Tag: Orang Terlatih Khusus (OTK)

Soldier arrested as seven Papuan fisherman shot by the TNI

Bintang Papua,
28 December 2012
Seven Papuan fisherman were shot by members of the TNI (Indonesian army) near Pulau Papan district, Misol Perairan Raja Apat, West Papua. It is not clear why they were shot, but one TNI soldier is now being questioned by POM, the military police in Puncak Rafidin.The commander of 1704/Sorong, Lieut-Col. Rachman Zulkarnain refused to make any comment about the incident but he did not deny that a TNI solider was being interrogated by the military police. They were still trying to find out more about those responsible for the shooting. ‘I want the process to continue , until we can decide who should be charged for the incident,’ said Zulkarnain.

A spokesman for  the Cenderawasih XVII military command  also said that a member of the army is being interrogated intensively by POM.  The matter must be handled through legal channels, he said. He said that the commander would ensure that the person responsible would be firmly dealt with.

The spokesman also said that  the person who did the shooting was thought to be a member of Babinsa Koramil (low level military command personnel ) and one of those responsible has been identified as Praka BJ.

Head of public relations of the military command, I Gede Sumerta Jaja told the press that the case was still being investigated, while attention was at present concentrated on finding one of the victims.

One of the victims is at present being treated at Sorong Hospital  but he is not yet fit enough to be asked to make a statement. ‘We must respect his rights and not try to force him to make a statement,’ he said.

The bodies of four of the victims were discovered in a state of decomposition on Wednesday, La Nuni, 55, La Jaka, 30, La Edi, 20 and La Diri, 20. A fifth victim , La Ful, 13 is still being sought by a TNI/Police unit. The bodies were under water for almost a week but officials were able to identify them when they were  found.

Two other fisherman have also been found alive and are now being treated in hospital.

A representative of the military police met the families of the victims  and members of South Sulawesi  Families Association to continue with the process of identifying all the victims to finalise the process of identification and then moving them away from the area. The Association has called on the military command to make a statement, following information that indicated that the military and police were responsible for the shooting but the military have as yet failed to clarify the case. A spokesman of the Association said that they were still trying find other victims of the shooting.

Translated by TAPOL

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Four killed in OTK shooting in Raja Ampat

English: Map (rough) of Raja Ampat islands, In...
English: Map of Raja Ampat islands, Papua (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Tabloid Jubi

 

December 23, 2012

 

 Jayapura (23/12) – “Unknown Persons” (OTK) returned to action in the Land of Papua. This time the victims were seven fishermen in the district of Raja Ampat, West Papua. Four people were reportedly killed and three others injured by shooting from unknown assailants.
The Papua Police Head of Public Relations, Chief Sumerta I Gede Jaya, said the incident occurred on Thursday (20/12) at around 18:00 local time. However, Police only received a report on Sunday (23/12) because the shooting incident took place in a remote area, approximately 4 to 5 hour drive from Raja Ampat.
“I received a report from the Chief of Police Raja Ampat where, on Thursday (20/12) and then around 18:00 CEST, there has been a shooting incident on Papan Island, Waigama, Northern District of Misool in the Raja Ampat, on the north west tip of West Papua.   The victim is believed to be an artisan explosive fishermen. In addition to distance, the scene is also very remote, “said I Gede Sumerta Jaya, on Sunday (23/12).
According to Jaya, four people are reportedly killed and three others suffered gunshot wounds due to the shooting.  “The four people dead are La Tula (13), La Nuni (55), La Jake (30) and La Edi (20). While the three victims of gunshot wounds is La Amu (20), La Udin (30) and La Self (20),”  the police chief explained.
He added that until now the police are still investigating the shooter. “The  shooting perpetrator is still under investigation. Currently, police and military are working together to uncover the culprit, “said I Gede Sumerta Jaya.
He Amu, one of the victims, said while they were looking for fish around the Papan island, another boat suddenly opened fire on them with a rifle.    A barrage of bullets targeted their boats, on one of them was a small child. He Amu could not identify who issued the shot, but she said she saw four people in the boat who issued these shots.
At time of writing, the two fishermen who survived were undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit at Sorong Hospital.  Both has sustained gunshot wounds in the hands and feet, and their condition remained unstable, weak, and scared. (Jubi / Arjuna)

