had entered Eduda and surrounding hamlets and proceeded to torch homes.
Ground and air attacks (by helicopter) were both reported.
Please stay tuned. West Papua Media is closely monitoring the situation. Any journalists not already on our list who wish to report on this, please contact West Papua Media via +61450079106
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AHRC: INDONESIA: Human Rights in 2011 – The Decay of Pancasila and Constitutional Protections
Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011
On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC publishes its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011.
The full report will be made available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-006-2011/view.
In 2011, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has witnessed a deterioration of the human rights situation in Indonesia in terms of religious freedom, the role of the judiciary and accountability for violence by security forces. This report, which is based on the organisation’s documentation and monitoring work, shows that Indonesia remains heavily affected by serious human rights violations and shortcomings in the rule of law. The lack of effective prevention and legal measures taken by the legal apparatus against fundamentalist groups, shows the inability of the State to ensure fundamental rights, such as the right to life and the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Constitutional foundations such as “unity in diversity” (Pancasila) and fundamental rights are being undermined, as is being seen in the lack of appropriate responses by the State to the decay of religious pluralism and diversity. Constitutional fundamental rights are not being enforced for Aceh’s citizens, who live under discriminating Sharia laws, or for religious minorities in Java and elsewhere in the country, who face persecution, or for indigenous Papuans who lack equal access to justice, protection and social welfare and as a result increasingly reject Indonesian citizenship. Indonesia’s international recognition as a role-model for secular democracy in the region, and as the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, is losing credibility.
Numerous cases of violations of the freedom of religion were reported in 2011. This situation cannot be separated from Indonesia’s recent history. The relationship between State and religion in Indonesia is swinging from one extreme to the other. Under the authoritarian Suharto regime, which was in power until 1998, religious movements were violently suppressed, as shown in the Tanjung Priok (1984) and Talangsari (1989) incidents, during which hundreds of Muslims were killed. Alleged perpetrators in that case remain unpunished. The use of violence against religious groups was a strategy at that time to prevent Islamists from gaining political power. Conversely, the trend that has developed in recent years shows that religious organisations are now undermining State institutions and justice processes. The increased religious violence is exemplified by the killing of three Ahmadiyah followers in February 2011. The perpetrators in the case have received no or only lenient punishments, while victims among religious minorities suffer persecution.
Violence by security forces, including the police and military, remains the other major concern in Indonesia in 2011. The AHRC continued to receive numerous cases of torture by the police, and, from crises regions under heavy military control like Papua, (1) it received cases of torture by the military. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the violent dispersal and killings during the Third Papuan Congress in October 2011.
The prevailing climate of impunity permits such violence to go unchecked. It is caused by the lack of effective reforms to provide impartial and professional accountability mechanisms, including for human rights violations. Efforts to develop and reform the bodies mandated to oversee the police, prosecution and judiciary, such as the extension of the mandate of the National Police Commission (KOMPOLNAS) and the mandate of the Prosecutorial Commission, are important steps taken by the GoI. However, in practice, police officers cannot be criminally prosecuted for the widespread use of torture to obtain information or punish detainees, and members of the military cannot be held accountable by independent investigations and civilian courts. They continue to be tried exclusively by the Indonesian National Army’s (TNI) legal system, which has serious flaws and typically perpetuates impunity. While Indonesia had announced the inclusion of the crime of torture in its new draft criminal code, this draft has been pending for adoption for many years. Sharia law in Aceh institutionalises corporal punishment and therefore inhuman and degrading treatment, and violates rights concerning fair trials.
The freedom of expression of activists in Papua is frequently violated through arrests of protesters and imprisonment for the peaceful expression of political opinions. More than 60 cases of violence against journalists in 2011 and several defamation law suits were reported. A new law concerning the State’s intelligence system passed in 2011, and allows for arbitrary measures that violate human rights and can be used to silence activists. Civil society faces many serious challenges to their ability to perform work in favour of human rights and reforms.
As a survey by the Kompas newspaper in 12 major Indonesian cities in October revealed, 83\% of the respondents are dissatisfied with the work of the police, judiciary and the attorney general’s office in upholding the law. Almost 100\% of the respondents felt that political conflicts within the police and corruption within State institutions is, in general, in a serious condition. (2)
Politicisation of criminal justice institutions such as the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), corruption in the judiciary and the immunity of military commanders present an ongoing problem. The lack of accountability for gross violations of human rights and ongoing impunity for the instigators of the 2004 assassination of Indonesia’s leading human rights defender, Munir Said Thalib, due to the refusal of the Attorney General to conduct new investigations, are key indicators concerning the inability of State institutions to address human rights violations effectively, and thus to fulfil their mandate to ensure a just and fair society. As a result, religious extremism grows and violations by security forces continue.
The full report will be made available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-006-2011/view.
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Initial reports from December 1 in West Papua: TNI respond with violence in Timika
Citizen journalists on the ground have started filing the following reports by SMS (translated from Bahasa Indonesia):
(All times given are local time)
Timika
“December 1st was celebrated in Timika. The flag was raised for approximately minutes. A church service began at 9am. The military then forcibly dispersed everyone. Two people were shot (a man and a woman). The man’s name is Viktus Wamang. He is currently in the hospital in Timika. The woman is yet to be identified. Three people have been detained. The situation is very tense. People are still detained on the field in Timika Indah.” 11:30, Dec. 1.
Sorong
“We marched around the municipality office and are now joining a mass prayer. Around 1,000 to 1,500 people are involved. The police are strictly guarding us. Hope that nothing happens to us.” 10:35, Dec 1.
Manokwari
“The streets of Manokwari are crowded. People are holding a 100m long banner that reads ‘The Federal Republic of West Papua’ and includes a photo of the President [Forkorus Yaboisembut] and the Prime Minister [Edison Waromi] and hundreds of Morning Star Flags.” 11:29, Dec 1.
Puncak Jaya (Nemangkawi in the Amungme language), the highest mountain between the Himalaya and the Andes
A European mountain climber unfurled the Morning Star Flag on the summit of Nemangkawi. The photo and a video has just been released on West Papua Media.
People are now coming out of church services. More flag raisings are expected.
It is expected that tension will increase as people come on the streets across Papua. West Papua Media will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Witness contacts are available from West Papua Media at +61450079106
Violent Tactics Backfire In Papua
1 Nov 2011
By Alex Rayfield
The tough response of the Indonesia armed forces to the Third Papuan People’s congress has strengthened calls for freedom. NM’s West Papua correspondent Alex Rayfield reviews the fallout
If the Indonesian police and military thought shooting live ammunition into a mass gathering of unarmed Papuans would somehow dampen dissent and endear them to Jakarta’s continued rule, they were mistaken. Indiscriminate repression meted out against those gathered at the Third Papuan People’s congress is showing signs of having the opposite effect: widening the circle of dissent inside West Papua and igniting international support outside.
First the Indonesian military and police denied they shot dead peaceful protesters. But that was too difficult to sustain. New Matilda received text messages as soon as the shooting started which were followed by urgent phone calls. Gunfire could be heard in the background.
