Tag: Detachment 88

Doubts grow of OPM responsibility for Puncak Jaya aircraft shooting

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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West Papua Report April 2012


This is the 96th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN). Back issues are posted online at http://www.etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com. If you wish to receive the report via e-mail, send a note to etan@etan.org.

Summary:

An Indonesian court has sentenced five senior Papuans to three years imprisonment following their conviction on “treason” charges. They fell victim to the same undemocratic law employed against more than 90 Papuans and Malukans for their peaceful dissent in recent years. The five were charged for their central role in the October 16-19, 2011 “Third Papuan National Congress,” a peaceful assertion of Papuans’ right to self-determination that came under brutal assault by Indonesian security forces. In a statement, WPAT calls for an end to that law which was developed during Dutch colonial times, was employed by the dictator Suharto, and now has no place in a democratic Indonesia. Thousands of Papuans took to the streets in West Papua and elsewhere on the occasion of the visit to Indonesia of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The largely peaceful demonstrations called for a special referendum to at last allow Papuans a genuine act of self-determination. More than 90 international organizations have called on the U.S. Congress to block sale of Apache helicopters. They would significantly expand the capacity of Indonesian security forces to conduct “sweep operations” that have devastated rural Papuan villagers. A recent book and a commentary by a Papuan legislator have underscored the Indonesian governments persistent failure to bring essential services to rural Papuans. WPAT observes that for many rural Papuans the face of the Indonesian government is not that of a teacher, doctor or nurse but rather, that of a solider, policeman or intelligence agent.

Contents:


Papuan Leaders Sentenced to Three Years Imprisonment; Security Force Thugs Evade Justice

On March 16, an Indonesian court convicted five prominent Papuans of “treason” and handed down sentences of three years imprisonment for each of them. The charges, based on the infamous Article 106 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (see WPAT Comment below), derived from the Papuans involvement in the October 16-19, 2011 “Third Papuan National Congress” (See West Papua Report, November 2011). The victims of this travesty of justice were Forkorus Yaboisembut, Edison Waromi, Selfius Bobii, Agus Kraar, and Dominikus Sorabut.

The October 2011 congress drew 5000 Papuans representing all districts in West Papua. At the conclusion of this peaceful three day meeting, participants declared independence for West Papua and elected Forkorus Yaboisembut, who heads the Papuan Tribal Assembly, as their President. The congress elected Edison Waromi as Prime Minister.

The real crimes during the three day gathering were committed by the security forces, including the U.S. organized and funded Detachment 88, which along with other state security elements, that attacked the gathering shortly after it concluded. As participants were preparing to leave the open air venue, the police opened fire from their armored personnel carriers. At least three people were killed in cold blood. Participants were rounded up, beaten, kicked, and forced to crawl into the middle of the field. Some 90 sustained injuries and 300 people were arbitrarily detained.

Despite demands from Papuan, Indonesian and international organizations that the security personnel who were perpetrators of this violence be brought to trial the Indonesian government, as usual, refused to hold these elements responsible. Only 17 Indonesian police personnel received “administrative sanctions” in internal disciplinary hearings.

The trial of the five Papuans and the failure to hold security force personnel accountable for their attack has drawn protests from international non-governmental organizations. The U.S. government, however, has not reacted to these miscarriages of justice.

In one of the stronger commentaries on the travesty, Amnesty International called on Indonesian authorities to “immediately and unconditionally release” the five. Amnesty said the court decision “significantly eroded Indonesia’s respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.” Amnesty International considers all five men to be prisoners of conscience, part of a group of more than 90 political activists in the provinces of Papua and Maluku “who have been imprisoned solely for their peaceful political activities.”

For its part Human Rights Watch, in addition to condemning the trial of the five and failure to address the violence against civilians perpetrated by security forces, also raised serious due process concerns. HRW cited the defense team as telling the court that police questioned their clients in the first 24 hours of arrest without their lawyers present. According to the defense team, “the men were beaten by police while in custody. Police allegedly kicked Yaboisembut in the chest and beat his head with a rifle butt. Sorabut testified that the police beat him on his head with a pistol and struck his body repeatedly with an M-16 assault rifle. Kraar said he was hit by police twice on the head with a pistol,” Human Rights Watch wrote.

