Tag: Kopassus

New Matilda: SBY Ignores West Papua Murders


co-pro from New Matilda and West Papua Media

By Alex Rayfield

sby


Several West Papuan activists have been murdered this month and many have been forced to flee their homes. Witnesses say Indonesian security forces are responsible – but no one is listening in Jakarta, reports Alex Rayfield

West Papua is roiling. In the last two weeks a spate of shootings, killings and military violence has surprised even seasoned Papua watchers. But as West Papua bleeds, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono remains silent.

The latest wave of violence started on 29 May when a 55-year-old German born man, Pieter Dietmar Helmut, was shot and wounded at a popular beach in Jayapura.

Although multiple witnesses identified the car from which a Papuan man allegedly shot Helmut, police are yet to make any arrests.

The same day Anton Arung, a primary school teacher, was fatally shot in the head by an unknown gunman as he was standing by a kiosk in the highland town of Mulia.

Four days later, activists from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), a pro-independence youth organisation, protested the shootings. According to witnesses Indonesian police then opened fire.

Five people were wounded in the attack. 23 year-old Yesaya Mirin from Yahukimo village was shot dead while 29 year-old Panuel Taplo remains in a serious condition with bullet wounds.

When KNPB leader Buchtar Tabuni confronted the police at a second demonstration in the capital he was arrested, further inflaming an already tense situation.

Jailed independence leaders Dominikus Surabut and Selphius Bobii and Ruben Magay, a provincial parliamentarian not known for his pro-independence views, have publicly criticised the police’s handling of KNPB and called for Buchtar Tabuni’s release.

As tensions increased text messages circulated warning people to beware of “Dracula” and other such demonic denizens of the night. In West Papua warnings of Dracula and the like are code for people to stay off the streets because of covert military operations.

Similar SMS messages were sent before prominent independence leader Theys Eluay was assassinated in November 2001.

The following week was a particularly bloody one in Jayapura. On Sunday 3 June, university student Jimi Ajudh Purba was stabbed to death by unidentified attackers. A day later, 16 year-old high school student Gilbert Febrian Ma’dika was shot by unidentified assailants on a motorcycle and survived a gunshot wound to his back.

On Wednesday 6 June a civil servant was reportedly shot dead in front of the mayor’s office and the following day a further three people were reportedly shot, two of whom died. One of those attacked was a police officer, Brigadier Laedi.

On the following day, Friday 8 June, Teyu Tabuni, who was affiliated with KNPB, was shot dead as he was standing at a motorcycle taxi parking area in Jayapura. According to a witness, Yopina Wenda, Tabuni was shot four times in the head by a uniformed policeman who then fled the scene.

The following week on 10 and 11 June two more people were reportedly shot dead, one outside a shopping mall and the second close to Cendrawasih University in Abepura.

In the same week that mysterious killings rocked citizens of Jayapura, the highlands of West Papua also bled. On 6 June soldiers from Battalion 756, not regularly stationed in West Papua but brought in for combat duties, knocked over and killed a three year old child, Desi Wanimbo, while riding their motorcycle in the village of Honai Lama on the outskirts of Wamena.

Relatives of the child then allegedly stabbed one of the soldiers to death and badly beat a second.

New Matilda spoke to local Wamena based activists Simeon Dabi and Wellis Doba by phone who said that soldiers then went on a rampage burning 70 houses, killing 22 pigs (an animal highly valued by highland Papuans) while indiscriminately discharging their firearms.

Dabi and Doba both reported 11 people with serious injuries after soldiers shot, stabbed and beat residents. Hundreds fled into the mountains and jungle. Two more Papuans later died of injuries sustained from the military, 40 year-old Elinus Yoman and 30 year-old Dominggus Binanggelo.

Meanwhile in Yapen, an island off the north coast of West Papua, reports are filtering through of military operations. New Matilda spoke to one activist in Yapen who reported by mobile phone that around 60 people — 10 families from 14 different villagers — have sought refuge in the jungle after police and military launched search and arrest operations following a gathering of leaders held by the West Papua National Authority.

The Indonesian government’s response to recent shootings in Jayapura has been to call for assertive action including house-to-house searches for armed combatants. Lt. Gen. Marciano Norman, the chief of the Indonesian Intelligence Agency, told the Jakarta Post by phone that “We have no choice but to do the sweep, as civilians are not allowed to hold guns. Rules must be upheld.”