When it became clear that covering up the shooting would not wash, the Indonesian Chief of Army in West Papua, Erfi Triassunu, admitted opening fire but claimed his troops only fired warning shots. He insisted no one had been hurt. Some of the international media bought the story. With foreign journalists banned from West Papua, some media outlets went to the police and military for confirmation. This is in spite of the fact that West Papua Media, with their extensive network of citizen journalists and local stringers, broke the story, verified it and began filing reports about what happened within a few hours.
A few hours after the shooting, the Indonesian police in West Papua were telling journalists in Jakarta that an attempted coup d’état had taken place and that police had used force to defend the state. The Jayapura Chief of Police, Imam Setiawan, even went as far as saying that members of the Papuan Liberation Army had attacked the Congress.
Setiawan took this line again on Thursday 20 October. In an interview with Bintang Papua, a local Papuan daily, he outlined how he thought police should respond to a gathering of unarmed Papuans expressing their political opinion: “Whoever supports separatism or subversion activity, I will do the same as yesterday. I’ll finish them.”
The language used by Setiawan echoed hard-line nationalists in Jakarta. It follows a deadly trajectory. Cast the Papuans in the worst possible light. Label them as “separatists” — which in Indonesia is the worst kind of criminal, someone who is treasonous, dangerous and violent. From here it was only a short step to imply that those at the Third People’s Congress were using violence to try and seize control of the state. This narrative makes it sound like the police and military were taking evasive action to stop the Papuans storming the Bastille of Indonesian rule. This is pure fantasy.
Initially it was reported that police and the military raided the stage after Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi (appointed as President and Prime Minister of the Federal State of West Papua respectively) declared independence. We now know that the attack did not happen until well after the three-day gathering had finished.
After the Declaration of Independence was read around 2.00pm local time, the Congress concluded. The leadership — Yaboisembut, Waromi, Dominikus Surabut, Helena Matuan and a few others left the field to rest in the nearby Sang Surya Catholic Friary in the grounds of the Fajar Timur Theological College where the Congress was being held. Those remaining on Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) danced the Yospan, a traditional Papuan group dance.
The festivities continued for around 60-90 minutes. We don’t know exactly what the police, military and Brimob soldiers were doing between the time the Declaration was read out and the time the shooting started. Presumably they were discussing what to do. Most likely they consulted commanding officers locally and in Jakarta.
According to Yan Christian Waranussy, a prominent Papuan human rights lawyer, members of the security forces under the command of Police Chief Imam Setiawan arrested Edison Waromi as he drove out of the Fajar Timur grounds on Yakonde Street. Waranussy reports that the police pulled people out of the vehicle and started beating them before pushing them into a police van. Following the arrest of Waromi, Waranussy says the security forces starting firing their weapons into the crowd.
This occurred at around 3.30pm. One of the first killed was 25-year-old Daniel Kadepa, a student at Umel Mandiri Law School. According to those who knew him, Kapeda did not even attend the Congress. He was passing by when the security forces opened fire. Witnesses said that he died from gunshot wounds to the head and back after soldiers fired on him as he was running away.
Video footage obtained by EngageMedia and published by New Matilda shows people hiding in nearby buildings just after the police and military opened fire. In the background you can hear shooting. This is not automatic gunfire. They are single shots. Then there is a pause, followed by more shots. It is as if the shooter is walking around picking people off. There is very little background noise. No screaming or yelling, just an eerie silence … and gunshots.
According to Catholic clergy who witnessed the event, the police, Indonesian military and the the paramilitary Mobile Police Brigade continued discharging their weapons for approximately 25 minutes.
Eyewitnesses report that when the shooting started, Yaboisembut and Surabut were talking and relaxing in the Sang Surya Friary, a few metres from the oval. Then bullets smashed through the window. According to statements obtained by New Matilda people immediately hit the ground and began crawling to safety as the police indiscriminately fired live ammunition and canisters of tear gas into the buildings surrounding the oval.
According to statements obtained by New Matilda, police, military and Brimob personnel ransacked student dormitories, clergy residences and offices. One witness reported an Indonesian security officer yelling “Where are those idiot priests? Why do priests hide criminals?”
Those present also reported security personal using combat knives or bayonets and beating people with truncheons and rifles. At least 300 people were arrested and taken away in army and police trucks where they were detained overnight in the tennis courts at the police station.
We now know that three people were shot dead that day. They are Daniel Kapeda, Max Asa Yeuw, and Yakobus Samansabra. Two others, Matias Maidepa and Yacop Sabonsaba, were allegedly found dead behind the military headquarters in Abepura. According to the Indonesian military sources quoted in the local Papuan press, the victims had been stabbed. In addition, members of the Organising Committee of the Third Papuan Congress allege four other people died, all from gunshot wounds, two from Sorong and two from Wamena.
Six people are still in detention charged with rebellion. According to family members they have all been badly beaten. According to Human Rights Watch and KONTRAS Indonesia (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) those still in detention are:
• Forkorus Yaboisembut, chairman of the Papua Customary Council, probably the most prominent pro-independence leader in Papua. When New Matilda interviewed him in West Papua in 2010 and again in 2011 he was regularly receiving death threats. A few people had even come forward and told the local press that they were offered new motorbikes and other inducements if they would help orchestrate a fatal ”accident”.
• Edison Waromi, president of the West Papua National Authority. Edison Waromi’s daughter, Yane, was kidnapped and assaulted by the security forces in 2008.
• Dominikus Surabut, secretary of the Papuan Customary Council in La Pago region.
• Selpius Bobii, a social media activist, who organised the Papuan Congress. He initially eluded the police crackdown, but surrendered to police on October 20, accompanied by his lawyers and a Papuan journalist.
• August M. Sananay of the West Papua National Authority.
• Gat Wanda, a member of PETAPA (Defenders of the Land of Papua, an unarmed civilian defence group), charged with possessing a sharp weapon.
It will take some time before the immediate effect of the repression is made clear, but early signs suggest the use of extreme and deadly violence against nonviolent activists has enlarged the circle of dissent inside West Papua and ignited international support outside.
Certainly Church leaders — both Catholic and Protestant — have expressed their outrage. Neles Tebay, a key Papuan intellectual, defended the role of clergy who provided humanitarian protection for those seeking safety. Tebay, who also gave permission for the Committee to hold the Congress in the Theological College grounds, was quoted as saying that he “rejects the use of all kinds of repression in dealing with the problems. Using violence undermines the dignity of all concerned, above all the dignity of the victims as well as the perpetrators.”
Tebay has repeated his call “for all people of goodwill to jointly press for dialogue, for the sake of peace in Papua”.
Political representatives of the Papuan Provincial Parliament, a group that until now has sided with the government on matters of national security, expressed their dismay. Bintang Papua reported that Yan Mandenas, chairman of the Pikiran Rakyat Group in the Provincial Parliament said “the actions of the security forces in dispersing the Congress exceeded all bounds and … were in violation of the law”.
