Tag: Tingginambut

Bintang Papua: Komnas HAM confirms torture video and denies any manipulation



Bintang Papua, 2010 21 October 2010

Komnas HAM confirms torture video – nothing to do with manipulation

Jayapura:  Although the military commander of the Cenderawasih military command will be conducting an investigation into the use of violence against Papuans by members of the TNI – Indonesian armed forces – as seen on a video that is widely circulating on the internet, the National Human Rights Commission Papuan branch has confirmed that members of the TNI did indeed torture a citizen. The reports have nothing to do with manipulation.

Mathius Murib SH, deputy chairman of Komnas HAM Papua , who is himself from Puncak Jaya, told journalists on  Thursday that the events shown on the video occurred on 17 March, 2010 at 3pm in Kelome, district of Tingginambut, and the victim was Rev. Kindeman Gira who was shot dead by a member of the TNI.

‘The victim was a God-fearing man and a member of the congregation of the GIDI Church in Turagi, Tingginambut. Although other sources have said that the incident occurred in April 2010, Komnas HAM sticks by its findings based on an investigation at the location of the crime.

One of the victims of the violence which lasted for six minutes and which was  photographed was able to escape with his life, but his physical condition was very bad and he is badly traumatised, making it impossible for him to give an account of what happened.

Military operations should stop
Komnas HAM has meanwhile called on the military commander of Cenderawaih military command and the chief of police in Papua to halt all operations in the area and not to increase the number of troops there which can only lead to yet more trauma and more victims among the civilian population in Puncak Jaya.

The circulation of the video showing the violence has led to strong condemnation from a variety of sources. Murib said that acts of violence have been occurring in Puncak Jaya  for a long time, ever since 2004 and up until 2010, but such an approach has not resulting in ending the conflict  and has only made things worse.

The security forces and those in charge of law enforcement were urged to behave in a more professional way and act in accordance with Human Rights Principles and Standards in everything that they do in Puncak Jaya and everywhere else in Papua.

Those civilian groups who bear arms in any parts of Papua  should immediately halt their actions and engage in consolidation to restore the situation in Puncak Jaya to normal.

Murib said that from 17 August 2004 until 2010, 50 deaths of civilians and members of the security forces have been reported.

Komnas HAM has also asked the governor of the province to make it possible for the church to enter into negotiations with their followers in the region to behave in a spirit of love and friendship and eschew all methods of violence.

The chairman of Front Pepera, Selpius Bobii said that a number of bloody incidents had occurred right across Papua and West  Papua, giving clear evidence that the Indonesian state is committing acts of violence as is revealed in the two videos lasting one minute and ten minutes. He said that the army and the police should stop denying the use of violence against the civilian population in the central highlands. ‘There is authentic evidence and it cannot be denied by the security forces, saying that the situation is under control. The commander should also admit that this is being perpetrated by his subordinates and should not try to deny things.’

He said the military commander and chief of police must take responsibility* *for all the human rights violations occurring in Papua and West  Papua and stop telling lies about the s ituation in Papua being normal. He also called upon the Indonesian people  to open themselves to talks  with the Papuan people to find a solution to all the problems occurring i the Land of  Papua.

The number of victims since 2004:

2004: seven people died and four were seriously wounded.
2005 five  people were seriously wounded.
2006 two people died.
2007 one person died.
2009 five people died and eight were wounded.
2010 four people were taken hostage, five people were wounded and four people died.
In 2004, five hartop vehicles were destroyed by fire and one police patrol vehicle was shot at.
In 2007. a rifle was seized.
In 2009 six weapons were seized, as well as 29 bullets, two ammunition magazines taken, one S-Trada Troton was shot at, two TNI command posts were destroyed as well as a steel bridge, while two primary school buildings and one lower secondary school – SMP – were burned down.

In 2010, a sircraft was shot at and there was an attack on a TNI command post.

Source: Komnas HA Papua report.

Translated in full by TAPOL

PAPUA TORTURE VIDEO: WHETHER MANIPULATED OR NOT, IT MUST BE INVESTIGATED

From Bintang Papua, 20 October 2010

Abridged in translation by TAPOL

WHETHER MANIPULATED OR NOT, IT MUST BE INVESTIGATED

Jayapura: The video showing members of the Indonesian army (TNI) using violence against Papuans is still being hotly discussed here.