Ironically, Norman made these comments days before Police admitted a policeman shot dead KNPB activist Teyu Tabuni on 7 June.

The six main groups that the police, military and intelligence agents consistently target in sweeping operations are leaders from the Federal Republic of West Papua who declared independence on 19 October last year, the pro-independence groups KNPB and WPNA, church leaders and tribal leaders.

All these groups are unarmed — fighting words notwithstanding — giving credence to activists’ claims that the purpose of the sweeps is not to maintain security but to trample dissent.

While police and the military blame Papuan separatists, human rights defenders in Papua point the finger at Indonesian security forces.

In an interview with the Jakarta Globe Ferry Marisan from the Institute for the Study and Advocacy of Human Rights in West Papua (ELSHAM) said that “Papua is a place for law enforcement to get promoted…. Isn’t it strange that after a series of shootings, the police cannot find the perpetrators? They always claim the perpetrators are unidentified gunmen. They analysed the bullet, conducted ballistic tests but the results were never made public.”

Human rights defenders in West Papua argue that the both the police and military have a vested interest in creating and maintaining conflict to justify their continued presence and to maintain lucrative legal and illegal business interests.

But it is not only business interests at stake. The security forces in West Papua also see themselves as bravely defending the Indonesian state from greater unravelling.

In their eyes this justifies covert operations. Last year New Matilda met two Papuans from Sorong who were paid to attend a ceremony in Manokwari where they were inducted into a civilian squad that would ostensibly assist the police with anti-corruption investigations.

The activists recited oaths of allegiance to the Indonesian state and were given uniforms and ID cards — viewed by New Matilda. Those present at the meeting were then told that a handful would be selected for combat training in Jakarta. In the shadow of Indonesian militia violence in East Timor in 1999 reports like these deeply trouble Papuans.

Local activists are not the only ones raising troubling questions about SBY’s handling of the situation in West Papua. Opposition MP Tubagus Hasanuddin, a member of the Parliament’s Defence Committee, told Radio Australia he wants answers.

“How can there be 30 shootings in one and a half years and not a single case solved?” he asked. “Twenty-seven victims have fallen. We must find out why.”

Hasanuddin’s figures may be on the conservative side but he is proof that there are Indonesians who want to see progress on finding a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in West Papua.

Church leaders like Fr Neles Tebay from the Papua Peace Network argue that action from Jakarta to reign in the security forces is essential because provincial legislators have no control over the police and military.

However, SBY is rapidly running out of time. His presidency expires next year and Papuans are increasingly calling for the United Nations to intervene.

It is said that deeply seated conflict polarises the protagonist’s positions. In West Papua those positions are hardening and the numbers of protagonists are increasing. The police and the military are defending a state that has lost all legitimacy in Papuan eyes.

This reality is not helped by the fact that many in the police and military — over 90 per cent of whom are are Indonesian — hold deeply racist views about the people they are meant to protect.

Politically Papuans’ interests are not represented by the provincial parliament. The DPRD, or local provincial parliament, find themselves caught between demands for independence from their Papuan constituents and a rigid refusal to enter into talks from Jakartan party bosses 3000 kilometres away — even talking is seen as too much of a concession to the independence movement.

In the middle are Papuans, seething with indignation over decades of abuse by the security forces and increasingly vocal about their demands for genuine self-determination.

Time may not be the only problem. Many doubt whether Susilo Bambang Yudhuyono is willing to spend any political capital making good on his repeated promises to solve the Papuan problem with “peace” and “dignity”.

On the contrary SBY has publicly stepped in to protect and defend the security forces when they have been accused of gross acts of violence against civilians and refused to countenance the evidence that state violence is a systemic problem in West Papua.

Downplaying the problem in Papua may win him friends in the military but in the Papuans’ eyes it makes him look ineffectual. It tarnishes his international image as a democrat and strengthens the hand of those inside and outside West Papua who call for independence.

This makes the voices of the church and senior tribal leaders calling for dialogue sound measured and reasonable. The only problem is there is no indication that SBY is listening.

With West Papua Media. 

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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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Yapen TPN HQ raided by Kopassus as state repression intensifies across remote island

by West Papua Media

May 31, 2012

NEWS

Intensification of Indonesian security force repression on Papuan non-violent activists and ordinary villagers is allegedly occurring across Yapen Island, in response to escalating demands for freedom from violence, according to credible human rights sources on the island.