Similar views were expressed by Ruben Magay, chairman of Commission A on Politics and Law of the Provincial Parliament who reportedly urged the chief of police to withdraw his men because the Congress was already over. Magay said that what happened was clearly “a violation” and that “no one was fighting back”.
And while a large group of hard-line nationalists in Jakarta applauded or condoned police and military action, Effendy Choirie and Lily Chadidjah Wahid, both members of House of Representatives Commission I on information, defense and foreign affairs in Jakarta, warned the government that the mounting tension could lead to the province’s separation from Indonesia. In a clear rebuke of Papuan Police Chief Imam Setiawan, the two legislators added “that the government should not blame the Free Papua Movement (OPM) for the shooting but rather the security personnel in Papua”.
Internationally, things have gotten much worse for Jakarta.
United States Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin condemned the actions of the security forces. So too has Senator Richard Di Natale from the Australian Greens who has urged the Australian Government to suspend military ties with Indonesia. MP Catherine Delahunty from New Zealand has also called for the New Zealand Government to withdraw its training support for the Indonesian police. This is more than words. The United States, Australian and New Zealand Government all provide money, training and material aid to the Indonesian police and military. In this sense we are beginning to see the early signs of what could become an international withdrawal of legitimacy for continued Indonesian repression in West Papua.
Papuan calls for UN intervention won’t happen, at least not in the foreseeable future. And the movement internally still faces serious challenges. But the Congress, the Declaration of Independence and the subsequent shooting has realigned the political landscape. There are now three main political groups, the Congress, the Papuan Peace Network led by Neles Tebay who is calling for dialogue, and the West Papua National Committee who want the giant US/Australian Freeport Mine closed and a referendum on West Papua’s political status. At a fundamental level there is not a lot of difference between these positions. They all point to the need for a political solution to the Pacific’s longest running conflict.
The Indonesian political elite and security forces can no longer pretend that the problem in Papua is economic. Papuans want political freedoms. The Congress made that abundantly clear. It opened with raising the banned Morning Star flag and singing the banned West Papuan national anthem, Hai Tanah Ku, and closed with a Declaration of Independence.
And it wasn’t as if the military or police was unaware of this depth of feeling. When an open peace conference organised by the Papua Peace Network was held in Jayapura last July, Erfi Triassunu, the local Army Chief, took the podium. In attendance were 800 respected Papuan civil society leaders. Triassunu tried to get the audience — who were mostly Papuan — to chant “peace!” in response to his “Papua!”. But as soon as he called out “Papua!” the crowd responded as one with “Merdeka!” (freedom).
Now the Papuans’ cry for freedom is echoing around the world. And it is the Indonesian police, military and their nationalist political allies in Jakarta who are helping amplify it.
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800 arrested, many tortured after troops open fire on Papuan Congress
in partnership with newmatilda.com
STOP PRESS – AT time of publication, confirmed information that another victim, Melkias Kadepa has been found dead in the bushes, in Abepura, according to Matius Murib, the Chairperson of Papuan Human Right Committee in Jayapura.
Troops Open Fire On Papuan Gathering
By Alex Rayfield
The Indonesian military and police opened fire late yesterday on a gathering of West Papuan leaders. At least one person is believed to have been killed and hundreds have fled the capital
The Indonesian military and police started shooting at around 2:37pm West Papua time, yesterday 19 October. Information about what exactly transpired are still sketchy but at least one person was shot (believed dead), scores have been arrested, hundreds have fled to the hills and jungle surrounding the capital, and the capital is in a state of lockdown.
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A Papuan priest who was fleeing the shooting contacted New Matilda to report that an army truck passed him carrying Papuan participants who had been present at the Third Papua Congress. According to the witness they were “covered with blood” and had been “beaten and shot”.
The violence erupted at the conclusion of the Third Papuan Congress, a three-day gathering held at the Taboria oval (Zaccheus Field) in Abepura, during which Papuan leaders declared their independence from the Indonesian state.
As many as 20,000 West Papuans met, danced and debated how to achieve their civil and political rights. For three days the atmosphere had been tense. The venue was ringed by Armed Personnel Carriers, military trucks and Barracudas — a type of armed jeep favoured by the paramilitary police. Machine guns were trained on the participants and thousands of soldiers and paramilitary police armed with automatic weapons were present.
Papuan activists feared that the military and police would try to forcibly break up the peaceful gathering. But the Papuans were determined to have the congress.
One activist told New Matilda “maybe we will die but the congress will go on”. Continue it did. The banned “morning star” flag was flown and the banned national anthem was sung. By lunch time on the third day (19 October) Papuan activists, members of the organising committee and well connected church leaders heard that the police and military were going to use force to break up the congress.
By 2pm Jayapura time the Congress was concluding. Forkorus Yaboisembut, the Chair of the influential Customary Papaun Council was elected President and Edison Waromi was elected Prime Minister of the “West Papua Federal State”. The crowd was ecstatic. One senior tribal leader sent New Matilda the following message by SMS: “Kongres has been successful! No reaction from the military. God bless!”
The jubilation was premature.
Immediately after New Matilda received that SMS, Yaboisembut and Waromi read a declaration of independence. The police and military then opened fire and stormed the stage. As Forkorus Yaboisembut was being arrested, his personal bodyguards stepped in to protect him. A witness reports at least one person was then shot. According to an SMSNew Matilda received from Yaboisembut: “hundreds were surrounded, shot, beaten and then arrested”.
Prior to being arrested, Yaboisembut spoke to a journalist from Bintang Papua, a local Jayapura daily. Yaboisembut was reported as saying that the objective of the congress was to discuss the basic rights of the indigenous Papuan people and not to destroy the the republic of Indonesia.
“Although we will be discussing political rights, we respect the Indonesian government because our intention is not to destroy [the republic of Indonesia]. This is a matter of principle,” he said.
“What we are doing is to struggle for the rights of the indigenous Papuan people. This includes our basic right as a nation.”
Yaboisembut knows what he is talking about. He recently wrote a book about international law, self-determination and the right to secession — a right upheld by the international community most recently in South Sudan and before that Kosovo.
Human Rights defenders in West Papua can confirm that in addition to Yaboisembut, Edison Waromi and his wife and child, Selfius Bobi (Chair of the organising committee), Agus Krar, Abraham Kareni, Yudit Kambuaya and Jan Piet Mirino were also arrested.
At the time of writing those arrested were being detained at the local Jayapura police station. Another source reports that Selfius Bobi has not been seen since. Staff fromWest Papua Media Alerts hold grave fears that he is being tortured.
Extreme violence has been used to break up a peaceful gathering.
This was the third time West Papuans have held a congress. The second congress was in 2000. It culminated in the election of the Papuan Presidium Council which collapsed in late 2001 after the Chair, Theys Hiyo Eluay, was assassinated by Kopassus, Indonesia’s Special Forces.
The first Papua Congress was held on 1 December 1961, a day West Papuans commemorate as their national day, and some 18 months before Indonesia occupied West Papua on 1 May, 1963.
Yesterday was the second time the Papuans declared independence from Indonesia. The first was by Seth Rumkorem on July 1 1976 at Markas Viktoria, a guerrilla base on the Papua New Guinea border.