Many  people doubt whether the incident occurred while quite  a few people are convinced that it did. The military commander of the Cenderawaih military command, Major-General Hotma Marbun, has promised to  investigate the video, a decision that has been welcomed by DPRP member Deer Tabuni who formerly fought alongside the TPN-OMP in Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya. He urged the military commander to keep his promise and investigate the video. .He said: ‘If what is shown on the video is indeed true, then the security forces and all groups in society should get involved in cross-checking at the grassroots, to confirm the authenticity of the video. If it is indeed true, then whoever produced the video must be summoned as a witness and take responsibility for circulating the video. If it proves not to be true, then the person was trying to create a situation that is not conducive must be called to account. so as to prevent the local people from being victimised, chased and tortured..’

He also said that whether this is true or has been manipulated, it would appear that human rights were violated. He also said that members of the TPN/OPM in Tingginambut and friends of Goliath Tabuni have called on the provincial government, the I

TAPOL calls for Papua torture enquiry

Open letter to the UK Foreign Secretary:

19 October 2010

The Right Hon. William Hague, MP
Foreign Secretary,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
King Charles Street,
London SW1A 1AA

Dear Mr. Hague,

We have just learnt of an incident involving two Papuan men who were
reportedly subjected to very serious acts of torture while being
interrogated in the region of Puncak Jaya in West Papua by two or
more men who appear to be members of the Indonesian security forces.

The incident, which appears to have occurred earlier this year, was
recorded on a mobile phone by an individual who was on the spot and
circulated widely on YouTube four days ago.  The video has since been
removed by YouTube, according to yesterday's issue of The Jakarta
Post, 'because of its shocking and disgusting content'.

Monday's edition of The Sydney Morning Herald, which reported the
incident at length after having obtained a copy, describes one of the
men under interrogation as having been stripped naked and bound, with
one of the interrogators placing his foot on the man's chest, while a
colleague administers the torture with a stick that has been
burnt  and is smoldering, causing the man to scream in agony.

This incident is clearly a grave violation of  the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
which Indonesia signed in 1985 and subsequently ratified in 1988.

In view of the extreme seriousness of this incident and the light it
sheds on alleged actions by members of the Indonesian security
forces, TAPOL urges the British Government to make immediate
representations to the Indonesian Government for an investigation to
be conducted by independent experts in order to verify the accuracy
of this report.

We in TAPOL are well aware that the British embassy in Jakarta
regularly follows the situation in West Papua which means that our
Government is well placed to seek the cooperation of the Indonesian
authorities in matters of this nature.

We believe that action by our Government is bound to be taken
seriously by the Indonesian Government and will impress upon them the
need to conduct an immediate investigation. If the incident is
confirmed, the men responsible for these acts of torture should be
called to account and should be severely punished.

Finally we urge the UK Government to suspend all forms of military
cooperation with the Indonesian security forces until there is full
accountability for this incident.  We would be grateful if you could
let us know the current extent of such cooperation and the action you
propose to take.

Yours sincerely

Carmel Budiardjo

WPAT: Torture video reveals "Indonesia's Abu Ghraib" on eve of Obama visit

WPAT: Torture video reveals “Indonesia’s Abu Ghraib” on eve of Obama visit

Contact: Ed McWilliams (WPAT) +1-575-648-2078

October 19, 2010 –  A new video shows the torture of helpless men in the Indonesian-ruled territory of West Papua. Monitoring groups are already describing the footage as “Indonesia’s Abu Ghraib.”The video reveals indisputably Indonesian security force brutality, and raises serious questions about the Obama administration’s decision to embrace cooperation with Indonesian security forces engaged in active and ongoing torture.