A massive raid has also been carried out by Australian-trained Detachment 88 and Kopassus special forces of the Indonesian National Army (TNI) early on May 29 on the jungle headquarters of the Yapen branch of the pro-independence National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM) near the village of Wadapi, Angkaisera district, Yapen.

Yapen Island – in yellow

Local human rights workers have told West Papua Media that many houses had been set on fire after the midnight raids and
weapons were discharged repeatedly by the combined Indonesian military and police force under the command of the Head of
Police (Kapolres) in Serui, Royce Harry Langie S.IK MH, and the District Military Commander (DANDIM), Letkol Inf Tornado.  No confirmed reports of any shooting victims have come to light thus far, however West Papua Media has received credible claims that civilians who fled from the raids into the night may have sustained gunshot injuries from Indonesian troops firing into
houses, though this cannot be confirmed independently.

Reports that local police and military commanders have begun to call in major military reinforcements from across Indonesia are increasing fears of an imminent military assault on local villagers, causing many civilians to flee to forest for safety, human rights sources have told West Papua Media.

Forces from the pro-independence National Liberation Army (TPN-OPM) on Yapen have responded to fears of “all out war” between pro-independence and Indonesian occupation forces and have called for calm, ordering all TPN-OPM taskforces active in the area to not respond with violence to Indonesian brutality, citing concerns for the safety of local villagers, according to local independent local media source Warta Papua.

Local human rights sources have reported to West Papua Media that troops from the Police special forces Brimob and Detachment 88, backed up by Kopassus and Kostrad (Strategic Reserve) troops from Citanjung (Kopassus headquarters in Jakarta) and from Cenderawasih Battalion in Jayapura.

Additionally, Kopassus and Kostrad troops from the notorious Kapuas district, Kalimantan battalion of Kopassus have been deployed with the other units in many villages, in Wadapi, Wanampompi & Sasawalast and several other unnamed villages in the Angkaisera district. “We are very worried, as the addition of troops from Borneo… are known as army troops who are very sadistic in torturing civilians,” a local human rights worker told West Papua Media via SMS.

The joint taskforce troops have claimed to the TNI-owned Cenderawasih Post that they have broken a major TPN guerrilla base, however the only weapons seized were a traditional hunting poison blowpipe, a handful of traditional hunting spears, bows and arrows, two parang knives (used for preparing food), and two banned Papuan Morning Star flags.  These items can be found in almost any rural dwelling in Papua, especially where residents have to supplement their food with animals from the forest.

Several other items were also seized, including cooking and farming equipment, and two 15 year old broken computer printers, which the TNI claimed was proof of a TPN headquarters.

Two men have been arrested and are currently being interrogated by Kopassus and D88 intelligence officers, with the TNI boasting that they are being intensively processed at the Yapen Police HQ in Serui.  Local human rights sources have expressed grave fears for the safety of the detained men, amid credible fears that they will be subjected to harsh interrogation techniques and torture by the Australian trained and funded Kopassus and D88 officers.  At this stage no legal representation has been afforded to the detainees, with one identified as Wanampompi man John Nuntian.  There is also believed to be an unkown number of ordinary villagers who have been detained, and their whereabouts and status is currently unknown.

As the raids were occurring, several hundred TPN/OPM fighters have taken to the forests, and the TNI Dandim, LtKol Tornado, has told Cenderawasih Post that the campaign is intensifying to eradicate all those who are resisting the Indonesian military.  He says that the estimated 230 fighters will be hunted down and the his forces will remain to conduct lightning sweeps on any village that gets named in intelligence investigations.  These sweeps have traditionally subjected all its targeted villages to collective punishment, including mass burnings of houses and collective detention, acts clearly defined as war crimes.

Local sources have been unable to get a precise number of Indonesian combat troops occupying Papuan villages in Yapen, but credibly estimate to be upwards of two battalions of active combat personnel spread across twelve villages (at least 3000 combat personnel from standard battalion strengths – WPM), including specialists from Detachment 88.

Detachment 88 is fully funded by the Australian Federal Police, but the Australian government claims it is not funded to conduct operations against “separatist” or pro-independence forces, despite many documented cases of this occurring repeatedly in Papua. The Australian government has so far refused to make any sanction against the use of these forces in human rights abuses in Papua, instead increasing the budget and equipment it provides to D88.

Telephone communications with sources on the island have been sporadic, raising fears that security forces are restricting the phone network ahead of a major assault, making these reports difficult to verify independently by West Papua Media.  However this activity is consistent with a more aggressive approach taken by Indonesian occupation forces against Papuan independence sentiment.