Yaboisembut’s declaration of independence in front of thousands of Papuan people and thousands of heavily armed police is a clear escalation of the struggle for independence. It also illustrates Yaboisembut’s conviction that the struggle needs to be waged through an unarmed popular civilian uprising.
UPDATE 12.35pm:
This information was gathered by West Papua Media Alerts from local contacts. It has not been verified by New Matilda.
Two victims have been named: Martinus Siep was shot dead, and Pilatus Wetipo was shot in the leg and is now in hiding.
Eight truckloads of Congress delegates were taken into police custody. People arrested by the security forces are now missing.
A witness from Wamena has said: “While I was in hiding I saw with my own eyes in front of me nine people who tried to escape up the hill behind the catholic dormitories were shot dead and were taken away by security forces in Panser [armoured vehicle]. Until now I don’t know where they’ve been taken too”.
The security forces have raided Cendrawasi University in pursuit of two delegates from Serui who got shot in the leg and arm. Therefore, all students and delegates in Yawa dormitory have dispersed and are in hiding.
The security forces have also raided dormitories looking for the Congress committee, the Congress leadership and student leaders. Delegates from Biak are reporting that a lot of their representatives are still missing.
Selfius Bobi, who is chair of the Congress organising committee, is missing.
A priest who was hiding in the jungle behind the Congress venue witnessed security forces positioned in the bush shooting down to the venue below, and forces in armoured Panser and police trucks open fire, causing confusion and chaos among participants. He believed security forces had placed themselves behind bushes and were waiting for anyone who escaped up the hill so that they could shoot them and quickly throw them into the vehicles.
UPDATE 1.10PM:
This message was just sent to West Papua Media Alerts by Congress participant Djenggo Nubiri. It has been translated from Indonesian.
“Sister/brother, I’ve just left the police headquarters along with other students who have exams this morning. There are still around 800 detainees in the Jayapura Police Station at the moment. Yeboisembut was injured by the police, he is still being interrogated in a special room. Eduard Pariri, Mrs. Sroer, Kelly Pedai, Abraham Kareni, Nova Sroer, DAUD ABON (Governor of Yapen-Waropen and Mamberamo), Mr. Jacob Sroer and Elieser Awon (ex Free West Papua – OPM - member), Mama Sroer and there are still so many other activists, youths, students, petapa (?), mama-mama (older women), OPMand others. They are still being detained in the Jayapura Police Station’s tennis court since last night. The repressive and violent act by the authority has caused a lot of injuries to the people, some fractured their skulls, broke their legs, while others suffer serious injuries. We had to sign the letter stating we’ve committed criminal acts as they did not allow us to defend ourselves.”
more information as it becomes available.
Related articles
- Police and Army Open Fire on Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Urgent: Police and Military Prepare to Storm Papuan Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- Photo/video report: Heavy handed intimidation fails to dampen Papuan Congress spirit; police threaten forced dispersal (westpapuamedia.info)
- AHCR: INDONESIA: Security forces open fire at Third Papuan People’s Congress (westpapuamedia.info)
- URGENT – AHRC: Authoritarian style show of force at Third Papuan People’s (westpapuamedia.info)
A history of violence at Indonesia mine/AJE
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Investing in conflict-affected and high-risk areas is a growing concern for responsible businesses and investors. Companies based in developed countries often operate in lesser-developed foreign markets, where governance standards are lax, corruption is high and business practices are poor.
These pieces focus on one specific Anglo-Australian company and their American partner that jointly operate a mine in West Papua, one of the poorest provinces of Indonesia. The risks for the company include the potential to contribute to environmental and social damage in a foreign market. The risks for investors include financing a company that does not get its risk management right.
This is the third chapter of a four-part essay that examines how the Norwegian Pension Fund came to blacklist the mining giant Rio Tinto. The first part can be found here, and the second part can be found here.
In February 1995, Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto announced three deals that secured access into Grasberg, a massive gold and copper mine in the Indonesian province of West Papua.
First, Rio Tinto agreed to invest $500m of new capital in Arizona-based mining corporation Freeport for a 12 per cent stake in the US business. Second, Rio Tinto agreed to finance a $184m expansion of the Grasberg mine. In return, it received 40 per cent of post-1995 production revenue that exceeded certain output targets and, from 2021, a 40 per cent stake in all production. Finally, Rio Tinto would receive 40 per cent of all production from new excavations elsewhere within West Papua.
Rio Tinto was effectively doing business with Indonesian dictator Suharto, too.
In response, Freeport told shareholders that Rio Tinto would “contribute substantial operating and management expertise” through proportional representation on the board – as well as on various Grasberg operating and technical committees, from which the “policies established by the [board] will be implemented and operation will be conducted”.
Speaking of the “exceptional potential” of the deal, Rio Tinto’s then chief executive, Robert Wilson, agreed that“given [Rio Tinto's] experience in other major open-pit copper ore bodies such as Bingham Canyon, Palabora and Escondida, we anticipate considerable mutual benefit”.
Rio Tinto obviously liked how Freeport-Indonesia did business, especially at Grasberg.
US government: Grasberg contravenes the Foreign Assistance Act
By October 1995, an independent US government agency had cancelled Freeport’s international political risk insurance. The insurer, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), specifically cited the Grasberg mine operation as contravening the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which required that “overseas investment projects do not pose unreasonable or major environmental hazards or cause the degradation of tropical forests”. Freeport was the first policyholder to be terminated by the OPIC for ethical violations, despite President Suharto and Freeport director Henry Kissinger heavily lobbying the US government to reinstate the policy. Following OPIC’s decision, the company did not disclose the environmental performance of the mine again until 2003 – it no longer had to.
For a brief time in 2000 and 2001, a particularly sympathetic Indonesian environment minister, Sonny Keraf, pursued numerous avenues to impose penalties and fines on Grasberg, including an unsuccessful attempt to invoke the criminal section of the 1997 Environmental Law to cease Freeport-Indonesia’s riverine method of tailings disposal, by which the corporation fed the mine’s waste product into nearby rivers. Under pressure for his pursuit of the part-Indonesian-owned Freeport, Keraf was replaced following the 2001 election.
As Suharto’s reign came to an end, an increasing number of West Papuans also began to campaign against the environmental and social impact of Grasberg. Papuan leaders brought the matter before the US Federal District Court in April 1996 and before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights of the US House of Representatives in May 1999. Many more attempts, including one to address shareholders at Rio Tinto’s 1998 annual general meeting in London, were foiled by Indonesian authorities.
Building on restrictions introduced in 1991, the US government banned arms transfers to Indonesia for widespread human rights violations in East Timor in 1999. Consequently, Freeport’s payments to the Indonesian military and security forces were more closely scrutinised. The Wall Street Journal found that, between 1991 and 1997, Freeport guaranteed more than $500m in loans so that Suharto’s family and allies could purchase a stake in the mine – a great portion of which was written off by Freeport in 2003.