The video, available at http://material.ahrchk.net/video/AHRC-VID-012-2010-Indonesia.html, is the second in recent months to offer graphic footage of Indonesian  to offer graphic footage of Indonesian security force torture of Papuans. In it, a Papuan man is held to the ground while a hot stick, still smoldering from a fire, is held against his genitals. A plastic bag is wrapped around his head several times, a rifle held against him. Another man has a large knife held against him while he pleads: “I’m just an ordinary civilian, please…” One of his interrogators responds: “I’ll cut your throat… Do not lie, I will kill you! Burn the penis!” The video appears to have been taken on the cell phone of one interrogator. Although the interrogators are dressed in plain clothes, they speak in Javanese and in Indonesian with non-Papuan accents. Plain clothes dress is common for Indonesian security forces in West Papua. The techniques used mean they are almost certainly trained security personnel in the Indonesian army or police. The dialect of the victims places them in the Puncak Jaya region, where security forces are accused of repeated rights abuses.

The extreme brutality revealed in this footage is not new. What is new is that there is now additional video evidence of the brutality suffered by Papuans for nearly five decades. The international community can now clearly witness the indisputably harsh reality of life for Papuans. While Indonesia continues on the path of democratization and peaceful resolution of disputes, one region is sent on the opposite path: towards ongoing military domination, widespread suppression of political activity, and routine use of torture and other severe violations of basic human rights. In West Papua, the brutal and unaccountable Indonesian military and its accomplices, the militarized police ( Brimob), special forces ( Kopassus) and “anti-terror” force (Detachment 88) continue to operate with impunity under the old dictatorship’s rules: peaceful dissent is criminalized; civil society leaders are humiliated and intimidated and the international community is precluded from any effective monitoring of conditions in this besieged community.

Thanks to the courage of Papuan human rights advocates in the face of harsh security measures designed to silence them, the world periodically has been witness to the harsh rule of West Papua. In the past, the faith in international justice and humanity demonstrated by these courageous Papuans has been betrayed by the international community’s deference to the Indonesian government’s insistence that neither its course nor rule there not be challenged. Numerous governments have placed the territorial integrity of Indonesia and the desire to support its democratization process first. In the process, however, they have abandoned what could have been constructive efforts to uphold human rights in West Papua, which continue to be systematically violated.

Geopolitical and commercial goals led the U.S. government to ignore Suharto dictatorship atrocities targeting its own people and the people of East Timor for decades. President Bill Clinton acknowledged this when East Timor gained its independence in 2002, saying: “I don’t believe America or any of the other countries were sufficiently sensitive in the beginning and for a long time, a long time before 1999, going all the way back to the ’70s, to the suffering of the people of East Timor.” It was the suffering of the people of East Timor that led to Congress deciding to suspend military cooperation with Indonesia.

The system of security force rule and repression of peaceful dissent has been dismantled in much of Indonesia, but the same security system and the same systematic human rights violations continue in West Papua today. Such stopgap solutions as “special autonomy” have been clearly rejected by the Papuan people. Despite the continued human rights violations, the Obama administration has continued the Bush administration’s policy of support to the Indonesian security forces. It has continued support to the Indonesian military through the IMET program, and support through the Anti-Terror Assistance Program to the notorious Detachment 88 of the Indonesian National Police, credibly accused of torture and other rights violations. It has resumed cooperation with the Indonesian special forces (Kopassus) notwithstanding that unit’s  decades-old record of human rights abuse including recent, credible accounts of brutality targeting Papuan civilians.  In so doing the Obama Administration, like its predecessors, has wittingly or unwittingly made itself complicit in the repression now underway in West Papua.

The United States, under President John F. Kennedy, was responsible for the transfer of West Papua to Indonesian rule. In that act, the United States made itself co-responsible for the outcome of its actions. Successive administrations have not been sufficiently sensitive to the ongoing human rights violations, including torture to this day, which resulted from Indonesian rule.

President Obama’s upcoming visit to Indonesia offers an opportunity to end the silence on West Papua, and to craft new policies that advance human rights rather than lending support to human rights violators. Information about the ongoing human rights violations in West Papua was heard on September 22 by the House of Representatives Sub-committee on Asia, the Pacific.