Indonesian police on Yapen have come under fire for their consistently brutal policies toward Papuan people.  On May 1, thousands took to the streets to call for the expulsion of the Kapolres, Royce Harry Langie, and DANDIM, Letkol Inf Tornado, for atrocious behaviour, human rights violations, and violations of the Code of Conduct with the Indonesian military and police regulations.

westpapuamedia

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German born tourist shot by “unknown persons” whilst on a beach in Jayapura

by West Papua Media with local sources in Jayapura

May 30, 2012

News Article

Pieter Dietmar Helmut being treated after being shot in West Papua on Tuesday May 29, 2012 (supplied – BP)

Questions are being raised again about the willingness of the Indonesian police in Papua to properly investigate suspicious shooting incidents by “Unknown persons”, after a German born Spanish citizen was shot by a sniper and critically injured whilst swimming at a popular tourist beach in Jayapura.

The scientist identified as Pieter Dietmar Helmut (55) was swimming with his wife and some West Papuan friends at Base G beach, when a man brazenly drove up to beach in a silver Avanza car (plate number DS 1852) and shot the man three times in the thigh, abdomen and chest from a distance of ten metres – allegedly with a rifle according to some witnesses, though this could not be independently confirmed.

According to witnesses, who spoke to Indonesian media outlets and West Papua Media, the man was ethnic Papuan, but human rights sources insist that this does not prove that he was a member of any pro-independence forces. Rather, according to a stringer for West Papua Media’s stringer in Jayapura, this proves that this Papuan is able to openly use a vehicle that is easily identifiable and yet receives no punishment for his actions, pointing to the likelihood he is an active member of the security forces.

“The man, who had curly hair and was unshaven abruptly stopped his vehicle near us. He got off the car and shot my husband three times,” Helmut’s wife Eva Mediana Pachon was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

Eva Pachon has spent many hours with the Papuan Human Rights organisation ELSHAM Papua, and has provided detailed testimony to human rights investigators.  Elsham Papua released a statement that provided testimony from Mrs. Pachon:

Elsham reports that around 10.00 a.m., Dr. Pieper and Eva Pachon were enjoying their day at a popular beach in Jayapura named Base G. It started to rain so most of the other people began to leave the beach. After swimming Dr. Pieper and Pachon packed their bags while waiting for the rain to stop. They intended to head straight back to the city. As they were sitting under a small hut, Pachon noticed a vehicle on a road behind the beach. “We saw a vehicle going by slowly, passing us three or four times. It was an SUV, the car was silver coloured,” said Pachon. The vehicle then stopped, a bearded man—an ethnic Papuan wearing a camouflage jacket and hat—came out and started walking toward them.

Pachon noticed that her husband had been shot only after seeing his body was covered in blood. “The man came near to us, about ten metres away, and then he shot Dietmar [Pieper] twice. I was shocked when I saw him fall and moan, saying ‘I am going to die. I am going to die.’ and I saw blood flowing” she said.

According to Elsham, the perpetrator got back into the car after shooting Dr. Pieper, but did not immediately leave the scene. Pachon thought that the perpetrator wanted to shoot her as well, so she initially ran towards a more crowded area to ask for help, Elsham reported.

“Pachon then returned with bystanders who helped take Dr. Pieper to the Jayapura General Hospital where he underwent a medical operation which lasted 47 minutes. Medical sources and Pachon report that Dr. Pieper had two gunshot wounds—in his left thigh and one on the left side of his torso.  The first shot reportedly entered his back on the left side and went through to his chest on the left side.  The second shot reportedly went through his left thigh.  Medical sources also say that the bullet went through the lungs of the victim, making a hole less than half a centimetre wide.  As of close of business on Wednesday May 30th, the victim is in a stable condition in an intensive care unit.  Four armed policemen are guarding his hospital room,” according to the Elsham report.

A local human rights activist told West Papua Media: “He is being treated in Dok 2 Jayapura hospital. We could not get into the hospital as the police and military, as well as BIN, have forbidden us to go (and) see the victim.”

Indonesian police refuse to identify suspect
Despite the clear identification of the suspect, Indonesian Police in Jayapura have refused to name any suspects, instead blaming “unknown persons”, a well-known euphemism in Papua for highly-trained shooters whose identity is well-known but enjoy complete impunity for their crimes.