 

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Ruben Magay : KNPB is not a terrorist group

Tabloid Jubi

December 20, 2012

Jayapura (20/12) – Ruben Magay, Chairman of Committee A of the Papuan Legislative Council (DPRP), strongly insisted that it is not correct for certain parties to link the activities of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) to terrorism.

“For quite some time now, some parties have referred to the KNPB as a terrorist organization but I wish to reiterate that KNPB is not a terrorist group.  On the contrary they are an organization which promotes democracy in Papua and that is part of the controlling function and the ability to evaluate the performance of the government in the region,” said Ruben Magay on Thursday (20/12).

According to him, if so far, for some reason, weapons, ammunition and explosives have been found in Papua, the task of the intelligence is to uncover and find out the origin and the source of this material.

“We question the efforts put into this matter by the intelligence. Where did they obtain those guns? It is really the task of the police and the intelligence to answer that question.  At the governmental and institutional levels we need to make sure that we clearly define the status of terrorist groups and prove with strong evidence how such groups plan and carry out their actions,” he said.

According to Chairman Ruben, enforcing anti-terrorism laws in Papua, as envisaged by the Indonesian National Police (Polri), is also unnecessary.

“I believe such measures should not be deemed as necessary. If it is said that there are terrorists in Papua, I think we should turn our attention to the level of performance of the security apparatus.  It would be wrong to address one issue with another issue.  There are terrorists that are known to be implicated in explosions. The question is now: to what extent is the police able to ascertain them and subsequently how many further threats can be identified. This is what is important,” he said.

He went on to say that it is not the people who talk about democracy that should be called terrorists; certainly not the people who were shot and whose actions were then put in such a scenario that later on it was stated that they were the terrorists. “No, that should absolutely not be the case.  For example, weapons and ammunition are being discovered in all kinds of places lately.  My question is: where did these guns come from?  It’s not as if we are talking about gold that can be panned by the local communities from underground.  So it would not be appropriate to apply these so-called anti-terrorism laws to Papua.  Let’s tackle this problem together in a responsible way and straighten out the issue of clarifying who the real owners are of these arms, ammunitions and explosives that were found in Papua.  It is obvious that the material was brought in from outside, so a first step would be to take measures to heighten the safety and tighten security checks at ports and airports.  That’s what is important,” said Ruben Magay. (Jubi/Arjuna/LT)

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Goliat Tabuni denies responsibility for recent Lany Jaya police killings

Bintang Papua
29 November 2012
Jayapura: Goliat Tabuni, the commander of the OPM battalion whose headquarters is in Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya, has denied responsibility for attacking a police station in Lany Jaya on 27 November, saying that his group does not operate in Lany Jaya.
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He said that his men are currently holding a summit conference (KTT) and earlier called on the security forces  not to attack them. ‘Our meeting has been taking place from 26 – 30 November.

Responding to a question about whether former members of his group might have been the perpetrators,  he denied any involvement by his men.. ‘They are not our former members and are not under my commend,’ he said.

He alleged that the perpetrators were from another group which operates in Lany Jaya. [We have omitted the names he mentioned.]

The attack against the police station in Pirime Lany killed three policemen, Inspector Rolfi Takubesi and two other police officers . Two people who were  involved in the attack were also killed.

There are thought to have been around fifty  people in the attack group who also succeeded in seizing three weapons from the police. The police, working together with the TNI – Indonesian military – are currently hunting down the killers.

The chief of the general staff of TPN/OPM, Teryanus Sattoalso said that they knew nothing about the attack on the police station in Pirime. ‘It may have been done by a group that is against us because we are currently very busy preparing for the inauguration of our top commander, deputy commander and members of the general staff who were appointed at our supreme meeting (KTT) last May,’ he said.

