Tag: Impunity

District chief criticises brutal actions by soldiers

JUBI, 6 June 2012

The bupati  (head) of the district of Jayawijaya, Jhon Wempi Wetipo, has expressed his deepest regret  at brutal actions taken by members of the 736 Wamena battalion  who went on the rampage, damaging a number of government facilities, following the death of a soldier who had been set upon by local people.

He said that the correct way to respond to the attack of one of their colleagues  was to hand the case over to the police for the matter to be handled in accordance with the law.

‘I very much regret what happened in Honai Lama, seeing it spread to the city. Facilities that have been built by the government should be guarded by forces of the state, not destroyed,’ he said.

‘What is the purpose of such actions? It means just destroying things that have been built with money from the people’.

He said that the various government authorities  in the district  will hold a meeting to discuss what needs to be done in this matter. The facilities that were destroyed included some offices and a shopping mall that had only just been built.

He said that the attacks on members of the security forces  had occurred after local people were infuriated because two men on a motorbike knocked down  a young child.

One of the soldiers who was attacked has since died  after a stab pierced his heart. The other soldier is in a critical condition afer been stabbed in the chest.

Following the atack on the soldiers,  dozens of their colleagues went on the rampage in the town of Wamena and the situation became uncontrollable. ‘Even the police were unable to do anything.’

[Translated by TAPOL]

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AHRC: Prison guards tortured 42 prisoners and detainees at Abepura correctional facility in Papua

June 8, 2012

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture of 42 prisoners and detainees by prison guards at Abepura Correctional Facility on 30 April 2012 following an argument between one of the detainees, Selfius Bobii, and the Head of the Abepura Correctional Facility (Abepura Kalapas). The prisoners were beaten, kicked, hit with wood blocks as well as iron sticks and some of them were trampled by the prison guards. Their personal items were taken away and burned. The torture and property destruction took place under the order of the Abepura Kalapas.

CASE NARRATIVE:
According to several local NGOs such as The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violance in Papua (KontraS Papua), Sekretariat Keadilan, Perdamaian dan Keutuhan Ciptaan (SKPKC) Fransiskan Papua, Papua Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Papua) and Elsham Papua, around 12pm on 30 April 2012, the prison guards at Class II.A of the Abepura Correctional Facility were going to put back and lock the detainees and prisoners in their cell. Amongst them was Selfius Bobii who was detained and received punishment for his involvement in the Third Papuan Congress in October 2011. Selfius had asked the Head of the Correctional Facility’s Security Unit (KPLP), Juwaini, for a permit to hold a creative activity with other prisoners but his request was dismissed by the KPLP. This led to an argument between him and the Abepura Kalapas, Liberti Sitinjak, who heard the conversation of Selfius and one of his staffs.

The argument between Selfius and the Kalapas ended with an order from the Kalapas to the prison guards to put Selfius into isolation. Selfius avoided the prison guards and insisted that he should not be isolated as he has not done anything wrong.

Other prisoners who were at their cell witnessed this and they also yelled at the prison guards asking them to put Selfius back to his cell instead of to the isolation. Their requests were ignored and the prison guards put Selfius in an isolated area. The prison guards later went back to the cells where the prisoners were yelling. The guards were offended with what the prisoners said so they took them out of their cell and beat, kicked and hit them with fists, wood blocks and iron sticks. The prisoners were also whipped with thick ropes supposed to use for controlling cows. They were also dragged to the yard in front of the block and were asked to walk whilst they were crouching for about 200 metres. As they were doing this, the guards kept beating and kicking them. The guards stepped on some of the prisoners and detainees’ fingers and toes. The guards also kept saying to the prisoners ‘you are all stupid, that is why you ended up here’. The torture and ill-treatment took place for about two and a half hours, approximately from 12.30-3.15pm. There were 41 prisoners in total who were treated this way by twenty prison guards. Two prisoners Hendrik Kenelak and Otto Ikinia fainted and one, Parmen Wenda, had his arm broken.