Indonesia Continues to Resort to Undemocratic Means to Repress Peaceful Dissent

WPAT Statement: Indonesia continues to prosecute and punish Papuans for the peaceful exercise of their internationally recognized rights to free expression and of assembly, rights protected under international law including Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 1 of the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights. Indonesia is party to both of these treaties and is similarly obligated to protect free expression and the right of peaceful assembly under terms of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

Indonesia’s own constitution (see Article 28(e) and 28(f)) protects free expression and the right of peaceful assembly. Article 28(e) states, “Every person shall have the right to the freedom of association and expression of opinion.” Article 28(f) provides for the individual “right to communicate and obtain information for the development of his/her personal life and his/her social environment, and shall have the right to seek, acquire, possess, keep, process, and convey information by using all available channels.”

The government, however, uses Articles 106 (for makar, treason), 110 (conspiracy) and 160 (incitement) of the Indonesian Criminal Code to repress peaceful free expression and assembly.

Since 2008, at least 82 Papuans have been charged under some or all of these provisions with sentences ranging from ten months to six years imprisonment. The vast majority of those charged and convicted were engaged in peaceful actions such as the raising of the Papuan “morning star” flag, a symbol that resonates as a powerful symbol of identity for many Papuans. In 1999. the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared the detention of such flag raisers was “arbitrary.”

These arbitrary restrictions originate from Indonesia’s colonial period and were used extensively by the Suharto dictatorship to repress dissent. These undemocratic provisions served not only to punish peaceful protest, but also as a powerful tool of intimidation.

Most recently, the Indonesian criminal justice system used Article 106 to target Papuans who played prominent roles in the October 16-19, 2011 “Third Papuan National Congress.” (see above) The assembly was attacked by security forces who killed at least three participants, beat scores more. and arbitrarily detained several hundred. While the Indonesian Government has prosecuted the leaders of this peaceful gathering, the government has failed to bring to justice those security forces who attacked the Congress participants.

Papuans Mark the Visit of UNSG to Stage Massive Demonstrations

Thousands of peaceful civilians demonstrated in the streets of cities and towns throughout West Papua in March in conjunction with the March 20 visit to Indonesia by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. An estimated 5000 demonstrators in the capitol, Jayapura (Port Numbay), effectively brought normal activity in that hub to a halt.

The rallies, organized by the West Papua National Committee, were largely peaceful. In a departure from usual practice some demonstrators attacked journalists covering the marches. Victor Mambor, chair of the Alliance of Independent Journalists in Jayapura, said that the presence of the TNI or police in civilian clothing near the journalists led to the journalists being regarded as “tools.” Mambor explained, “It is because there were so many security forces near the journalists who were covering the event that the journalists were thought to be collaborating with the security forces. We have to understand the situation in Papua which means that if someone realizes that there are security forces in our midst, we should not allow them any space.”

For their part, imprisoned political leaders Forkorus Yaboisembut and Edison Waromi called on the UN and others to push for the rights of West Papuans, including the right to self-determination and control over the territory’s mineral resources. West Papua was a Dutch colony until 1962 when control was handed over to the UN ahead of a planned vote on self-determination.

Groups Urge US Congress to Block Sale of U.S. Attack Helicopters to Indonesian Military

The West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) and the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) organized a statement urging the U.S. government and Congress not to sell AH-64 Apache helicopters to the Indonesian military (TNI).

More than 90 human rights, religious, indigenous rights, disarmament and other organizations worldwide write that “Providing these helicopters would pose a direct threat to Papuan civilians, who have been the target of deadly TNI assaults for many years”

The groups believe that the helicopters will inevitably be used to augment the Indonesian security forces ongoing campaign against Papuans in rural areas. That campaign has led to the destruction of Papuan villages, the coerced displacement of thousands of Papuan civilians, and the deaths of many, either as a direct result of security force attacks or due to prolonged displacement into inhospitable jungles and forests.

The text of the petition follows:

As organizations concerned about human rights in Indonesia and West Papua, we are writing to urge the U.S. government and Congress not to allow the sale of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to the Indonesian military (TNI). Providing these helicopters would pose a direct threat to Papuan civilians, who have been the target of deadly TNI assaults for many years.
The sale of this weapons system to the TNI — notwithstanding its long record of disregard for civilian casualties, corruption, human rights violations and impunity in East Timor, Aceh and elsewhere — would only increase the suffering of the Papuan population.
Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told the Antara news agency, that Indonesia intends to buy eight AH-64 Apache helicopter from the United States.
The heavily-armed AH-64 is a highly lethal weapon which can be used to escalate conflict within Indonesia and in West Papua. These aircraft will substantially augment the TNI’s capacity to prosecute its “sweep operations” in West Papua and thereby, almost certainly lead to increased suffering among the civilian populations long victimized by such operations.
TNI “sweep operations,” including several now underway in the Central Highlands region of West Papua, involve attacks on villages. Homes are destroyed, along with churches and public buildings. These assaults, purportedly to eliminate the poorly armed Papuan armed resistance, force innocent villagers from their homes. Papuan civilians either flee the attacks to neighboring villages or into the surrounding forests where many die or face starvation, cut off from access to their gardens, shelter, and medical care.

