Bintang Papua, 5 October 2010 [Abridged in translation] No separatism in Papua, says military commander According to the military commander of the Cenderawasih Command, there are no separatist groups functioning in Papua any more, Security can therefore be left to the police, with the army providing back-up when called upon to do so, said Major-General Hotma Marbun. 'If there were any separatists, we would crush them,' he said. He was speaking on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Cenderawasih military command, he said. Asked about the 'Papua Peace Force' which has been announced by Forkorus Yoboisembut, chairman of DAP, the Papuan Traditional Council, Hotma said: 'There is no such thing. I dont know anything about it. If it did exist, it wouldn't mean anything. They are using the word peace, aren't they?' A message was read out on behalf of the commander of the Indonesian armed forces Admiral Agus Suhartono. He said that reflecting the emerging global framework strategy and Indonesia's national interests, the country is facing a number of threats to its national security including security in South Maluku, terrorism, separatism, violations of its borders, natural disasters, illegal activities (no mention about what these are), horizontal conflicts and a lack of energy resources. In the context of the strategic environment, he said that Indonesia faces the threat of global warming and continual endeavours together with all components to safeguard the integrity of NKRI, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. He then said that the armed forces would continue to pursue the process of reformasi.
INDONESIAN ARMY ON STREETS IN TENSE WAMENA AS LOCAL CRISIS TALKS GO NOWHERE
INDONESIAN ARMY ON STREETS IN TENSE WAMENA AS LOCAL CRISIS TALKS GO NOWHERE
Nick Chesterfield, westpapuamedia.info
Photo Report: Warning Graphic Photos
(Wednesday, October 6, 2010). West Papuan people in Wamena are expressing fear after the shooting of community security guards by police on Monday. In a show of force, Indonesian security forces have deployed hundreds of fully armed combat troops on the streets to prevent local people from gathering in protest against the police shootings of members of Petapa.
(Fully armed combat troops patrolling Wamena streets, Wednesday October 6, 2010. Photos taken by witness in hiding)
A high level reconciliation team made up of has met briefly to try and avert any conflict but it has ended its meeting without any clear result. Local activists fear that the Indonesian state is outraged by the threat of a community security guard providing protection to West Papuan people seeking to engage in acts of free expression.
On Monday, a detachment of community security guards attempted to seek an explanation with Airport police for the heavy handed seizure of uniforms. Police at the Wamena North airport police station refused to provide an explanation , instead emerging firing live ammunition into the crowd after a missile was thrown breaking a single tooth of the Jayawijaya police chief I Gede Sumerta. As retribution for the broken tooth, police pursued the crowd for over a kilometre, shooting dead Ismail Lokobal in the chest. Police then arrested another ten people. Amos Wetipo and Frans Lokobal were shot in the head and wrist respectively after they refused to get out of the police truck when it returned to the station. Shooting of unarmed and bound detainees is deemed by international law as an extrajudicial execution.
However, according to a local human rights team, Indonesian police are consistently refusing to take responsibility for the attack and pursuit on unarmed members of the Community Security Force Pentapa, nor are they accepting any responsibility for unprovoked shooting of detainees inside a police truck. Instead they are blaming Pentapa for attacking the police post. Indonesian police have told AFP that they will have to wait until an autopsy is conducted to determine the cause of death for the shot man.
(Note: westpapuamedia.info is publishing clear and obvious photos showing the gunshot wounds in Mr Lokobal’s chest.)
No Need for Autopsy
The crisis meeting was attended by Disaster Coordinator Wetipo Amos, Chairman of ELSHAM (Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights) Theo Hesegem, and other representatives of NGOs, church leaders and DAP, together with the Vice Regent of Jayawijaya, and members of Parliament.
Local West Papuan activists, who have asked not to be identified, have called on the Indonesian government to immediately send the military in Wamena back to their barracks and for police officers to take responsibility for their action.
westpapuamedia.info
Photos of DAP Commnity Security Guards
Related Stories:
WAMENA KILLING WAS EXTRAJUDICIAL MURDER: WITNESSES
BREAKING NEWS: INDONESIA SHOOTS 3, 1 DEAD IN WAMENA
Mobilising a Papuan peace force in Sabron by DAP!
WAMENA KILLING WAS EXTRAJUDICIAL MURDER: WITNESSES
WAMENA KILLING WAS EXTRAJUDICIAL MURDER: WITNESSES
Nick Chesterfield, westpapuamedia.info
Tuesday, October 5, 2010: Evidence is continuing to emerge from Wamena, in West Papua’s Highlands, that a shooting of unarmed community security guards by Indonesian police on Monday was a extrajudicial murder by Indonesian Police.