An outspoken Australian academic, Lesley McCulloch, also found that the 1996 Timika riots adjacent to the Grasberg mine led to a spike in monetary demands by the Indonesian military, resulting in the funding of a $35m army base. Freeport and Rio Tinto refused to disclose details of the payments.
A history of violence
Then in August 2002, two US teachers and an Indonesian employee of Freeport-Indonesia were murdered at the Grasberg mine complex. Following one rebel’s admission that he was a business partner of the Indonesian military, several New York City pension (superannuation) funds formally requested that Freeport disclose the nature of its Indonesian “security” payments. The shareholders were concerned that such payments violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Although Freeport was not required to put the proposal to shareholders, the company did begin to disclose its security-related payments. Filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission since 2001 have confirmed annual payments reaching an average $5m each year for government-provided security of the Grasberg complex and its staff – and fluctuating annual costs reaching $12m for unarmed, in-house security costs. A spokesman for the company later told the Jakarta Post that these payments had been taking place since the 1970s.
Sporadic accounts began to surface – in the Sydney Morning Herald, Jakarta Post, and New York Times - quoting internal sources that confirmed that the Indonesian had masterminded the killings to extort monies from the Grasberg operators. “Not surprisingly, the Indonesian military has exonerated itself,” US Congressmen Joel Hefley and Tom Tancredo said in June 2003. “American investigative teams, including the FBI, have not been able to complete their investigations mainly due to the Indonesian military’s refusal to co-operate and tampering of evidence.”
Freeport remained steadfastly opposed to later demands by New York City pension fund investors to cease all payments to the Indonesians until they complied with official US investigations into the August 2002 murders. At the 2004 annual general meeting, president and chief executive Richard Adkerson advised shareholders: “The management and Board believe that the stockholder proposal mischaracterises the company’s relationships with Indonesian security institutions and suggests actions that would undermine the company’s relationship with the Indonesian government and the security of the company’s operations.”
Despite the ongoing human rights and corruption concerns in West Papua – including a report by the World Bank and a letter by US senators to then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan calling for the appointment of a special representative to Indonesia – after a vote by shareholders, the resolution was not passed.
On March 23, 2004, Rio Tinto announced it had sold its 11.9 per cent shareholding in Freeport. Rio Tinto made a $518m profit. Citing no environmental or social reasons, Rio Tinto’s then-chief executive Leigh Clifford reassured shareholders that ”the sale of [Freeport] does not affect the terms of the joint venture nor the management of the Grasberg mine” and that through “our significant direct interest in Grasberg, we will continue to benefit from our relationship with Freeport”.
Rio Tinto remained committed to the mining of Grasberg and would continue overseeing its management through various operating and technical committees.
Sensational claims that illegal payments to individual soldiers, units, and policemen had been routinely made to secure the Grasberg complex and its staff came to light in 2005. A report by Global Witness revealed that an additional $10m had been paid directly to individual military and police commanders between 1998 and 2004. This included $247,000 between May 2001 and March 2003 to General Mahidin Simbolon, former head of the 1999 East Timor massacre, and monthly payments throughout 2003 to the police Mobile Brigade – a group cited by the US State Department as having ”continued to commit numerous serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, and arbitrary detention”.
With the US arms trade embargo still in place, Rio Tinto had reassured the market that payments to the Indonesian military were “legally required and legitimate” only months before the news broke. Now Rio Tinto and Freeport-Indonesia came under even greater public pressure. At Rio Tinto’s next shareholder meeting, after several West Papuans refugees made statements to the board on Grasberg, shareholder activist Stephen Mayne suggested that “the most appropriate thing for Rio Tinto to do would be to exit”. After confirming that Rio Tinto’s contractual obligations would permit such a move, then-chairman Sir Rod Eddington informed shareholders that they “make a considerable effort to ensure that the best that Rio Tinto can offer to Freeport in the management of that venture is available to them”.
An Indonesian ministerial decree in 2007 demanded that the security of “vital national objects” – such as Grasberg – be handed over to the police within six months. Evidence obtained by world news service AFP suggests this is not happening. In a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Freeport disclosed additional direct payments of “less than” $1.6m in 2008 to 1,850 soldiers, despite the fact that 447 policemen make up the official number of personnel responsible for security at the Grasberg complex.
Unrepentant
The company’s 2008 Sustainable Development report confirms that Freeport-Indonesia makes contributions to “security institutions (including both police and military)”. Alarmingly, according to Amnesty International, as recently as 2008 there have been fundamental human rights violations such as the “torture, excessive use of force and unlawful killings by police and security forces” – reports that have subsequently been confirmed by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders and the United Nations Committee against Torture.
“There is no alternative to our reliance on the Indonesian military and police,” Freeport chairman James Moffett said to the New York Times in 2005. “The need for this security, the support provided for such security, and the procedures governing such support, as well as decisions regarding our relationships with the Indonesian government and its security institutions, are ordinary business activities.”
Part 4 to follow next week.
This is an extract of a chapter from the book, Evolutions in Sustainable Investing: Strategies, Funds and Thought Leadership, to be published by Wiley in December 2011.
NAJ Taylor is a PhD candidate in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland, and casual lecturer in the Faculty of Law and Management at La Trobe University.
Follow NAJ Taylor on Twitter: @najtaylordotcom
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- The TNI Should Withdraw From Papua to Prevent Another Lacluta (westpapuamedia.info)
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Report on wrongful arrest of 15 civilians n Wahno-Varia, W Papua
Report on wrongful arrest and torture of 15 civilians in Wahno-Vuria hill, Kotaraja, Jayapura town, Papua Province, 31 August 2011
Produced by: Investigation team comprising KomnasHAM Papua, a student or representative of Cendrawasih University Jayapura, and representatives
and members of the Baptist, Kingmi and Catholic churches
Published by: the Fellowship of Baptist Churches of Papua
September 2011
This is a TAPOL summary
The report is based on the results of an investigation by the Fellowship of Baptist Churches in Papua, including witness statements from the victims and their families, in an aim to publish the facts from the ground.
During July and August 2011, there have been a number of events affecting the security situation in Papua. These include a number of mysterious murders for which the perpetrator(s) remain unknown, civilian deaths and injuries caused by security forces, repressive actions by security forces, clashes between the security forces and OPM/TPN, election unrest including demos and violence, an attack on the 5-7 July “Papua Peace Conference” at Cenderawasih University, a simultaneous murder at Skyline Jayapura, and a series of events accompanying and following on from the seminar in Oxford, England organized by the International Lawyers for West Papua. A common feature seems to be that on several occasions the murders and other acts of violence occurred simultaneously across different locations. In most cases the perpetrators appear to remain unknown.
Background to the event on 31 August 2011
According to Biben Kogoya, Chair of RT 08 (RT is the smallest unit of neighbourhood governance), following a meeting of all RT/RW chairs last year, all sharp weapons kept in houses of the local population under the area of their jurisdiction should be collected and kept in the houses of the RT/RW chairs, which Biben Kogoya duly did. He had heard shortly before the incident that there was going to be a sweeping. He states that in the week leading up to the incident he had been trying to call the local police in Abepura to inform them of some new TNI members who had been hanging around the area each night between 25-29 August, providing alcohol and encouraging the young people to drink, and asking
them to point out the houses of people they were looking for, including Danny Kogoya, Panius Kogoya, Ekimar Kogoya, Etra Yanengga, and Gidi Wenda.