The AH-64is designed for air to ground attack. It can operate day or night and is armed with high caliber chain guns . It is also equipped to fire missiles.Congress must be notified of major weapons sales. We urge Congress to oppose the sale of these helicopters.Vital Services Not Available to Many Rural Papuans

The daily JUBI reported  on a new book by Cipry Jehan. The Papuan Paradox, describes “systematic discrimination” targeting Papuans in Keerom District. At a seminar convened by the Catholic Church in Keerom Jehan described “structural social injustice.” He said that the Indonesian government has focused development efforts in the area of Arso and Skamto, areas populated largely by non-Papuan immigrants and transmigrants. Papuan majority areas such as Waris and Towe do not receive such development assistance, he explained.

Jehan added that discrimination against Papuans extends to education. As evidence he cited the reality of inequality in educational services provided from nursery school level right up to secondary school level. In Keerom district, he said, nursery schools are spread right across the districts whereas in the Papuan majority districts of Waris and Towe Hitam there are no educational facilities at all. He concluded that “The government is much more consistent about sending troops to this area than sending teachers and doctors.”

On March 26, JUBI, reported that Kenius Kogoya, a member of the Papuan legislative assembly (DPRP), expressed regret that Indonesian state teachers and health personnel seldom venture out to rural Papuan populations.

Despite explicit and implicit obligations undertaken by the Indonesian government, particularly under the rubric of “special autonomy,” Papuans living in rural areas have long suffered from a dearth of public services.

Kenius elaborated that there was widespread neglect by Indonesian officials who are supposed to check on whether government teachers and health workers in the interior turn up for work. The DPRP member stated that this is a problem that exists in almost all the districts of Papua.

WPAT Comment: For West Papuans, especially those living in rural areas, the face of the Indonesian government is not that of a teacher or a nurse or a doctor. It is the face of a soldier, a militarized police officer (Brimob), or an intelligence agent. Vital services provided in relative abundance to non-Papuans are simply not available for Papuans who continue to languish in poverty and to endure health conditions that are among the worst in the Southeast Asian region. It is precisely such disparity that have led many close observers to describe Indonesia’s policy toward Papuans as genocidal.

But it would be wrong to portray Indonesia’s policy as simply one of malign neglect. Indonesian security forces have long played the role of brutal enforcer as Indonesian, U.S. and other international corporations seize Papuan land and resources, aping the vilest practices of colonial powers of the past century. Transmigration policies conceived and employed during the era of the dictator Suharto are again in place, supported by Government “development” policies, as seen above, that greatly advantage the migrant over the deliberately marginalized Papuan.

Back issues of West Papua Report

http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/2012/1204wpap.htm

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New Matilda: Australia’s Money Helps Kill, Intimidate And Torture

from our good friends at

New Matilda.com

NM INVESTIGATES

23 Mar 2012

Our Money Helps Kill, Intimidate And Torture

By Marni Cordell

Bob Carr and Stephen Smith

Australia plays a key role in training and funding elite Indonesian counter-terror unit Detachment 88 – but wants to distance itself from the unit’s violent reputation, reports Marni Cordell

Bob Carr and Stephen Smith with

their Indonesian counterparts.

There’s been a terror threat in Jakarta. A group of hardliners claim they intend to bomb the city’s transport system, just days before the UK prime minister is scheduled to arrive for a state visit. Indonesia’s counter terror agencies scramble to respond to the critical incident as the population goes into lockdown.

I’m sitting in the Control Room at the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation (JCLEC) alongside international police trainers Bob Milton and David Gray.

On the screens in front of us, Indonesian police are acting out roles in this imagined terrorism scenario — and Milton and Gray are the puppet-masters.

Inside the JCLEC Control Room. Photo: Marni Cordell

“Basically the scenario develops into a more and more complicated problem,” explains Milton, a former Metropolitan Police commander from the UK.

“We try to make it as real as possible. We’ll have things such as pictures, audio, taped phone conversations, anything that we can try and get the information to them in a more interesting way.”

“We then challenge the students and ask for quite a lot of detail about how they are going to respond, and how they are going to deal with it.”

Fake terror scenarios like this one are a regular part of the immersive training that goes on at the Australian-funded police training centre.