According to witnesses interviewed by a local human rights investigation team, Ismael Lokobal, the coordinator of the Balim Petapa (unarmed community security security guards formed by Dewan Adat Papua), was shot whilst trying to seek shelter from indiscriminate police shooting at the DAP Balim Lapago office about 1 km from the police station.
Amos Wetipo and Frans Lokobal were shot when police opened fire after they refused to get down from a police truck outside the Wamena North K3 Police station. Wetipo was shot in the head by police standing at the back of the truck, bullets also striking Frans Lokobal in the wrist. Both men suffered from heavy blood loss according to witnesses, and Amos Wetipo is reportedly in a coma.
The shootings occurred after unarmed Petapa members went to the police station to seek and explanation for the unauthorised seizure of a box of berets for Petapa uniforms, and Rp40 million in cash. No Petapa paraphernalia that was seized contained any banned items or symbols so there was no reason for its seizure. Human rights sources reported to westpapuamedia.info that Petapa members felt the seizure was heavy handed and repressive, and refused to leave the police station without an explanation, when police emerged firing assault rifles directly at the gathered crowd without any verbal warnings or warning shots. Indonesian media have incorrectly reported that the Petapa members had attacked the police station causing an officer to be injured, but this is untrue.
Petapa was formed by the DAP in July after a series of violent incidents carried out by security forces and transmigrant militia members, and had been providing a visible peacekeeping security presence for mobilisations on peaceful demonstrations, which though allowed under Indonesian law are almost always dispersed with force by security forces. Whilst they have been trained in physical self defence, a significant part of Petapa’s training has been on non-violent conflict resolution. Petapa are not mandated by DAP to be anything but a defensive security guard.
The Baptist Church of Papua is deeply disturbed by the continued violence meted out by Indonesian security forces in the highlands, and had called for the police to take responsibility for their actions. “The barbaric behavior of this state apparatus is not human. Security forces should not shoot and kill civilians for any reason and or ideology,”said Reverend Socratez Sofyan Yoman, President of the Baptist Church of Papua.
“Violence and the killing of God’s people is not the way the settlement but creates new more difficult problems. The unity of the Indonesian state (NKRI) can not be managed and maintained in with violence and spilling people’s blood,” Yoman said. “The shooting shows that the people of Papua are not safe in the land of their ancestors. The security forces should be responsible and do not quibble with blaming civilians,” explain Reverend Yoman.
Local human rights sources are calling for an immediate, open investigation by Komnas HAM (National Human Rights Commission), with international monitoring, and the the police officers guilty of shootings to be charged with murder and sentenced appropriately.
The situation in Wamena is extremely tense on latest information, and demonstrations are likely. Local human rights sources are calling for the Indonesian security forces to exercise restraint and professionalism.
westpapuamedia.info
A Preliminary report in Bahasa Indonesia contains photos of the dead, injured and arrested men (not of their deaths and arrests) and a full chronology. is available for download here: KRONOLOGIS PENEMBAKAN ANGGOTA PETAPA DI WAMENA
More photos and reports to come.
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AHRC: Killing of a journalist in Papua explained as suicide by local police
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-128-2010
8 September 2010
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INDONESIA: Killing of a journalist in Papua explained as suicide by local police
ISSUES: Human rights defenders; freedom of expression; extrajudicial killings
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Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission has been informed about the killing of a journalist and human rights defender in Merauke, Papua, Indonesia. Mr. Ardiansyah Matra’is (25 years old) was found dead on July 30, 2010 floating naked in the Maro River after he disappeared two days previously. Several journalists received intimidating SMS (short message service) in the weeks before the killing. Unofficial police reports have indicated that his ribs were broken and his lungs filled with water.
CASE NARRATIVE: (according to information received from Foker LSM – NGO Forum for Coorperation in Papua)
In the late evening of July 28, 2010 Mr. Matra’is was reported missing after his wife had not seen him returning home all day. After the police was informed, a special team searched for him for two days. They had only found his helmet and motorbike parked near the Waliwali Tujuh Bridge on the Maro River. At 7 am on July 30, 2010, fishermen found his naked corpse floating near the Dermaga Gudang Arang Warehouse, Merauke. (warning: this image is graphic in detail. Photo of Mr. Matra’is body as it was found in the river). The body was brought to the hospital and identified by his family. The first formal autopsy result did not acknowledge any signs of violence while according to an informal notice from the District Police the lungs were filled with water and two ribs were broken which indicates the use of physical violence. The regional police announced the conduct of a second autopsy at a different location, to which several of Mr. Matra’is organs were sent.