Before the prison guards put the prisoners back to their cell, the Kalapas asked them to search the cells and took away their personal belongings  and later burned them. Selfius was brought to the Papua Regional Police Station and was questioned. He did not receive any ill-treatment whilst he was there and was later sent back to Abepura Correctional Facility on 3 May 2012.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Principle 6 of the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention and Imprisonment explicitly prohibits the use of torture and ill-treatment against persons whose liberty are deprived. The principle also emphasises that no reason can be used to justify any state officials to conduct torture and ill-treat prisoners. These principles are in accordance with the provisions under the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UN CAT) to which Indonesia is a state party since 1998. Yet although Indonesia has ratified the UN CAT, torture itself has yet to be criminalised in Indonesia in order to end the ongoing practice. For this reason, at the first and second Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council’s session on Indonesia, several countries urged the Indonesian government to criminalise torture and to reform its Penal Code in accordance with its international human rights obligations.

The absence of articles making torture a punishable crime in Indonesia contributes to the low investigation rate seen in torture cases in Indonesian criminal procedure. Torture is often deemed merely as a violation to disciplines for which, in the majority of cases, the perpetrators received inadequate or no punishment. Military officers who tortured several Papuans in 2010 as shown in a video distributed on the internet, for instance, were sent only to 8 to 10 month imprisonment for disobedience but have not been held accountable for the torture they committed.

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BREAKING NEWS: INDONESIAN ARMY ON BRUTAL RAMPAGE ACROSS WAMENA AFTER SOLDIERS KILLED FOR KILLING BOY IN CAR ACCIDENT

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 2012,   (2230 WEST PAPUA TIME)

BY WEST PAPUA MEDIA WITH LOCAL SOURCES.

CURRENT DEVELOPING SITUATION: CREDIBLE AND CONFIRMED REPORTS ARE EMERGING FROM WAMENA DETAILING RAMPAGE BY INDONESIAN TROOPS FROM KOSTRAD BATTALION 756; 

Summary:

  • Two members of Indonesian army battalion 756 kill small Papuan boy in car accident;
  • Local residents attack soldiers for killing child, kill two soldiers;
  • TNI and Police are now setting fire to houses, shops and kiosks;
  • Reports of indiscriminate firing and major casualties; 
  • Major exodus as thousands of residents flee Wamena;
  • Local human rights workers fear repeat of Bloody Wamena 2000;
  • Australian supported Detachment 88 unit allegedly involved in rampage.


A bloody and brutal rampage by Indonesian security forces is currently underway in Wamena, in the Baliem Valley of West Papua, after two soldiers were killed for running down a small boy in Wamena on Wednesday afternoon.

At time of writing, up to 500 houses have allegedly been set alight by soldiers from Battalion 756 Mim Anesili Wamena, and kiosks and shops have been hit with flamethrowers in the suburbs of Honailama and Sinakma. Live ammunition is being fired indiscriminately according to local human rights sources, who claim that “scores” of people have been brutally beaten and shot by rampaging soldiers. Exact casualty figures have not been able to be confirmed, however unconfirmed claims are circulating that 13 people have been shot dead so far.

Unverified photo claimed to be of Indonesian Brimob police and Australian-supported Detachment 88 counter-terror patrol outside Honailama after the first shootings by rampaging TNI battalion 756 soldiers. June 6, 2012. (West Papua Media local source)

The situation unfolded on Wednesday afternoon in the outlying village of Honailama when two members of Kostrad (Strategic Reserve) battalion 756, identified as Pratu Ahmad Saifudin and Pratu Ahmad Saelan, were driving a car at speed through Honailama, and hit a young boy (as yet unidentified) who was playing at the roadside. The soldiers were alleged to have been careless, and enraged villagers – including clan members of the boy – dragged the soldiers from the car and beat them to death.

Upon hearing of the beatings, the entire army battalion (1500 combat troops) was mobilised onto the streets of Wamena, and according to witnesses, have opened fire indiscriminately at any Papuan person. The battalion is also being supported in a search and cordon operation by the entire Wamena Brimob police commando battalion, and also officers from the Australian-trained and funded Detachment 88 counter-terrorist group. All elements of the Indonesian security forces present in Wamena are participating in the rampage operation, amid unconfirmed reports of hundreds of arrests.
Local sources are reporting that the carnage is so intense that smoke is filling the entire Baliem Valley and covering the town.