The Obama administration should:

    Insist upon an investigation and prosecution of those who recently tortured Papuans in Puncak Jaya

    Seek an investigation by relevant United Nations human rights rapporteurs of this and other instances of torture in West Papua Suspend cooperation with Indonesian security forces accused of systematic human rights violations, including Detachment 88 and the Brimob (Mobile Brigade) of the National Police and the Indonesian special forces (Kopassus) Call for full and open access for journalists, humanitarian assistance personnel including the International Committee of the red Cross and other international monitors to all of West Papua Seek meetings between President Obama and Papuan human rights and civil society leaders during his visit to Indonesia Call upon the Indonesian government to carry out an internationally facilitated, senior-level dialogue process with Papuan officials and civil society designed to resolve the Papuan conflict peacefully, as was done in Aceh province

-30-

Posted with additional links: http://etan.org/news/2010/10video.htm

fPcN Press release on Indonesia's own 'ABU GHRAIB'in West Papua

https://www.fpcn-global.org/en/video/INDONESIAS-ABU-GHRAIB-Brutal-Kostrad-Torture-video-emerges-Puncak-Jaya-West-Papua

fPcN Press release on Indonesia’s own ‘ABU GHRAIB’in West Papua
Warning: This video is highly brutal!
All our volunteers around the fPcN global network was horrified on seeing the new received video showing very clear brutal torture in West Papua. The Indonesian Police BRIMOB and Kostrad are completely out of control. Constant abuse of West Papuan people, impunity, and three shootings in recent weeks. In Puncak Jaya the ongoing sweeping operations by Brimob who are conducting random and punitive village burnings, rapes killings and torture on a daily basis. The question is if these crimes against humanity are being controlled by Jakarta, or can Jakarta not control its security forces. This video show clear evidence of deliberate violations of human rights, conducted with the full knowledge of the POLRI command. If POLRI command are in knowledge, then the responsibility goes to the highest level of the Police.
An historic U.S. Congressional hearing on September 22th regarding West Papua revealed ongoing human rights abuse by the Indonesian military and continued impunity for those abuses and broad Papuan rejection of Jakarta’s failed policy of “special autonomy.” The hearing also cast light on a U.S. policy that appeared not to have evolved to address the deteriorating conditions in West Papua or an unreformed Indonesian military intent on resisting accountability and civilian control. Subcommittee Chairman’s Faleomavaega’s description of “slow motion genocide” set the tone of urgency that enveloped the hearing.
fPcN decided not edit out any of the graphic scenes from the video content because it shows the truth, the out and out brutality of Papuan life under the Indonesian occupation. The accompanying clip shows two men, one young and the other between 50-60 years, in the detention of Kostrad members, suffering increasing acts of brutality and torture. Kostrad personnel then proceeded to become progressively rougher with their detainees during the course of interrogation. Putting bayonets in their mouths, kneeing them, stripping them,putting the old man’s head in a plastic bag to suffocate, then taking off, putting on etc. major force was used, kicking, punching. After about five minutes, Kostrad personnel started to put burning sticks onto the old man’s penis, for at least a few minutes.
WARNING:CONTAINS GRAPHIC UNEDITED TORTURE VIDEO
West Papuan human rights workers have obtained a series of mobile phone videos of brutal acts of torture on two West Papuan priests.  Indonesian security forces, most likely troops from the Kostrad battalion 754 based at Nabire, filmed the torture March 17 2010 at a road bridge near Tingginambut, Puncak Jaya, in the midst of a still ongoing military operation.
This disturbing video shows hooded members of an Indonesian security team, believed to be members of Kostrad battalion 753 from Nabire, kicking, punching, poking with bayonets, terrorising, and brutalising both detainees.
Perhaps the most brutal scenes are where the old man, believed to be a priest of the indigenous Kingmi Church, the Reverend Kindeman Gire, is repeatedly held down while soldiers deliberately burn his penis with a burning stick.
Westpapuamedia.info is working together with a joint team of media and international human rights workers to verify all the facts around this video.  It had been released prematurely by external sources, so the facts are still being confirmed. Investigators are still conducting forensic analysis of the original source files to determine the full identity of the mobile phone that was used to film these abuses, and if it is connected to other videos recently received (to be published).
The two victims spoke in Bahasa Indonesia and Lani. It is believed that the main victim is Rev. Kindeman Gire who was killed in March 2010.

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