Tag: extrajudicial execution

Kopassus intelligence officer murders Boven Digul man accused of sexual assault: reports

by West Papua Media from sources in Merauke.

September 7, 2012

A local Papuan man has been murdered by an elite Kopassus special forces officer in a village in the remote district of Boven Digul, near the Fly River area adjacent to the West Papua – PNG border, after a local man was accused of sexual assault of a military officer’s wife, according to local human rights sources.

The shooting on Monday September 3, occurred after the victim, Januarius Kimko, was accused by a TNI officer (from the Boven Digul Koramil company of the Merauke 755 Battalion) of sexually assaulting his wife, despite protestations of innocence from the accused man.

West Papua Media has been unable to fully and independently verify the claims from human rights sources, due to the extreme difficulty of communication in these remote areas under military control, however, he investigating sources have been highly reliable in the past.

According to local human rights sources and witnesses interviewed on the grounds by Merauke-based media activists from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Kimko was arrested by “Buser” commandos from a joint military/police team in Boven Digul after the military couple reported the alleged sexual assault to the local Police.

The special BUSER ( BU = Berburu (hunting); and SER – serangan (attack))  is a joint “search and destroy” joint SatGas (taskforce) squad between Brimob and Kopassus, whose role is replicated by  part of the “anti terrorist” Detachment 88, funded by Australia.  All sections of this unit receive training and supplies by the Australian Defence Forces.  No information has been received that show if serving members of D88 are present in the Boven Digul unit.

The joint taskforce was immediately activated and conducted house to house raids across the town on Monday night whilst trying to capture the man accused of sexual assault, terrorising local residents.  An ambush was set on the house of Kimko, who was in his home in Ememes Ambonggo complex.  He was arrested and emerged with police without resistance, as he was to be conveyed to the police station for questioning, according to witnesses.

As he reached the street, a Kopassus intelligence officer from the Satuan Gagas Intelijen (Strategic Intelligence Unit) rushed the victim and pressed the muzzle of his weapon (type unknown) against Kimko’s side.  He then shot the victim four times, with the bullets penetrating the victim’s thigh and left wrist.

Witnesses reported to the investigators that as soon as Kimko was shot, members of the Buser Commando and TNI officers at the scene immediately threw his body in to a car, and conveyed him to an unknown location.

Januarius Kimko’s body was discovered by human rights sources at the emergency room of Merauke District l, over 120km from Boven Digul, late on Wednesday September 5.  His body had been in the custody of the TNI of Koramil Kabupaten Digoel from his shooting until the victim’s burial, preventing an independent assessment of his injures.  Kimko’s family were not informed of his death until after his burial.

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Is Australia funding Indonesian Death Squads? Densus 88 in West Papua

Statement by the West Papua Project, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney, 16th July, 2012

Questions are being asked about the role that the partly Australian funded
and trained elite Indonesian police squad, Densus (Detachment) 88, has
played during the recent violence in West Papua. Set up in the wake of the
Bali terrorist bombings, Densus 88’s mandate was to tackle the rise of
domestic terrorism in Indonesia. Australian support might have been
motivated by revenge as well: 88 Australians were killed in the Bali attack.
While acclaimed for capturing or killing known and suspected terrorists,
Densus 88 also gained a reputation for extreme violence: many suspects being
killed rather than arrested. Now reports are suggesting that Densus 88 is
operating in West Papua, possibly clandestinely, and has been responsible
for the assassination-like killing of Papuan political activist, Mako
Tabuni, on June 14.

Detachment 88 troops firing live rounds at civilians during the brutal crackdown on the Third Papuan People’s Congress, October 19, 2011 (West Papua Media video still)

While Indonesian National Police spokesman, Saud Usman Nasution, has denied
Densus 88 is operating in West Papua he has left the door open for their
involvement, saying in the Jakarta Globe on June 27, “Densus will be
deployed if terrorism occurred there.” However other reports, for instance
from Kontras Papua, a local human rights organization, state that Densus 88
is already operating in West Papua “carrying out undercover activities”
(Cenderwasih Pos, June 23). Kontras Papua believes that Densus 88 was
involved in the Tabuni killing – where the victim is reported to have been
standing in the street eating betel nut when three unmarked cars pulled up
nearby. With no provocation a person emerged from one car and shot the
victim dead.