JCLEC was set up in 2004 as a result of a bilateral agreement between Indonesia and Australia to strengthen Indonesia’s counter-terror effort in the wake of the Bali Bombings.

I visited the centre last week as part of an investigation into Australia’s funding and training of Indonesia’s crack anti-terror squad, Detachment 88 — the unit responsible for capturing or killing most of Indonesia’s terrorism kingpins since the 2002 Bali attack.

Detachment 88 employs a controversial brand of policing in which suspects are shot dead rather than arrested — like a soldier would shoot an enemy combatant. The high profile counter-terror raid in Bali last Sunday, in which five suspected terrorists were killed and the police were hailed internationally as heroes, was just the latest in a long line of lethal operations.

The unit is funded and trained by Australia and while the Australian Government might not endorse their paramilitary-style tactics, it’s been willing to turn a blind eye because Detachment 88 has been extremely effective at disrupting Indonesia’s extensive terror network.

JCLEC itself is deep within the grounds of the Indonesian National Police Academy, in the city of Semarang in Central Java. When I arrive at the centre I’m met by AFP federal agent Brian Thomson, a friendly, middle-aged cop from Canberra who is nine months into a two-year stint here. I’m the first Australian journalist he has hosted in that time.

JCLEC is touted as an international police training centre but in fact its students are over 90 per cent Indonesian — 9 per cent of whom are Detachment 88. The centre hosts trainers from Indonesia and across the globe, predominantly from Australia, Europe, and the UK.

Students undertake computer-based training courses – this one tests their knowledge of the difference between intelligence and information. Photo: Marni Cordell

Its core funding for more than 130 staff on six hectares of well maintained grounds comes directly from the Australian Federal Police’s own budget.

The self-contained centre — complete with student accommodation, lap pool and gym — couldn’t stand in greater contrast to stories that abound in Jakarta about Detachment 88’s operations.

JCLEC’s shtick is about “learning and understanding through shared experience” — and teaching best practice terror investigation techniques and proper use of the judicial process. Detachment 88, an elite and highly skilled unit with unique powers of surveillance in Indonesia, seems to operate above the law.

As I reported earlier this month, there is growing evidence to suggest what was once solely a counter-terror unit is now moving into counter-separatist operations. Activists in West Papua claim the squad is being deployed to hunt down civilians aligned with the independence movement in a growing campaign of intimidation.

According to Eric Sonindemi, a participant in last October’s Third Papuan People’s Congress, says Detachment 88 personnel were involved in the deadly attack on Congress in which six people were killed and many others wounded.

“Most of the security forces were in plain clothes, but they weren’t really concealing their weapons — they were sort of showing off,” Sonindemi told me when I met with him in Jakarta. “Detachment 88 was there,” he said, explaining that he “saw their equipment and riot shields”.

“Hundreds of people were detained [by police] that night and many of them were beaten in detention,” Sonindemi said. “I spoke to one person who had a gash in his head, a broken nose and bruises on his face. He had been beaten with the butt of a rifle by a policeman.”

“He was subsequently released and never charged with any crime.”

So exactly how closely does Australia work with the deadly unit?

According to a Jakarta-based security analyst who asked not to be named, “There was a big push after the first Bali Bombing, to the point where Detachment 88 actually had Australians with them on [counter-terror] operations.”

“It’s been a long time since that’s happened,” the analyst continued. “The AFP says that sometimes Detachment 88 doesn’t even share information with them any longer. There’s a real pride in doing things themselves now without relying on the Australians.”

But a diplomatic source in Jakarta confirmed that the relationship remains extremely close — and that the AFP continues to work with the Indonesian National Police, of which Detachment 88 is a part, at head office in Jakarta.

Australian Federal Police agent Brian Thomson at JCLEC, with an Indonesian colleague. Photo: Marni Cordell

Details on our financial support for the unit are harder to come by. The Australian government committed $36.8 million over the first four years of JCLEC. Now Thomson tells me the Australia’s support for JCLEC comes out of the AFP budget, which continues to provide “roughly the same amount” of funding to the centre. We also assist the unit directly — although just what that assistance entails is a closely guarded secret.

“I’ve pursued that question through senate estimates, through questions on notice, I’ve had DFAT briefings, and I can’t get any clarity about the role of Australian support of the Indonesian military and police and specifically whether our contribution benefits Detachment 88,” Greens senator and spokesperson on West Papua Richard Di Natale told NM.

“And it’s very clear that Detachment 88 has been involved in some of the violence that has occurred in the region.”

Details from the Indonesian side are just as shady.