However, the police did not answer the phone or respond to his reports as chair of RT 08. On 29 August, Biben had decided to sort this out, but he did not get the chance to do so as he was then arrested.
The events of 31 August 2011:
At 05:00-06:00 on 31 August 2011 a combined unit of 115 members of the army and police carried out sweeping and a siege of 4 houses in the Wahno hill area, RT 08 in Kotaraja Luar, Jayapura. One of the houses targeted was that of Biben Kogoya (Chair of RT 08). The combined forces arrived in 6 Avanza cars and a police truck, with two of the units equipped with black batons. They parked 500 meters from the houses in question and placed the area in question under siege, firing a volley of shots towards the houses.
A total of 15 people, including Biben Kogoya, were beaten, tortured, interrogated and exhorted to confess to having committed the Skyline and Nafri murders. Victims were beaten with rifle butts, kicked, slapped, and forced to lie on the ground for a number of hours. Biben Kogoya was particularly singled out for beatings, and was confronted with an apparently unearthed bullet and some documents, and told to confess to owning these items or be murdered and buried. He was then forced to dig a hole whilst surrounded by security forces who had their guns aimed at him. He was frightened and thought that he was digging his own grave, but managed to escape into the open. The combined unit also brought a photograph of the soldier who was murdered on Jalan Baru, Camp Wolker (23/08/11) and asked Biben Kogoya if he had killed him. The photo was put inside his family photo album and taken out of the family room - he said he had never put that photograph of the soldier in the photo album.
Then the soldiers said it was Kogoya who killed him, this is the proof, look, it’s in his album. Meanwhile, Ekimar Kogoya was tortured until, unable to withstand the pain any longer, he confessed to the murders. When pushed to name an accomplice he then named Panius Kogoya.
The houses were ransacked and a number of items such as handphones, money, shoes, a watch, wallets and a bank card were seized.
Throughout the experience, the victims were subjected to degrading treatment, being called variously “dog, pig, cow, animals, murderers, cannibals.” They were also stigmatized as OPM members.
As Biben Kogoya escaped from digging the hole/grave, the Vicar Metius Kogoya arrived, shortly followed by the arrival of the Head of Abepura Police and the provincial Head of Police (Kapolda). According to the witness statement of the Vicar, the leaders said to their staff “don’t hit them anymore, what’s happened here is already enough.”
Between 12 and 13:00 on 31 August the 15 people were brought to the Polresta. They were left in the locked truck for some time in the full sun, finding it hard to breath and hurting from their wounds. They complained, and the truck was moved to the shade. Then they were taken one by one to sign a notice, without having a lawyer present. They were each photographed, then sat in front of the door of the investigation unit and interrogated. They were put back in the truck around 23:00-24:00 to sleep except Ekimar and Panius who were detained separately. They reportedly waited for hours in the truck without food or drink until 06:00 on 1 September. 3 of them became ill and were laid on the floor of the truck. One policeman helped us, giving us a litre of water (between 13 of us) and a packet of cigarettes. When they woke in the morning they were not allowed to go to the toilet to urinate or defecate but were told to go to the toilet in the open yard of the police station.
On 1 September at 11:40, the leaders of the Baptist church and human rights activists, accompanied by Matius Murib arrived to visit the detainees, who were sitting in front of the investigation unit of the police station, with the others lying asleep as they had malaria. 13 detainees were released and were taken home at 15:00, arriving at their house at 17:00. Ekimar and Panius remained in custody.
On 2 September, the 13 victims who had been sent home were taken to the hospital for a medical check up to be given the OK. It turned out three of them were sick with malaria, so were not given the all clear. They were:
1. Uwne Kogoya (23) malaria tertian +4
2. Yawenus Kogoya (21) malaria tropika +2
3. Nusman Kogoya (19) high leukosits.
On 3 September the Vicar was called by the police station to come and collect the arrest and detention notices for Panius Kogoya and Ekimar Kogoya, who were both charged with murder and/or violence in a public place against a person or object.
Condition of the victims
Following the incident, the victims suffered internal bruising and were traumatized. They were not able to carry out normal activities or travel very far. Biben Kogoya’s ability to remember, hear and see properly was reportedly impaired, and his control over his emotions was abnormal. On 6 September Uwen Wenda was reportedly still in Abepura hospital with malaria tropika and tersiana.
Key recommendations
· Intelligence should be good, accurate and accountable.
· Those currently imprisoned should be released as they are not guilty for the Nafri and Skyline cases.
· The central and Papuan provincial governments should sit down together and discuss the security situation across Papua, which is increasingly unstable.
· The Head of Jayapura Police must be accountable for the arrest and torture of 15 civilians on 31 August, which took place without due legal process.
· Those police and soldiers involved should be punished in accordance with the law.
· The torture, humiliation and stigmatization which happened during the arrests are considered to be grave human rights violations (pelanggaran HAM yang berat).
· The police are responsible for reparations for both material damage and for the psychological recovery of the victims.
· A formal and public apology is needed from the Indonesian police to the victims and their families within ten days.
Related articles
- KontraS: Arrest and torture of 13 Papuans have worsened the situation in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Special Investigation: State terror campaign around Jayapura (westpapuamedia.info)
- KNPB on the recent acts of violence in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Warinussy on the politics behind the recent conflicts in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- 15 Papuans mistreated and tortured by army and police (westpapuamedia.info)
15 Papuans mistreated and tortured by army and police
16 September 2011
FIFTEEN PAPUANS MISTREATED AND TORTURED BY ARMY AND POLICE
TAPOL strongly condemns the use of violence and torture against Papuan detainees
A report has been released following a joint investigation into the maltreatment and torture of a group of 15 Papuans in connection with two criminal incidents that occurred recently in West Papua. The report, published by Papuan church leaders, the NGO network Foker and the Papua Human Rights Commission, states that 15 Papuans were arrested in Jayapura on 31 August and were mistreated and tortured for nine hours by a joint force of military and police. They were reportedly beaten with rifle butts, punched, kicked in the stomach with army boots and subjected to continual verbal abuse in an attempt to force them to
confess to the as yet unsolved murders at Nafri and Skyline in Jayapura.
One of the men said he had been threatened with death if he failed to confess to owning items including a bullet and some documents which he said he had not seen before, and another was reportedly tortured until he confessed to the murders and named another of the men as his accomplice. During police interrogation, the two were threatened with death if they did not confess to the crimes. They were then charged with the murders and remain in detention.
After the remaining thirteen men were released, they said that they had also been forced to lie on their backs on the ground facing the blazing sun for seven hours. They further commented that they felt as though they were being treated like cattle. They were deprived of water and food for lengthy periods while being beaten and tortured and no attention was paid to the injuries and bruises that they suffered during their ordeal. They said that they were weak and in some cases fell ill as a result of their treatment but were denied access to a toilet and ordered to urinate and defecate out in the open.