Initial reaction to the shooting amongst Papuans widely puts the blame for the shooting at the hands of Indonesian security forces, who are seeking to turn international condemnation by Germany, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and France against Indonesian human rights violations in Papua. “It is the same tactic that was seen with the US after they suspended arms sales after the East Timor bloodbath, and put caveats on the resumption of military assistance to be conditional on significant human rights reform. When Papuan guerrillas were blamed for shooting US schoolteachers at Freeport in 2002, the Indonesian military was able to use the appearance of a heavily armed insurgency targeting foreigners to get the US to support its militarist aims against Papuan civilians,”  an Indonesian human rights worker based in Jakarta, who asked to remain anonymous, told West Papua Media today.

Dr Eben Kirksey, a US-based Anthropology Assistant Professor with long involvement with Papua, recently published “Freedom in Entangled Worlds”, a book that details a series of covert operations by Indonesia’s Kopassus Special Forces in West Papua. “Undercover Indonesian military agents have a long history of using ethnic Papuan militias to stage violent attacks in West Papua,” said Dr. Kirksey, . “West Papua is effectively off-limits to journalists and the Indonesian military has a history of impunity. A transparent investigation, with international involvement and oversight, must be launched before the trail of evidence goes cold.”

The Jakarta Globe has reported that Civil society groups across Indonesia are also getting more suspicious about military involvement in the shooting. Poengky Indarti, executive director of activist group Imparsial, told Jakarta Globe on Sunday that 13 countries raised the issue during the UN’s Universal Periodic Review in Geneva last week, with five of them specifically questioning the government’s inability to capture those responsible for shooting civilians in the restive province.

“Germany, Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and France questioned the Indonesian government on its handling of human rights violations, such as torture of civilians, shootings and killings in Papua,” Poengky told the Jakarta Globe.

“It’s a big question why such a large police and military presence there has failed to result in anyone being arrested for the attacks. Furthermore, their presence in the area has also failed to deter more attacks.”

West Papuan resistance groups, both in the civil resistance movement and the armed struggle, have universally condemned the shooting of Helmut, saying it is yet another in the long list of crimes by Indonesia against Papuans and those friendly with Papuan people.

Victor Yeimo, International spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), said in a statement sent to West Papua Media that the shooting is a conspiracy by Indonesia to deflect Germany’s attention from Indonesian human rights abuses in West Papua. “The shooting is closely associated with a harsh rebuke to Indonesia by the UN Human Rights Council within the UN human rights session recently where Indonesian military and police (were criticised for having) carried out violence and human rights abuses in West Papua.”

KNPB had carefully assessed “that the shooting was purely (a) state conspiracy to scapegoat (the) people of Papua for the umpteenth time as the mastermind behind the violent conflict in West Papua,” explained Yeimo.

WestPapuaMedia

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Indonesia conducts more culpable targetting of leading Papuan politicians

 PRESS RELEASE – FEDERATED REPUBLIC OF WEST PAPUA

1 May 2012

The Indonesian Republic’s top-level intelligence of its special forces (KOPASSUS) held a secret meeting in Manokwari on Friday 27 April 2012 to finalize plans for the kidnapping and assasination of key leaders of the Federated Republic of West Papua.

The leak shows those named for elimination as President Forkorus Yaboisembut and Prime Minister Edison Waromi.  Other listed are Aluis Aso and Sius Ayemi; Hendrik Warmetan, Edison Kendi and Daud Abon from Serui;  Markus Yenu and Billy Auparay from Manokwari.

At its inauguration on 19 October 2011, the Federated Republic of West Papua outlined its intention—and policy—of charging politicians as well as military commanders for war crimes.

Today on 1 May 2012, in non-violent rallies across the territory, the Republic is demanding concerted action by the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Nations in down-grading the level of Indonesian militarism and governance in West Papua.

Head of Police in Serui Regency, Roycke Harry Langie S.IK MH, refused permission for the Federated Republic of West Papua to hold its rally, even while citing rights under Indonesian regulation No. 9/1998 concerning free speech in public spaces.

“The Police Commander’s order not only violates Regulation No. 9, but also Article 28 of the Indonesian Constitution 1945” said Jacob Rumbiak.

“The Indonesian government is jammed between the political sophistication of the Papuan Republic and the Australian, American, and British governments fiscal support for its Special Autonomy projects” he added.

Interviews available (English, Indonesian) – Please contact West Papua Media

(West Papua Media has spoken with Markus Yenu, one of those targeted, and he has confirmed that he has personally seen the intelligence documents, and is fearful for his safety.)

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