Tag: TNI

AWPA: West Papua 2010 Chronology of events

The Australia West Papua Association has produced a very useful chronology of all key events that occurred in West Papua in 2010.  The full document can be accessed here: West Papua 2010 Chronology of events,

The introduction is reprinted below:

Human rights situation in West Papua[1]

The human rights situation in West Papua continued to deteriorate in 2010. One incident in particular highlighted the worsening human rights situation and that was the shocking video footage of West Papuans being tortured by Indonesian soldiers. The video showed several men in military fatigues torturing two Papuans. The soldiers in the video threaten the two men with sharp weapons and pressed a burning bamboo stick against one of the men’s genitals. The torture of the men prompted a wave of international criticism with human rights organisations around the world condemning the actions  of the Indonesian military.  This incident was not an isolated incident and in further evidence of  human rights abuses another report  accused the police of burning down the village of Bigiragi in the Puncak Jaya district.  The report said that 16 Mobile Brigade officers had burned the village to the ground on October 11. The report said that at least 29 homes were destroyed in the incident leaving at least 150 people homeless

Military operations in Puncak Jaya

A number of  military operation took place in the Puncak Jaya region in 2010 and in fact security operations have been ongoing in the Puncak Jaya region for years . Security forces  conduct regular sweeps  (military operations) in the area to pursue members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM).  Many reports have pointed out the the security forces have great difficulty distinguishing  between what the term separatists  and the general public. These operations leave the local people traumatised and in fear for their lives.  In a report in Bintang Papua (29 June)  The local chief of police admitted that “the OPM  are all over the place including in the town of Mulia, mingling with the community. He said that because the features of the mountain people are almost the same as other people in the area, ‘it is making it very difficult for us to differentiate  between who is OPM and who is just an ordinary member of the community”. This statement raises great concerns that civilians are in danger of being targeted as members of the OPM. During these military operations villages have been destroyed as well as  gardens and livestock. In September  the House of Representatives (DPR) Law Commission deputy chairman, Tjatur Sapto Edy lamented the military operations in the Puncak Jaya Regency following a report by the  National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM). Tjatur said there should be no more military operations and such approaches  are no longer suitable in a democracy. A report by Komnas HAM’s Papua chapter revealed 29 cases of rights abuses occurred in Puncak Jaya regency from 2004-2010, including the torture and rape of villagers in March 2010 by law enforcers.

In September  an article in the the SMH alleged that Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, brutalised a group of separatists, repeatedly beating them in detention. Australia helps fund Detachment 88.  The report also said the Australian Government had sent an official to the Indonesian province of Maluku to investigate the  claims but an Australian embassy official denied there was an investigation going on although an embassy officer had visited Maluku as part of a regular program of provincial visits.

Leaked Kopassus report

In November investigative journalist Alan Nairn released a secret report by a Kopassus task force which shows a list of West Papuans engaged in human rights work are a target of the Indonesian Special Force Group, Kopassus. The list includes members of civil society organisations, church groups , activists, students and  members of the MRP.  The report can be found on his blog at

http://www.allannairn.com/2010/11/breaking-news-secret-files-show.html

In December cables released by WikiLeaks in relation to West Papuan human rights confirmed what NGOs  have been telling their governments for years, that it is the Indonesian military that are one of the main problems in West Papua.

The cables revealed that US diplomats blame the government in Jakarta for unrest in West Papua due to neglect, corruption and human rights abuses.  That Indonesian military commanders have been accused of illegal logging operations and drug smuggling from West Papua into Papua New Guinea, and also that a lifting of the US ban on training with Kopassus was made a condition of Obama’s  visit to Jakarta.

Also in December the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), a major Indonesian human rights group accused the National Police of being the state institution guilty of committing the highest number of acts of violence against the public in 2010.  In the Jakarta Post (7/12/10) , the Papua chapter of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) reported a 70 percent increase in the number of cases of violence in Papua, most of which were allegedly committed by security officers. The Jakarta-based Legal Aid Foundation  in another report said Indonesian law enforcers routinely torture suspects and convicts to extract confessions or obtain information. The groups report found beatings, intimidation and rape are so commonplace they are considered the norm. It also found that few victims believe they have the right to lodge complaints.

West Papua suffered from a number of natural disasters in 2010 including a 7.1magnitude earthquake  that occurred of the northern coast of Papua in June,  destroying a number of  villages with loss of life on Yapen island.  In October the town of Wasior was hit by flash  floods  causing severe damage leaving over 158 people dead, 145 persons missing and thousands left homeless. There was some debate if the cause of the floods was due to deforestation in the surrounding areas or was due to  unusually heavy rainfall

Political prisoners

It is difficult to known the exact number of political prisoners who are in jail in West Papua because of the difficulty of access and restrictions on the gathering of information in the territory. In Amnesty’s  International Report for  2010, it states

“At least 114 people were detained for peacefully expressing their views. The overwhelming majority were peaceful political activists who were sentenced to terms of imprisonment for raising prohibited pro independence flags in Maluku or Papua”.

And in an  extract from Human Rights Watch World Report for 2010, in relation to West Papua.  “Indonesian authorities have responded to a longstanding, low-level armed separatist insurgency in the provinces of Papua and West Papua with a strong troop presence and often harsh and disproportionate responses to non-violent dissent or criticism. Human Rights Watch has long expressed concerns over anti-separatist sweeps by the police, which often result in individuals who peacefully express support for independence being arrested and detained on charges of treason or rebellion (makar).