‘They are not under my command and we have quite a different agenda which is what we are focusing on now so we know nothing about the attack on the police. ‘After the inauguration  of our new command structure, we will be focusing on internal changes and consolidation.’

‘This is the follow-up of our decisions taken on 30 November after which our high command structure will be appointed. The new commanders will be sworn on in 30 November.

He went on to say that this means that the TPN/OPM today is not the same as the former TPN/OPM. ‘We have undertaken internal reforms  through our top-level meeting (KTT), bringing our organisation into conformity with military standards worldwide.’.

He finally called on media colleagues to be more conscientious in the way they write their media reports and check their information more carefully. ‘Some interviews were said to be of Goliat Tabuni,  but it turns out that it was Anton Tabuni who was speaking. This is something that we have frequently experienced, he said. On this day, Gen Goliat Tabuni was only interviewed by  the Australian media, as well as few local media contacts such as Bintang Papua, Kompas, Media Indonesia and Tempo.

[Abridged translation by TAPOL]

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KNPB leader reportedly resurfaces after disappearing upon release from police detention

Tabloid JUBI, with additional breaking news from Victor Mambor

3 December 2012

On 2 December. members of the National Committee of West Papua (KNPB) were still seeking information regarding the whereabouts of their chairman, Victor Yeimo who was released by the police after being interrogated in connection with the demonstration organised by the KNPB on 1 December.Yeimo was arrested on 1 December but then released on Saturday afternoon, but since then he has not been in contact  with other KNPB activists.

‘Today, after he was taken into custody  by the police in Abepura he was released because we were unable to continue with the questioning,’ a police spokesman told JUBI, when inquiries were made about the status of Yeimo and two others who had been arrested with him.

Although they have been released, the spokesman of KNPB, Wim Medlama  said that they have been looking for them but have not been able to find them.

‘Since yesterday,’ he said, ‘we have been trying to find out where they are but we have been unable to find them. We have searched every place we can think of  without finding them.We are now very confused about what has happened to them.’

He said that they have decided to go to the police in the morning to inquire about this. He also said that they would go to the police in the morning together with the WPNA, AMP and AMPTI.

According to information received obtained by JUBI from other sources,  Yeimo had separated from the  other activists in front of the Post Office in Abepura. Since then, they have not been able to find out anything about his whereabouts. When JUBI tried to contact Yeimo on his mobile, the phone was not active.

However, early Monday morning, Jubi journalist and editor Victor Mambor reported that he had confirmed that Victor Yeimo was already gathered with colleagues.  “Last night, I got an SMS from Mr. Waterpauw (Wakapolda) who says Victor Yeimo was been contacted by Alfred Papare (Kapolresta) on Sunday afternoon (02/11). Victor Yeimo is fine and he switched off his mobile phone for personal reasons. This morning, I got (an) sms from KNPB members who said Victor Yeimo already (was) gathered with them,” Mambor wrote in an email alert.
West Papua Media has attempted to independently contact Papuan police, but no reply has been forthcoming if Yeimo is under charge at the moment, nor to questions of Mr Yeimo’s treatment whilst in the hands of the police.  It is not known if Yeimo has been able to contact human rights lawyers.

Written and verbal questions to Jayapura police to determine Detachment 88 counter-terror unit involvement in his interrogation have also gone unanswered, as have questions as to why Yeimo was released while he is on a Wanted (Daftar Pencarian Orang or DPO) list, allegedly for subversion, and unfounded charges of his alleged involvement in “unknown persons” (Orang Terlatih Khusus) shootings – widely believed by Papuans to be the work of Indonesian special forces.  West Papua Media has documented several cases since the assassination of Mako Tabuni by Detachment 88 troops in June, of scores of highland Papuans who have been brutally mistreated by security forces in the hunt for Yeimo, who has been in hiding for most of this time.

 

[Additional reporting from West Papua Media, Translated by TAPOL]

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