The bridge where Mr. Matra’is motorbike was found is a popular place where locals frequently go for recreation to enjoy the scenery. Mr. Matra’is was known to have often visited for taking photos near the bridge where his motorbike was found. The Police chief of Merauke, Djoko AKBP Prihadi SH concluded this case to be a suicide based on interviews with the victim’s family and colleagues and the evidence on the bridge and the first autopsy report by the local district hospital. According to the police the suicide would have been committed as a result of the stress that he must have experienced from the daily work as a journalist.
(photos’ source: http://kebebasan-kebebasancom.blogspot.com)
Journalist work and intimidation
(according to information received from the local journalists community)
Mr. Matra’is had been working as a journalist for several years including for the national private TV channel ANTV. He joined http://www.tabloidjubi.com, a Papuan civil society media in May 2009. After he published a video about illegal timber mining in Keerom, several journalists received intimidating messages. Following the increasing threats Mr. Matra’is temporarily left Jayapura, his place of work at that time. He continued to feel intimidated and often reported to have been followed by unidentified persons. Colleagues reported that he had received SMS threatening the security of his children. Months later Mr. Matra’is worked with a local TV station in Merauke.
Journalists are reported to have frequently received threats in the period before Mr. Matra’is’ killing. The threats are allegedly related to local elections in which a large scale food estate project with international investors became the subject of controversy. For example, a fellow journalist received the following message, “To the coward journalists: never play with fire if you don’t want to be burned. If you still want to make a living on this land, don’t do weird things. We have data on all of you and be prepared for death.”
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities below requesting them to conduct a thorough investigation into the victim’s death. The intimidation against other journalists should also be investigated and pursued.
The AHRC has also written letters to the Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for their intervention.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Dear __________,
INDONESIA: Short title describing the type of violation
Name of victim: Mr. Ardiansyah Matra’is (25 years old)
Date of incident: July 28, 2010
Place of incident: Maro River, Merauke, Papua
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the death of Mr. Ardiansyah Matra’is, a journalist and human rights defender in Papua.
In the late evening of July 28, 2010 Mr. Matra’is was reported missing after his wife had not seen him returning home all day. After the police was informed, a special team searched for him for two days but only found his helmet and motorbike parked near the Waliwali Tujuh Bridge at the Maro River. At 7 am on July 30, 2010, fishermen found his naked corpse floating near the Dermaga Gudang Arang Warehouse, Merauke. The first formal autopsy result did not acknowledge any signs of violence while according to an informal notice from the District Police the lungs were filled with water and two ribs were broken which indicates the use of physical violence. The regional police announced the conduct of a second autopsy at a different location, to which several of Mr. Matra’is organs were sent.
Mr. Matra’is as well as other journalists in Merauke received intimidating messages via SMS (short message service) in recent months. Many see them related to local elections as well as other critical activities of journalist in Papua. The heavy military presence and the ongoing corruption had since been the serious obstacles for the region to sustainably develop and results in ongoing human rights violations and aggravates social tensions. The free and critical work of the media is central to the development in the region.
I request you to conduct a thorough investigation of the killing of Mr. Matra’is, as well as the intimidation against journalists in Merauke and other areas in Papua. I would like to point out that strongest action needs to be taken in accordance with law to ensure the safety of all journalists, the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression in Papua.
I am calling for your intervention into the case to ensure an independent and qualified investigation in the killing of Mr. Matra’is as well as into the intimidating climate for journalists in Merauke.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Drs.Bekto. Suprato. M.Si
Head of Police Area Headquarters Jayapura, Papua province
Jl. Samratulangi No. 8 Jayapura
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 0967 531014
Fax: +62 0967 533763
2. Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 720 7277
3. R. Widyopramono SH,M.Hum
District Attorney Papua
Kejaksaan Tinggi Papua
Jl. Anggrek No.6 Tj. Ria Jayapura
INDONESIA
4. Paulus Waterpauw
Director of the Criminal Unit
Papua Regional Police
Jl. Samratulangi
No. 8 Jayapura
INDONESIA
5. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono
President
Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara
Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA
Fax: + 62 21 231 41 38, 345 2685, 345 7782
6. Mr. Ifdhal Kasim
Chairperson
KOMNAS HAM (National Human Rights Commission)
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4B Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 3151042/3925227
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme (ua@ahrc.asia)
Indonesia Desk (indonesia@ahrc.asia)
Asian Human Rights Commission
AHRC New Weekly Digest – an easy way to receive all your Human Rights news in just one weekly email – subscribe here.
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Asian Human Rights Commission
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West Papua Media Alerts 