Apart from the appalling treatment to which they were reportedly subjected, the detainees were arrested without arrest warrants and during their interrogation, they were not accompanied by lawyers despite the associated requirement for persons in detention when they are given notice that they are about to be questioned.
Moreover, according to legal requirements they should have been released within 24 hours, a binding requirement for persons who are held without being charged for any crime. They were in fact held for 27 hours.
TAPOL strongly condemns the atrocious treatment of these Papuans. We call on Komnas HAM, the National Human Rights Commission, to conduct an investigation into the treatment of these Papuan detainees. TAPOL also calls on the Minister of Justice and Human Rights to call to account all those persons who were responsible for using extreme violence and torture against this group of men.
The government of Indonesia should make it absolutely clear that all persons who work for government agencies within the military and the police, including those which were involved in the detention and mistreatment of these fifteen men should at all times treat persons being held in detention without resorting to violence and torture and should be instructed to refrain from using such methods or face dismissal if they do so.
Related articles
- Special Investigation: State terror campaign around Jayapura (westpapuamedia.info)
- KNPB on the recent acts of violence in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- KontraS: Arrest and torture of 13 Papuans have worsened the situation in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- Warinussy on the politics behind the recent conflicts in Papua (westpapuamedia.info)
- The TNI Should Withdraw From Papua to Prevent Another Lacluta (westpapuamedia.info)
- Komnas HAM is gathering data about the 15 arrests in Skyline (westpapuamedia.info)
KontraS: Arrest and torture of 13 Papuans have worsened the situation in Papua
Statement by KontraS on 3 September 2011Arrests and torture of ordinary Papuans by the Police and the Army (Polri/TNI) have worsened situation in PapuaKontraS condemns the appalling practices of torture and criminalisation which were perpetrated by the law enforcement agencies against of a number of Papuan people by the police in Papua. Such activities are a serious violation of their human rights which should be avoided at all costs because they are in breach of a number of legal provisions.
Acts of torture and criminalisation were perpetrated on 31 August, during Lebaran, and occurred early in the morning. when a number violent acts also took place. These activities were perpetrated against a group of Papuans and occurred as they were being arrested by the police who were acting in violation of the laws in force. The details of what happened are given in the chronology attached to this statement. [Abridged translation only]
These criminal acts were perpetrated without being credibly justifiable in relation to the allegations being made. We fear that this is part and parcel of the practice of stigmatisation of Papuan people which has been developed by the state apparatus, in particular the police and the army, in their law enforcement activities.
The practice of torture is inhumane and is moreover in breach of Law 5/1998 regarding the ratification by Indonesia of the Convention Against Torture . This means that components of law and the security apparatus, in particular the police, are bound by law to refrain from such practices and to punish those who perpetrate such acts (see articles 1 and 2). They are also bound by Law 39/1999 on Basic Human Rights, article 33 of which prohibits the use of torture.
With regard to the police, these acts are also in violation of internal police regulation 8/2009 which clearly prohibits the use of torture.
This latest incident is an indication of the fact that torture and criminalisation have become integral to police practices when they try to obtain statements (that is to say, confessions) from persons who are suspected of committing crimes. In the second place, this behaviour represents a repetition of previous acts of torture that have occurred in Papua. With regard to the army, they are not entitled to be involved in making such arrests. A year ago, we were all stunned when we saw the brief, amateur video broadcast on Youtube showing members of Brimob and the army engaged in acts of torture against people alleged to be members of the OPM.
Such practices undermine the confidence of ordinary Papuan people in the police. In the past few months, violent practices have been spreading throughout Papua such as the case of 16 people arrested in 2010 and seven people who were arrested in Manokwari. It is necessary to strengthen the confidence between the government, the various pro-independence groups, civil and customary society and other elements. It is also necessary to strengthen people’s confidence and respect in the implementation of democratic principles such as the law and human rights. The practise of torture will only make it more difficult to comply with the agenda for peaceful dialogue with Papua.
We therefore call on Kompolnas (the police community) and the National Human Rights Commission to investigate these reported incidents of torture in Papua. And once sufficient evidence has been found, the perpetrators must be made accountable before the law. This is important in order to show that there is no discrimination in law between Papuan civilians who are vulnerable to actions by law enforement agencies who are treated like heroes for taking actions against alleged separatists.
This should also be an occasion for the police to improve their behaviour which has been damaged by the continual practice of torture by members of the police force.
We take this opportunity to remind the President that the continuing lack of clarity in the policy of the government towards Papua is a threat to the security and livelihoods of the Papuan people.
3 September 2011:
Kontras National Executive: Haris Azhar, Co-ordinator.
Kampak (?) Dorus Wakum, Chairperson
A chronology attached to the statement provides details of the place and time of the arrests.
The thirteen arrested persons are alleged to have caused unrest during an Idul Fitri ceremony that was being held on the premises of Brimob. They are alleged to have been involved in shootings in Nafri Kampung which resulted in the deaths of three civilians and one member of the TNI.
During an assault, the police fired shots in the direction of the Wahno Baptist Church and then confiscated traditional equipment such as arrows, machetes and knives as well as some OPM documents.
The thirteen persons are:
Yawanus Kogoya.
Tinus Wenda
Siki Kogoya
Arinus Wenda
Yusman Kogoya
Mis Kogoya
Bodi Kogoya
Wen Wenda
Denias Kogoya
Ekimar Kogoya
Panius Kogoya
Yeskiel Kogoya
One unidentified person
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Church leaders mediation efforts between TNI/Polri and TPN/OPM in Paniai
JUBI, 29 August 2011
The churches in Paniai are very concerned about the unsatisfactory situation that has continued in Paniai following an armed skirmish that took place on 17 August, and also about reports that additional troops have been sent to Paniai to search for two firearms that were reportedly seized from police headquarters in Komopa on 15 August. In view of this situation, the churches are trying to mediate between the TPN/OPM and the Indonesian army and police to reach a dignified agreement to solve these problems.
The Rev. Hana Tebay, S. Th.said in a meeting on Sunday, 28 August that they had made approaches to the TPN/OPM and the Eduda headquarters (?) two days previously and she also said that in the near future, church leaders would be meeting the chief of police in Paniai.
‘The church is neutral. In our view we are all children of God which is why we speak from the heart with both the TPN/OPM and the security forces, the army and the police, she said.
‘We hope and pray that our efforts will bear fruit because we very much regret the continuation of these unsatisfactory conditions. A solution can be found and we will do everything in our power to mediate between the two sides so as to safeguard security in Paniai,’ she said.
The co-ordinator of the KINGMI Church in Paniai, Rev. Gerard Gobai, S.Th. said that the churches will use their prophetic mission to put an end to the situation that has emerged among the people. This situation has led to the people abandoning their homes, their work, their animals and fleeing from their homes. As a result, Sunday worship meetings were attended by far fewer people than usual.