Although some of Detachment 88’s terror raids have been simulcast on television in Indonesia, scratch below the surface and it’s difficult to get any real detail on the unit, says Usman Hamid, advisor to the International Center for Transitional Justice.

“The accountability of Detachment 88 is very low,” Hamid tells me when I meet him in a hotel lobby in Jakarta where he is meeting with other experts to prepare a response to the draft national security bill.

“Detachment 88 has special allocation of the budget and international funding — which has never been explained to the Indonesian public clearly, or even to the parliament for that matter.”

“We hear vague amounts but it’s not under the state budget.”

“It should be accounted appropriately,” Hamid told NM. “To the Indonesian parliament, to the Indonesian public, and of course to the Australian parliament and public … to make sure that the budget Australia gave is really being used for the right purpose.”

As Brian Thomson walks me through the official JCLEC Power Point presentation, I ask how Australia can be sure that the training taught at the centre is also being “used for the right purpose” — how do we know it isn’t being used to crack down on civilian dissent?

He’s silent for some time before asking me to repeat the question, and then ultimately refusing to answer it — handballing to his Indonesian counterpart, Dwi Priyatno, who refers me to the Indonesian law on terrorism, and back to the public affairs branch of the Indonesian police.

I also ask specifically about separatism in Indonesia and whether techniques to quash independence movements are ever discussed at the Australian-funded centre. Thomson again gets nervous.

“I can’t really answer that because my job here as an executive director is to be involved in running the centre, so what’s actually discussed in the classroom, I can’t give full [details],” he says.

“Although separatism…

“Yeah…

“No…

“Not separatism.

“When you say separatism, in what regard are you referring to it?”

Back in Australia my inquiries about Detachment 88’s operations in Papua and their move toward policing separatism have been met with an almost uniform response. Here’s what I received from the AFP head office in Canberra: Australia has no mandate to tell the Indonesian Police how to run their business. And yes, we will continue to provide “capacity building assistance”.

Meanwhile, Eric Sonindemi says he remains traumatised by the police and military attack on the Third Papuan People’s Congress. He clearly remembers the sound of gunfire, he tells me, and now jumps when he hears loud noises. He is sure he is being monitored by the police. “I’ve been threatened by the police before,” he says, “but this is the first time I’ve feared for my life.”

Other Papuans I met in Jakarta told similar stories — of constant surveillance by the security forces, phone tapping and intimidation. They told me that fear is part of their daily lives.

Australian officials may well seek to disclaim any responsibility for the behaviour of the Indonesian police and particularly from the activities of Detachment 88. Given the close relationship between the AFP and the unit, however, it’s hard not to conclude that Australia is directly contributing to this climate of oppression.

This is the second article in an NM investigation of Detachment 88 and Australia’s role in the Indonesian counter-terror effort. Read the first article here.

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New Matilda: Australia Is Policing Separatism

from our friends at NewMatilda.com

NM INVESTIGATES

5 Mar 2012

By Marni Cordell

densus

Indonesia’s counter-terror unit Detachment 88 is funded and trained by Australia. Why are we so involved with a unit whose work includes counter-separatist activities? Marni Cordell reports from Jakarta

When politicians in Australia hail the success of Indonesia’s counter-terror forces in catching, charging — and often killing — the country’s top terror operatives, it’s Detachment 88’s work they are talking about.

Detachment 88 is an elite counter-terror unit within the Indonesian National Police that was formed in the aftermath of the 2002 Bali Bombings. It is funded and trained by Australia, and enjoys close co-operation with the Australian Federal Police.

Noordin Top, Dulmatin, Abu Bakar Bashir, Umar Patek have all been apprehended since the force became operational in 2003. Jakarta-based terror expert Sidney Jones calls them “the top of the top” — and Australia’s training and money have been instrumental in their success in disarming Indonesia’s significant terror network. According to DFAT, Indonesian authorities have convicted over 470 terrorists and their accomplices since 2000.

But there are growing concerns about what else they are using that deadly efficiency for — and although we train and fund them, we exercise little control over their operations.

When Detachment 88 was accused in 2010 of torturing independence activists in the Indonesian province of Maluku, the AFP and Australian Government said they were concerned about the allegations but had “no mandate to investigate the conduct of foreign police within another country”.

But the incident was not an isolated one — now, activists in West Papua claim Detachment 88 is being deployed to hunt down not only armed resistance fighters, but also civilians with ties to the independence movement, in what appears to be a growing campaign of intimidation.