A witness has spoken to the West Papua Media team and confirmed the situation in Wamena. “It happened in front of my house in the compound I live. Soldiers have shot and hit people. The army beat innocent people who know nothing and did not understand why. This is really a violation of human rights. My house was stoned and the glass window was shattered into pieces,” the witness, who asked not to be named, told West Papua Media via SMS.

Human Rights sources in Wamena are saying that local people are terrified that the Indonesian army actions look like they will eclipse the “Bloody Wamena” incident of 6 October 2000. That incident saw hundreds of people wounded and at least 38 people shot dead or dying from injuries inflicted by Indonesian torture in the aftermath of a flag-raising incident.
According to Sebby Sambon, a Wamena-native human rights worker said, “Some friends called me a few hours ago top say that the TNI and POLRI are shooting local peoples in every place in the town of Wamena. Some Papuans civilians (have been) killed by TNI and POLRI two hours ago (about 7pm Wamena time – WPM). We hope UN and all UN member states keep their attention on the situation. “
Sambon also said that TNI and POLRI forces are also burning local houses both in and outside the town of Wamena.
This is a developing situation – please stay tuned to West Papua Media newswire.

Media note: Photos and video of this ongoing situation are currently being sourced, and West Papua Media will upload links for general distribution, on condition of credit to West Papua Media, when it becomes available. Donations to cover costs would be appreciated if broadcast.

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BREAKING NEWS: Indon police/military assault on Yapen village targeting non-violent activists

From West Papua Media sources in Serui:
June 6, 2012
Credible but unconfirmed reports have been received by West Papua Media reporting that a major operation is currently being carried out by a combined force of of Australian trained and armed police and military special forces.
One extra company of Brimob police commandos from Manokwari  have been flown in to take part in the raids on the civilian village of Anotaurei on Yapen Island, near the regional centre of Serui.
Witnesses have alleged that a joint-force of Indonesian Army (TNI), Brimob commandos and the elite counter-terrorism force Detachment 88 ( trained and funded by the Australian Federal Police) are intensifying their ongoing “Sweeping” against peaceful political activists and ordinary villagers.
The raid began at 11pm West Papua time in Anotaurei, and witnesses have claimed that 2 trucks, 3 police Avanza SUVs and a Kijang full of armed troops are patrolling and forcing entry in a house-to-house search and cordon operation.
Messages received by West Papua Media have alleged the troops are acting with great violence, and damaging property as they inspect homes, and seizing banned Morning Star banners and flags, sharp tools, kitchen equipment, and “documents” about the Free West Papua movement.  These documents include flyers for rallies and pamphlets.  Anyone found in possession of these are in danger of arrest, with Activists and human rights advocates expressing grave fears for their safety.
At time of writing the sweep operation is ongoing and likely to target outlying villages.  This is a developing story – please stay tuned for more information.
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MRP calls on police to thoroughly investigate recent shootings

Bintang Papua, 3 June 2012The chairman of the MRP  (Majelis Rakyat Papua), Timotius Murib, has urged the police in Papua to investigate who it was who shot a German citizen. In many of such cases, he said, the explanation given is that something like this is the work of an unidentified person (OTK). The police have been unable to reveal the identity of people responsible for shootings in Timika, in Puncak Jaya and even in the city of Jayapura.

Murib said that it was very regrettable that such cases in three different places in Papua have not be solved. The police are the ones who are in the best position to investigate these shooting incidents, but the fact is that despite the police being in possession of all the necessary equipment, those responsible have not been found.

It is not enough to get witnesses  who say that the person responsible for these incident had fuzzy hair. ‘Getting statements like this from witnesses is far from adequate for the police to solve these cases.’

He said that it was essential for the police to investigate this latest shooting as quickly as possible, especially because the newly-elected governor of the province is soon to be installed and this should not happen while Papuan people are burdened by a sense of fear and uncertainty.

A similar view was expressed by Yusman Conoras of the ALDP, the Alliance for Democracy in Papua. ‘The police are the ones who know better than anyone what needs to be done  to investigate this case.

One of the main duties of the police is to ensure that people feel safe, but at present, people in Jayapura feel very fearful when shooting incidents like this occur and even try to find their own solution.’This could be by deciding not to leave their homes for fear of something happening.or not going out in the evening.’

It is for the police to investigate this shooting incident and to do everything to ensure the people feel safe.

[Translated by TAPOL]

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