Reporters Without Borders offers its condolences to the family and friends of Leiron Kogoya, a journalist with the newspapers Pasific Post and Papua Pos Nabire, part of the Pacific Post group, who was killed in an attack by gunmen on a plane at Mulia airport in the province of Papua three days ago.
“Although the journalist did not appear to be the target of the attack, it illustrates the insecurity that prevails in the region, where at least two other journalists were killed late last year,” the press freedom organization said.
“Covering the Papua region is highly risky for journalists. Leiron Kogoya was among those courageous reporters who strive to keep the world informed about the region, which has been the scene of violent clashes. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.”
“We expect the authorities to shed light on the attack. Contradictory information about the identity of those behind the shooting said to have been provided by security forces to journalists indicates that an independent investigation must be carried out as soon as possible.”
The plane, a Twin Otter of the Indonesian airline Trigana Air, landed at Mulia at about 8 am when at least five gunmen opened fire. The pilot and co-pilot, who were both hit, lost control of the aircraft, which then crashed into one of the terminal buildings. Four people were wounded. Kogoya, was fatally shot in the neck.
The 35-year-old reporter was flying to Mulia in the Puncak Jaya district to cover local elections in the provincial capital, Jayapura.
Photo by: Agus Fakaubun
The news website westpapuamedia.info quoted the head of public relations for the Papua police, Commander Yohanes Nugroho Wicaksono, as saying the gunmen were hiding in the hills 50 metres from the airport. It said police had not yet been able to identify the perpetrators or the type of guns they used.
According to military intelligence, the separatist group Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, or OPM, in Indonesian) was behind the attack, while local police said they had no information about the identity of the attackers.
Demonstrations were held in Jayapura on April 5 in support of a groundbreaking conference held in The Hague, The Netherlands, to examine pathways to the reinstatement of the New Guinea Council or Nieuw-Guinea Raad, the original Parliament of West Papua from 1961 until Indonesia’s invasion.
Jayapura was again brought to a standstill by the demonstration organised by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), where several thousand people gathered hear speeches and to voice their solidarity with the “Nieuw-Guinea Raad: the First Steps” Conference.
Indonesian security forces were in attendance in large numbers at the rally, but no act of violence or provocation were reported by rally organisers.
In The Hague, speakers at the conference organised by the International Parliamentarians for West Papua (IPWP) and held at the Dutch Parliament, included exiled UK-based independence figure Benny Wenda, Dutch Parliamentarians including Harry van Bommel, Cees van der Staaij, and Wim Kortenoeven. International Lawyers for West Papua (IPWP) Co-ordinator and international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson also spoke, demanding The Netherlands honour its “sacred trust” of its promise of independence for the West Papuan people, and assist West Papuan to fulfil their human right to self-determination.
The New Guinea Council (Nieuw-Guinea Raad) was established on April 5 1961 whilst under Dutch administration as the concept of a more democratic mode of administration started to develop, as a body that was to be the basis for a independent West Papuan parliament. According to the International Parliamentarians for West Papua, “The establishment of regional councils came from the requirement that the Charter of the United Nations imposed on the Netherlands: that the interests of the inhabitants of Dutch New Guinea had to be paramount.”
“The Netherlands was to respect the right to self-rule and had to take the political aspirations of the indigenous people into account. They were also meant to support the Papuan people with the gradual development of their own political institutions. There are documents. We are not speaking of vague promises, but we are speaking of real firm commitments for the independence of the West Papuan people,” explained a spokesperson for IPWP.
“Unfortunately by signing the New York Agreement (1962) the Dutch governments abandoned the West Papuan people,” the spokesperson said.
Footage from the demonstrations in Papua:
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Presentations at the conference in The Netherlands:
Despite the threat of resistance from the KNPB in response to a summons from the police to its chairperson, Buchtar Tabuni, the police chief, Drs BL Tobing said that they will continue to issue the summons the chairperson of the KNPB to take responsibility for the demonstrations.
‘We will give him until two or three weeks after Easter to respond to our summons. If he fails to respond, we will have to use force to bring him here.’
He said that the summons had been issued because the demonstrations were anarchic and the particpants had been carrying traditional weapons such as spears and bows-and-arrows and took place outside the Abepura Post Office and in Taman Imbi on Tuesday 20 March and Monday 2 April.
According to the chief of police, traditional weapons were only to be carried on ritual occasions
He said that the KNPB had broken its promise about the demonstration. He also said that the KNPB was trying to influence public opinion and had adopted the position of rejecting a police summons.