I met Eric Sonindemi, a participant in last October’s Third Papuan People’s Congress, in a cafe in Jakarta. He told me that soon after their arrival from Jakarta, a surge of Detachment 88 personnel was involved in the deadly attack on Congress, in which six people were killed and many others wounded.

“Most of the security forces were in plain clothes, but they weren’t really concealing their weapons — they were sort of showing off,” Sonindemi told NM. “Detachment 88 was there,” he said, explaining that he “saw their equipment and riots shields”.

On the last day of Congress, Sonindemi was as surprised as other participants when the police and military opened fire because the gathering had been peaceful. “Everyone thought it was going to be safe because the event ended peacefully and [Congress leader] Forkorus Yaboisembut thanked the police and Indonesia for their support. People went home thinking they were safe,” he said.

But then security forces began firing indiscriminately into the dwindling crowd.

“I was in a nearby monastery when the shooting started — which wasn’t until about 30-45 minutes after the Congress had ended,” Sonindemi said.

“I hid in one of the brothers’ rooms and put on one of his robes, pretending to be a student. Soon the fully armed police and military arrived. They used tear gas and threatened to ransack the place before taking away a number of people, who were all told to squat and crawl toward the sports field.”

“Hundreds of people were detained that night and many of them were beaten in detention. I spoke to one person who had a gash in his head, a broken nose and bruises on his face. He had been beaten with the butt of a rifle by a policeman.”

“He was subsequently released and never charged with any crime.”

Sonindemi explains that the security situation in Papua has “really been heating up” since August last year. “Before August, the police and military would not come in big numbers if there was a public rally. That has changed now,” he told New Matilda.

According to Jakarta Globe journalist Nivell Rayda, who has been investigating Detachment 88, there has been a marked shift by the force in recent months toward policing “separatism” — rather than terrorism.

When I spoke to Rayda last week in the Jakarta Globe newsroom he said he believes this is because Indonesia has not had a major terror attack since the second JW Marriott bombing in 2009 — and says he noticed a similar trend between 2005 and 2009, when there was also a period of relative calm.

“Detachment 88 being somewhat of an elite unit, being funded and trained by foreign countries… they just lay dormant — their resources, their equipment and their tactical abilities, and investigation techniques just laying dormant for years,” he told NM. It was during this period that the unit was involved in the torture of local independence activists in Maluku.

“In 2009 we had another major attack, but since then we’ve arrested nearly all the major players and terrorism suspects … there haven’t really been any major terrorism events taking shape, and it looks like the pattern seems to repeat itself: Detachment 88 has been engaging once more in non-terrorism issues, including [counter] separatism,” he said.

Rayda agrees that Detachment 88 is not only pursuing armed resistance fighters, and cites a case in August last year in Nafri, Papua, in which two young girls were detained among a group of 15 people after a fatal shooting attack on a public minivan.

The OPM was blamed but denied involvement and Detachment 88 was dispatched to help local police with the investigation. Nivell told New Matilda, “After Detachment 88 stepped in, they arrested 15 people — including a 7- and an 8-year-old girl. These 15 people were beaten, they were tortured, they were arbitrarily detained and treated inhumanely.

“But the following day, they released 13 of them. So only two of them were responsible for the shooting, and the other 13 were innocent — but they were beaten as well.”

Eric Sonindemi said mass arrests are a common tactic used by police in Papua to intimidate people and weed out the perpetrators.

A Jakarta-based security analyst who asked not to be named admitted when I met with them last week that they held concerns about Detachment 88’s loose definition of terrorism — but claimed the force was “moving away from [policing separatism] now”.

“Detachment 88 has been sent to Papua in certain cases where the local police don’t have investigative skills, but it’s more to help in the investigations than to engage in raids,” the analyst told NM.

“The exception to that was the… death of [OPM leader] Kelly Kwalik in December 2010, which did involve Detachment 88.”

But Rayda disagrees. In fact when he asked the Indonesian National Police why Detachment 88 were involved in raids against OPM members that displaced thousands of villagers in Papua’s Paniai in December last year, he says the police were quite up front about the fact that they believe “terrorism is not only limited to bombings and militants and stuff like that. It also extends to separatism”.

An Australian funded and trained elite counter-separatist force? This was not the Australian government’s intention when it began pouring millions of dollars into the Indonesian counter-terror effort after the Bali bombings. Both the 2002 MoU with Indonesia on combating international terrorism, and the MoU on police co-operation between our two countries, focus firmly on transnational, not local, crime — and the AFP says Detachment 88 has not sought assistance from Australia in any investigations or operations to counter internal separatist movements.

However, the Australians do admit to working very closely with the Indonesian National Police at Jakarta headquarters, where Detachment 88 is now controlled.