‘We are hoping for a solution. The two sides must agree to engage in peaceful efforts. ‘
He also expressed the hope that the local government would not allow this situation to continue for this would mean the continuation of a state of uncertainty for the people who are now living in fear.According to the mass media, the situation in Paniai is safe, but the fact is that the people feel very afraid. The place for the people is there, and they should not be wanting to flee from Paniai.
‘How can the people feel calm if even the bupati (sub-district chief) has vanished from Paniai?’
He went on to say that as far as the church is concerned, everyone must strive to make Papua a Land of Peace.
‘There must be an end to disorder, to conflict, an end to the loss of life..The church therefore expects the government to make serious efforts together with the TNI/Polri and the TPN/OPM to think about joint efforts to end this situation, and in particular to secure the return of the two firearms.’
[This item and the previous item from JUBI were translated by TAPOL]
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Churches speak out for peace and security in Paniai
JUBI, 29 August 2011
The desire for peace in the district of Paniai is a common aspiration, especially in the wake of the many conflicts that have occurred in the recent past. Everyone should be aware of the need to work together to restore a sense of security so that people can continue with their day-to-day activities.
These were the words contained in a press release issued by the Commission for Justice and Peace of the Paniai Diocese and the Commission for Justice and Peace of the KIINGMI Church on 28 August.
The representative of the Diocese of Paniai, Fr Marko Okto Pekei, and Yafet Tetobi of the KINGMI Church said that they hoped that the leaders of the security forces would not deploy forces from outside Paniai. Moreover, they hoped that the forces already in the area would not roam round freely in the area with all their military equipment because doing so would only worsen the situation. People who are now thinking about returning home to Enarotali, Madi and places close by will start feeling afraid of going back to their kampungs after
realising that the situation is not yet safe.
They also said that all sides should realise that the preservation of security and an atmosphere of peace is the duty of all, leaders of the communities, the security forces – TNI the army and Polri, the police - as well as the TPN/OPM, leaders of the community, religious leaders, leaders of customary groups and leaders of the women and the youth.
The two church commissions for peace and justice also deeply regretted the wounding of two people during an armed conflict that occurred on 17 August in Uwibutu, Madi. ’We also deeply regret the actions of certain elements who have destroyed the economies of families living in the area.’
They went on to say that any problems between the security forces and the TPN/OPM should be handled by means of persuasion, not by the use of repressive military measures because the latter would only result in casualties among civilians who are not in any way involved in these matters. Repressive measures, that is to say, violence or armed conflict, will only result in casualties. This means that all sides are responsible for preserving peace and security for the civilian population.
The church representatives said that they had felt called upon to speak out about the unsatisfactory conditions of the local people during the past three weeks. The various churches in Paniai have therefore been trying to mediate to find the best possible solution that accords with the wishes of the people so that they can live in safety and prevent the occurrence of casualties among the people.
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OPM condemns shooting of Papuan in Keerom
‘We strongly condemn this killing and call on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take action to solve the Papuan issue,’ said Lambert Pekikir, general co-ordinator of the TPN/OPM in the area..
He called on the police in the area as well as the military commander of the Cenderawasih Military Command, Major-General Erfi Triassunu to arrest the perpetrator of this crime and deal with the case in accordance with the law. ‘The military commander and the police must take responsibility for this case. He was apparently shot because he was suspected of being a member of an armed unit. ‘The shooting happened while the victim was working in his garden which is not far from Arso 14.’
Suddenly a large group of soldiers arrived at the spot and started asking him questions. Because he could not speak Indonesian very well, they started to beat him. ‘Then the victim was shot, his body was put into a sack and buried nearby. Some people who happened to be nearby saw the incident but were afraid to do anything because it would have meant confronting a member of the military, so they went to informed Komba’s family.’
‘Since this happened on 17 August, Indonesia’s independence day, it was not reported (in the press). ‘The incident has been covered up but the fact is that he was shot in the chest. Lambert did not see the incident himself but received a report from some of his subordinates and also heard about it from a local inhabitant. ‘We dont want any more incidents like this. It must stop,’ said Lambert.
He said that the president, SBY, should understand that this is not just a trivial incident, and should realise that Papua has now become a matter of international concern.
Major-General Erfi Triassunu later confirmed that shots were fired by a member of the TNI- the Indonesian army – because they alleged that Komba was preparing to attack his men. He said he was not clear about what happened but claimed that Komba had tried to seize a weapon from his men who were on patrol in the area. According to Triassunu, his men could not possibly have shot someone at random. He said that the TNI has a ‘noble duty’ in Papua and would not do such things, still less would they do it during Ramadan, the fasting month.
According to Bintang Papua, an autopsy confirmed that there weere fragments of ammunition in Komba’s body but the calibre of the bullets is not known. Witnesses said that Komba had been told to go home by three soldiers, but just as he turned round, intending to return home, they heard two gunshots. His body was not found until Sunday, two days after the shooting.
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Paniai people call for a halt to the deployment of more troops
JUBI, 25 August 2011
Following the armed skirmishes between the Indonesian army and police with a group thought to be the TPN/OPM led by John Magay Yogi, and a number of mysterious shooting incidents, the towns of Enarotali and Madi in Paniai district are full of military personnel who have arrived from outside Paniai. Although the situation was thought to have improved, the presence of military personnel has spread anxiety among the population.
The reason for the increased deployment of troops to Paniai may be to hunt down some weapons that were seized by unidentified persons from the police station in Komopa, sub-district of Agadide on 16 August. Or is it because Paniai is regarded as an area of conflict which needs extra action on the security front?
Whatever the reason, the local people along with local government officials long for a peaceful Paniai and call for a halt to the dispatch of more military troops. The local people have called on the local military chief, the military commander of XVII/Cenderawasih military command as well as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to pull back these troops from the area.
A local community leader said: ‘Paniai is calm but many troops and police have been sent here. Is it because there is a war?’
According to Yafeth Y Kayame, head of the Suku Mee people, the additional deployment of many troops to Paniai has undermined the call for peace that was made last Saturday in Enarotali.. Local people have become more frightened than ever.
People are asking ‘Why have they come to Paniai? Enarotali and Paniai are not areas of conflict so the authorities must stop sending troops here.’ They have been arriiving here over the past four days, so who do they want to fight with? Or do they want to kill all of us here?’
The local administration should not keep silent but should take steps to safeguard security for the population. If it is only to re-capture two firearms, then the troops already here would surely be enough, without bringing in more troops, they say.
Many people think that the presence in the area of TPN/OPM forces in Eduda is being used as a justification to bring troops here from Jayapura and Nabire. According to some sources, in addition to infantry brigade 753/Arga Vira Tama Nabire, a Brimob company is also being deployed to Paniai.
Although this has been denied by Major-General Erfi Triassunu, the military commander of XVII/Cenderawasih military command, the fact is that these ‘new’ troops can be seen almost every day driving along the roads in convoys.
Meanwhile, anxiety has continued to spread among the local people and many have left their homes with a new exodus starting on Tuesday.
[Slightly abridged translation by TAPOL]
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