Police report that the victim had tried to snatch a weapon from the
plainclothes police involved and was killed in the resulting fracas. Police
also claim that Mako Tabuni was wanted for a series of shootings that had
occurred in Jayapura over the previous few weeks: a claim that seems
unlikely given his role as Deputy Director of KNPB (the West Papua National
Committee), which is a non-violent political organization. Tabuni had also
been publicly calling for an independent investigation into the recent
shootings of which he was accused. Nonetheless, any charges should have been
heard in court and given due legal process, now impossible with Tabuni’s
death. Other reports of Densus 88 activities in West Papua have come from
respected Papuan leaders. Reliable sources observed Densus 88 police arrest
KNPB member, Zakeus Hupla, in the lobby of the Dhanny Hotel, Entrop,
Jayapura, on the morning of June 23. Other reports indicate further arrests
of KNPB members by Densus 88 and their subsequent torture. According to
family members, no arrest warrants were issued by Indonesian police for
these arrests, and the Jayapura police deny that the KNPB members are in
their custody. Indeed it is unclear if these men have been arrested,
abducted or ‘disappeared.’

These events are of genuine interest and concern to Australia because
Australian taxpayers’ money is spent training and maintaining Densus 88.
This organization has a legitimate role to play in countering the rise of
terrorism, but it should act strictly within its organisational mandate. If
Australian taxpayers are indeed partially funding a clandestine force
involved in killings, abduction and torture of Papuan activists an
unacceptable situation has developed. These events and allegations must be
comprehensively investigated and all funding for Densus 88 frozen until
either the allegations have been disproved or the individual police officers
guilty of crimes arrested and tried in an open court. We call on the
Australian government to immediately halt the funding of Densus 88, to
investigate the claims of its misconduct, and to apologise to the Papuan
people if they are proven to be true.

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Human Rights Workers: Those who shot Tabuni must be brought to justice

Mako Tabuni Shot Dead
Mako Tabuni Shot Dead (Photo credit: AK Rockefeller)

JUBI, 25 June 2012

According to the Network for Law Enforcement and Human Rights in the central highlands, JAPHPT, the Criminal Code requires that those who were responsible for shooting Mako Tabuni should be brought to justice.

If the police believed that Tabuni was the mastermind of all the shootings, they should have arrested him and produced evidence of this. The chairman of the JAPHPT,  Theo Hesegem, said that the way the police had handled the arrest, along with the shooting of Tabuni, had eliminated any evidence  they might have had about what Tabuni was carrying.

They have also, in the process, demonised the Papuan people and damaged Indonesia’s reputation in the international community.

Indonesia is a state that recognises the rule of law and should act in accordance with the Criminal Code regarding the person who shot Tabuni.

Meanwhile, the chief of police  of Jayapura City, AKB Alfred Papare now admits that its reputation has been damaged by the shooting of Tabuni. He went on to say however that the police  had acted in accordance with police procedures because of reports that the victim was in possession of a firearm.

Translated by TAPOL

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Police urged to publicise the photo of Mako Tabuni’s bag

JUBI,  26 June 2012

The Papuan people are still very concerned about the shooting of Mako Tabuni on 14 June. Alius Asso, chairman of the Nayak Asrama  in Abepura, has called on the police to publicise the photo they took of Mako Tabuni at the time of the killing, which shows the bag that he was carrying at the time.

‘We want the security forces to show us the photo of the bag he was carrying. This is very crucial because the police have alleged that Tabuni had a pistol and bullets in his bag.’

The photo was taken as Tabuni was standing eating a snack at Perumnas III Waena, Asso said: ‘This is very strange  How would he have got hold of a  pistol and bullets? It is up to the police to prove this,’ he said.

He also denied that Mako Tabuniwas was in any way responsible for the shooting of a German at Base G and for the series of shootings that occurred at the time. ‘What proof do the police have of this? They should have arrested Tabuni and questioned him instead of shooting him dead.’

Asso went on to say that Mako Tabuni was not a terrorist. On the contrary he was involved in the struggle of the Papuan people.

It should be recalled that the police told journalists that they had been forced to shoot Tabuni because he was trying to resist as they arrested him. They also alleged that they found sixteen .38 calibre bullets in his bag.

 

Translated by TAPOL

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OPM condemns shooting of Papuan in Keerom

Bintang Papua, 22 August 2011The Papuan National Liberation Army, the military wing of the OPM has condemned the shooting dead in Arso 14, district of Keerom of a Papuan named Dasnum Komba which occurred on 17 August. According to the TPN/OPM Komba died after being shot by members of the 330 infantry brigade (Yonif 330) which is based in the area.[See our translation of a report by ELSHAM about the failure of Komba to return home from his garden which we posted yesterday.]

‘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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