New Matilda asked the AFP how much they know about Detachment 88’s operations before they take place. We also asked the minister for Home Affairs, Jason Clare, whether Australia condoned a definition of terrorism that included peaceful expressions of dissent.

We did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Detachment 88 has a distinctive owl logo but Nivell Rayda say locals recognise their presence because, unlike the local police, they carry foreign-made weapons and wear balaclava-like masks. Curiously, Detachment 88 officers are commonly issued with Steyr assault rifles — an unusual rifle to be used by Indonesian forces. The Steyr is standard issue to Australian troops and is manufactured by Australian Defence Industries in Lithgow NSW.

Rayda has spoken to a number of activists in Papua and Indonesia’s other trouble spots who have noticed officers from the elite unit at rallies and during raids.

Sonindemi agreed when I met with him that, “The understanding that Detachment 88 are in Papua now is quite widespread”, and told me he was deeply concerned about the situation.

“Usually in Papua conflicts emerge because of increased troop deployment. It’s usually the source of the problem.”

This is the first article in an ongoing NM investigation of Detachment 88 and Australia’s role in the Indonesian counter-terror effort.

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Indonesian forces maintain widespread military assault on villagers in Paniai, West Papua

By Nick Chesterfield and local sources at Westpapuamedia.info

Special report and update

January 14 2012

Local human rights monitors report from the remote Paniai district of West Papua that Indonesian security forces continue to maintain a “disproportionate” military offensive since early January, intensifying the displacement of tens of thousands of villagers who fled from several weeks of village burnings in December.

Indonesia’s Australian trained Detachment 88 counterterrorism troops and Brimob paramilitary police together with Indonesian army battalions, are continuing to conduct search, capture and cordon missions on the villages in the hunt for the forces of a National Liberation Army (Tentara Pembebsan Nasional or TPN) commander Jhon Yogi.

This is despite Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyhono ordering the immediate suspension of the offensive and withdrawal of all non-organic security forces from Paniai, when meeting with West Papuan church leaders on December 12 at his residence in Bogor, West Java.  No firm date for withdrawal was given.

Papua Police spokesman Wachyono, told the Jakarta Globe that 481 Brimob and Densus 88 members deployed in Papua from Jakarta, East Kalimantan and North Sulawesi would leave Papua by January 23.  However West Papua Media understands from sources on the ground that these troops will significantly escalate the pace of attacks on civilians in the lead up to the departure.  Local human rights sources have further questioned the ability of independent monitoring of this withdrawal when the Indonesian government is continuing to enforce an access ban on media to the area.

Yogi’s forces have consistently avoided capture since the offensive began, despite sustaining significant casualties.  This continued escape and evasion has raised pertinent questions from observers on the real aims of the Indonesian security force offensive, in an area that has extensive gold deposits and a brutal history of land use conflict triggered by a lucrative “legal” and illegal gold trade.  Several foreign gold mining companies continue to operate in the area during the offensive, and Brimob police and assets, that have been contracted to provide mine security to these companies, are continuing to be utilised in the ongoing offensive.

The systemic excessive force by Brimob and Indonesian security forces working for foreign mining interests are again under the spotlight across Indonesia after Brimob troops were recently caught on video uploaded to Youtube opening fire on a protest on behalf of another Australian gold mining company Arc Exploration in Bima, Sumbawa.  At least 3 protestors were killed and 11 seriously wounded as local residents held a non-violent protest against the destruction of their village lands by the gold mine.

Credible information during the Paniai offensive has been incredibly difficult to verify due to the continuing Indonesian government ban on all journalists and foreign observers from coming to the area.  Indonesian journalists covering have not been able to access the district either, despite article claiming that they have been present.  However, stringers for West Papua Media, human rights monitors from Elsham, church officials, and witnesses have been able to get close to the area to report on the situation, which by all accounts in worsening for civilians.  Indonesian security forces however are continuing to block any independent access to the immediate conflict area around the former TPN headquarters of Markas Eduda to verify or rule out human rights abuses, and most reports are still coming from interviews with refugees who have fled from the fighting.

West Papua Media has repeatedly attempted to contact spokespeople for the Indonesian police operating in Paniai, however no replies have been forthcoming.

Church* and Human rights sources have claimed that security forces are continuing to indiscriminately target civilians in the campaign, and have embarked on a policy of village and church burnings. According to detailed reports provided to West Papua Media by investigators, Brimob and D88 troops have burnt down 29 churches, 13 primary schools and 2 junior schools, and 13 villages have been destroyed over the New Year period.  The razed villages are spread out across the south and west of Wegamo, and in Ekadide areas.