The insistence by the chief of police in Papua that Buchtar Tabuni, the chairperson of KNPB – the National Committee of West Papua – be held responsible for the KNPB organising two demonstrations instead of just one has led to a response from the KNPB.
The chairperson of the KNPB, Mako Tabuni, said that the organisation will not respond to the summons from the police, whether or not they intend to arrest Buchtar Tabuni, saying that if Buchtar is arrested, they will take strong action again the police.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, 3 April, Mako said that there was no foundation whatever to what the police chief said.
He said that they had been forced to hold their demonstration in two places, in Abepura and in Taman Imbi because the police had failed to acknowledge the organisation’s notification to the police about the forthcoming demonstration.
‘Now, they even want to take proceedings against us.’
He also said that the fact that they intended to carry traditional weapons was simply because they were being used for cultural purposes, as the cultural attributes of the Papuan people.
‘The demonstration is an action regarding our people’s future, and if the police complain that it caused traffic congestion, then we think that the police should behave more professionally. We know that demonstrations take place in other parts of the country, such as in Java and Makasar which have been going on for days and causing traffic jams because they are quite legal. This is a time of demonstrations.(a reference apparently to the many demonstrations currently taking place across Indonesia in protest against the increase in the price of petrol).
‘If we are to be taken to court because we hold demonstrations, then we have to accept that we are not living in a democracy.
‘If we are not allowed to demonstrate, then we will resort o other ways in our calls for a referendum because Indonesia is holding on to West Papua as the result of a process that was illegal.’ [Here the reference is to the so-called act of free choice in 1969.]
He also complained about the media coverage which he said, focussed on things like traffic jams, shops being closed or children being sent home from school, without mentioning the purpose of the demonstration.
‘So if we are denied the space to demonstrate, we will have to resort to other measures .’
He warned the police to consider the consequences of acting like a colonial power, adding that they had no intention of responding to the summons from the police.
He also said that the claim that a journalist was killed during the KNPB demonstration was quite untrue. and was just a trick to denigrate the intentions of the KNPB whenever they organise demonstrations. and an attempt to damage the good relations which the KNPB has had with the local press.for many years.
Special Report by Nick Chesterfield at West Papua Media
Monday, April 9, 2012
Concern is mounting in Puncak Jaya that an Indonesian military unit of “unknown persons” seeking to create a security crisis in Puncak Jaya may be behind the April 8 shooting attack on a Trigana Air Twin Otter aircraft in which a Papua Post journalist was killed.
Civil Society representatives, media sources and representatives from the rebel TPN (Tentara Pembebasan Nasional or National Liberation Army) have all cast significant doubt on the Indonesian military claim that Papuan guerrillas were responsible for opening fire on the aircraft. The aircraft came under accurate small arms fire as it was approaching from the Noble airfield in Mulia, Puncak Jaya, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
Leiron Kogoya, 35, the Puncak Jaya correspondent covering local elections for the Nabire-based Papua Post, was fatally injured by a gunshot to his neck.
During the landing the injured pilot panicked, according to local media sources, and crashed the plane into the terminal building (shed). Four people sustained injuries from bullet fragments. A child, Pako Korwa, was wounded in the left finger, Jackie Korwa (mother) was wounded in the right shoulder; Dedy or Beby (pilot), was hit in the left ankle, and Willy Resubun (copilot) injured his right hand and fingers.
Papua Police’s public relations head, Commander Yohanes Nugroho Wicaksono, told Tempointeractif.com that the shooters were hiding in the hills 50 metres from the airport. Police had been unable to identify the perpetrators or the guns used in the incident. Yohanes guessed the shooter had used a M-16 or SS1 – the standard issue weapon for the TNI. “We’re still studying what particular type of gun was used,” he said.
Djoko Suyanto, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Justice and Security Affairs condemned the attack and demanded security forces immediately capture the perpetrators, but admitted that the case would likely remain unsolved. “Their actions must be stopped although it is difficult to do this because of the hills and dense forests,” Suyanto said.
A joint team of the Australian-created Detachment 88 counter-terrorism unit,
Australian funded Detachment 88/ Brimob unit near shooting site, Mulia, 2010 (West Papua Media sources)
Brimob snipers and members of the notorious Nabire-based Indonesian army (TNI) Battalion 753 AVT gave chase to the shooters – according to the police statement – but failed to locate the shooters. Perpetrators for “unknown persons” shootings are rarely located by Police in Papua, despite significant intelligence resources and funding provided to the counter-terror units by the Australian Government.