Local witnesses interviewed by human rights observers have reported that civilian helicopters have again been used in the intensified security offensive, with allegations that two helicopters belonging to mining companies operating in the area have been again used by troops to continue to strafe villages, drop live and gas grenades and ferry troops into the fighting areas.   Multiple witnesses confirmed that one of the helicopters was a civilian Squirrel AS355 previously implicated in attacks, and identified formally with a helicopter identification sheet provided to West Papua Media stringers and human rights workers.

On December 21, West Papua Media published allegations that an Australian mining Company was supplying helicopter support to the security operations, having contracted Brimob paramilitary police to be used as mine security.  Incredibly, the management of West Wits Mining and Paniai Gold continue to refuse to make comment or denials on the explosive allegations.

According to the report received, around dawn (0600) on the morning of January 1, 2012, A civilian Squirrel (pictured)

The AS355 Squirrel helicopter used by Brimob on December 13, and allegedly used over the New Year Paniai offensive (File: West Papua Media)

helicopter conducted what the report describes as “surgery” (surgical military strikes) on Wege mountain, and was used to ferry troops between White Sands and the now-occupied former TPN headquarters of Markas Eduda.  Villagers in the White Sands area have been forcibly evacuated by Brimob troops and are still unable to return.

Hana Degei (37), Jemi Gobai (26), Oktolince Degei (20), Menase Kayame (41), Mabipai Gobai (18), Silpa Kayame (32) all from Dagouto, and Peter Kudiai, a 14 year old school student from Badauwo were all confirmed killed by Brimob and D88 troops in the New Year offensive, adding to the toll of those killed during December’s operations.

In the report, church sources stress that full extent of deaths from the Paniai offensive is still being shrouded by deliberate obfuscation and cover-up from Indonesian security forces.  “The full death toll from the armed clashes between Brimob and the TPN we do not know, because our religious and community leaders have been refused access to the Eduda conflict area,” the report states.  “Thus, we also have not been able to collect (exhaustive casualty) data which is accompanied by clear facts.  Perhaps Brimob forces and TPN knows how many are wounded and dead due to gunshot wounds, (but) all the information is still closed to the public,” the report claimed.

Local sources have also expressed concern for the longer term humanitarian situation across Paniai when and if the offensive finishes, due to the deliberate village burnings.  According to both church sources, Brimob and D88 deliberately destroyed and burnt food gardens across the offensive area, and burned down fences designed to keep livestock out.  Surviving cattle have been moving freely and have eaten whatever food plants have survived the destruction, stoking fears of starvation for already stressed and displaced local villagers

Together with villages forcibly evacuated as reported in December, over 150 villages are now vacant, displacing at least 9000 civilians.

Indonesian officials have blatantly misrepresented the scale of displacement, claiming that only 1715 were displaced and all those “temporarily evacuated” were being supported at a military controlled “care centre”.  This number is failing to take into account those who are in grave fear of the security forces running the “care centre”, and those who are staying with extended families and/or tribal networks.  So far the 1715 have not been able to return to their villages, and their conditions at the “care centres” are deteriorating from already grave conditions, according to local observers.

An Indonesian health worker who has been in Enaratoli during the offensive, and who declined to be identified publicly after contacting West Papua Media privately via SMS, described the situation as extremely tense and a human disaster.  He also expressed concern, from his observations and conversations with displaced locals, that there seems to be a wider plan from Indonesian security forces for the long-term.

“Everyone here knows that Brimob are in the gold trade across Paniai, doing business for and with both orang bule {white man} and Javanese, and now they are clearing people whose villages are on top of the gold diggings” the health worker told West Papua Media – in English – in an SMS exchange.  “This human disaster is happening, and we are part of it, but who has ordered it?   Is it just the police looking for golden scrapings, or is someone richer telling them to do it?”

West Papua Media has not been able to fully verify the authenticity of this source’s claimed identity, given the security risks of identifying them publicly speaking out.

The Paniai region has had a long and brutal history of land use conflicts between the Indonesian colonists and local people, mainly stemming from the illegal gold trade.

The church human rights investigations have also reported that all normal community activities in the conflict are have ceased, with those churches and schools not yet burnt by Indonesian security forces closed indefinitely, and local employment has also ceased – further exacerbating the humanitarian disaster in Paniai.

*Due to the danger faced by local church officials from Indonesian security forces in reporting these facts, West Papua Media has made a difficult decision to not identify either the church sources, nor their denomination.

West Papua Media

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