Australian funded Detachment 88/ Brimob unit near shooting site, Mulia, 2010 (West Papua Media sources)
A West Papua rights activist and former political prisoner Sebby Sambon has told Tabloid Jubi that the work is not that of the TPN, and was far from the areas of operation for troops of TPN leader Goliat Tabuni. “If it occurred near the TPN-OPM headquarters in Tingginambut, then accusations (that TPN may be involved) may make sense,” he said.
However, according to Sambon, TPN/OPM will not shoot civilians. “TPN / OPM (is there) to fight for the people. Period. It is not possible to shoot people.”
Sambon, who is in regular contact through the underground network with Tabuni’s men, said there is a group that was playing at Mulia. “There is a play, therefore, forged evidence. TPN / OPM has made no orders to shoot civilian aircraft, Sambon explained.
Police have accused TPN of involvement without any evidence, according to Sambon. “Is it the TPN / OPM purely firing, or other parties who deliberately do this to create a “project” in Papua?”
“For every event at Mulia, legal facts have never been substantiated,” said Sambon.
Indonesian press outlets are reporting that Indonesian police have conceded that the shooting is the work of “Unknown persons”, Polri Public Information Bureau chief Brigadier-General M Taufik told Vivanews.com that the police could not confirm whether the shooting was carried out by the Free Papua Movement (OPM). “So far we have not been able to ascertain whether or not they are the OPM, and we suspect they are a bunch of strangers,” he told Vivanews.com.
Yet a senior media source told West Papua Media on condition of anonymity, that both Police and military intelligence officers have been sending contradictory SMS messages about the shooting to journalists across Papua. “Two SMS messages about Trigana shooting were received from ASINTEL (Assistant Intelligence Commander of the Cenderawasih military district) and two from Kadivhumas (Public Affairs) Police.”
“Asintel told me that the shooter is OPM, but Kadivhumas Police told me that the shooter were “unknown persons”. This is a common habit known among journalists in Papua. TNI (Indonesian military) will send SMS to journalists to told them that the shooter is OPM. But the police already know who actually did the shooting in the Puncak Jaya and Freeport area. You know, TNI also has many groups that conducted operations in Papua,” the source told West Papua Media.
In a statement obtained by West Papua Media, Indonesian human rights organisation Imparsial suggested that the shootings were carried out as an “outrageous act” by elements that want to destabilize the security situation in Puncak Jaya and take advantage of the chaos. “Shoot civilian aircraft on the holy day of Easter, there are casualties. I guess there is a deliberate manufacture of the situation in Mulia, (so the area) seems to be harbuoring terrorists,” said the Executive Director of Imparsial, Poengki Indarti.
Indarti says that serious investigation must occur into events surrounding the shootings in Puncak Jaya. “I hope the government and security forces act seriously, because Papuans don’t want to dirty their hands with blood of others on Easter Sunday,” she said. “This act was orchestrated to make Mulia a (place) of terrorists, but it is not at all, “said Indarti again. Imparsial urged the police to immediately identify the imposters with sophisticated intelligence sent to Puncak Jaya.
The Alliance of Independent Journalists Papua Branch has also called for Kogoya’s death to be properly investigated by police, and for them not to fall back on the usual defence of “unknown persons”.
In a statement, the Chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists Jayapura, Victor Mambor said “The incident is very regrettable. Leiron Kogoya was confirmed as the journalist for Pacific and Papua Post Nabire, and was commissioned by the editors to cover the phase of the elections in Puncak Jaya district.”
“It is clear that Leiron Kogoya was killed while on journalistic assignment, because he flew on the plane ordered by the editors to cover the phases of elections in Puncak Jaya,” said Mambor. According to AJI Jayapura, the police are supposed to ensure the safety of civilians, including journalists carrying out their journalistic duty.
“To his fellow journalists in Papua, (this is a renewed warning) to always be alert and careful in carrying out journalistic duties, since the recent intimidation and violence against journalists in Papua is increasing in intensity.” said Mambor. Victor Mambor is also is editor in chief of tabloidjubi.com.
Journalists in Papua are regularly subjected to violence and intimidation by Indonesian security forces, including direct monitoring by intelligence officers in newsrooms. The Pacific Media Freedom Report 2011 documented cases where at least two journalists have been killed in West Papua, five abducted and 18 assaulted in 2011.
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