West Papua -one of our nearest neighbours

West Papua is one of our nearest neighbours and the West Papuan people face great challenges including  ongoing human rights abuses, the exploitation of their natural resources with little or no benefit to themselves, the danger of becoming a minority in their own land as the result of migrants arriving daily and a  HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The Australian Government has  always been concerned about instability in the region to our north but as events in 2010 have shown, it is the Indonesian military which  are causing the instability in West Papua. The recent reports of the torture of West Papuans by the Indonesian security forces and the information from the WikiLeaks cables about US concerns at the activities of the TNI in relation to West Papua, aptly show this.

Recommendations.

The Australian West Papua Association  (Sydney)

urges the Australian Government to re- think its policy of ties with the  Indonesian military until such time that Indonesian military  personnel involved in past human rights abuses are brought to justice and the culture of the Indonesian military becomes of an  acceptable standard to both the Australian people and Australian military. In the short term we urge the Government to put a moratorium on the training, funding and any ties between  the Australian military,  Detachment 88 and the special forces unit Kopassus, until a full inquiry is held into the activities of these units in relation to human rights abuses in the archipelago.

urges the Australian Government to sent a fact finding mission to West Papua to not only investigate the human rights situation in the territory but to see how Australia can  help the West Papuan people in capacity building in the fields of health  and education. We thank the Australian Government for the funding it has already given to aid  projects in West Papua but urge more aid-funding to support health programs and medical organizations (local and international) working on the ground in West Papua and in the long term to support the training of the West Papuan people themselves as health professionals.

There are a number of Indigenous  human rights NGOs in West Papua and the Australian Government can  strengthen  the  human rights situation in West Papua by supporting these organisations  with financial aid,  capacity building and education.

We recommended that human rights defenders working in human rights organisations in West Papua be funded to attend human rights courses in Australia and the region.. There are a number of programs in Australia which can  advance human rights and empower civil society in West Papua through education, training and capacity building. These programs are suitable for individual human rights defenders and community advocates.

We also call on the Australian Government to urge the Indonesian President to release all West Papuan political prisoners as a sign of good faith to the West Papuan people.

The problems in West Papua won’t be solved by Jakarta  deploying more troops to the region or conducting more military operations. What the West Papuans are asking for is dialogue between Jakarta  and West Papuan representatives.  AWPA calls on the Australian Government to urge the Indonesian Government to dialogue with representatives of the West Papuan people to solve the issues of concern held by the West Papuan people.

[1] AWPA (Sydney) uses the name “West Papua” to refer to the whole of the western half of the Island of New Guinea. However, “West Papua” at this time is divided into two provinces, Papua and West Papua.

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Is violence against Papuans not an abuse of human rights?

Bintang Papua, 3 January 2011

Is violence against Papuans not an abuse of human rights?

Jakarta: The TNI (armed forces) has denied that violence perpetrated by army officers which resulted in the deaths of some Papuans can be
regarded as human rights violations. This relates to an incident in
Puncak Jaya in March 2010, which became public when a video of the
incident was circulated widely on the internet.

‘When this was investigated, it was not regarded as a violation of human rights but of acting against orders and not within the methods of interrogating detainees,’ said Lieut.General M Noer Muis, during his
reflections at the end of the year. Muis said that in order to investigate whether human rights violations had occurred, the TNI set
up an investigation team.

‘After we investigated the actions of the officers on that occasion, we
saw that they were on duty at the time, and made clear their position
towards the people involved.’

Four members of the armed forces faced charges of using violence, and the four men were tried before a military tribunal in Jayapura.

They were acting in violation of their orders and taking actions that
were unacceptable such as beating, kicking and so on when dealing with members of an armed gang known as the OPM.

The four men were under orders from the regional government to restore peace to the area which is indeed an area of many disturbances and armed gangs. ‘We were informed that the men were members of armed gangs. At the start,’ he said, ‘the four officers conducted the interrogation in accordance with procedures, such as separating the men from the women, and interrogating separately those who were bearing arms.’

‘They were properly treated using methods of persuasion and we even gave them food, but nothing was achieved, even though according to
information, they were members of an armed gang.’

Eventually, the four officers used more violent methods , with the
result that the detainees confessed that they were members of an armed gang and weapons were discovered.

All these actions had been recorded on video as evidence to prove that the interrogation was conducted in accordance with armed forces operational procedures. However, unfortunately the video that was only intended for internal purposes was leaked, and was circulated widely on the internet.’When this happened it was interpreted as being inhumane treatment and was said to be a violation of human rights.’

Muis said that investigations were now under way to find out how this
leak had occurred. There are many possibilities about how this might
have happened, he said and the military commander of the Cenderawasih military command had been instructed to coordinate with the police and in the intelligence agency Bais to discover who it was who had circulated the video, because this was very damaging to the armed forces.

He said they had also consulted with Komnas HAM, the National Human
Rights Commission in the hope that Komnas HAM would explain the matter to the general public.

—————–

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Civil Society Coalition: Reflections on Human Rights in the Papuan Special Autonomy era

Press Release issued by the Coalition of Civil Society to Uphold Human Rights in the Land of Papua

Special Autonomy – OTSUS – came into being at a time of struggle when the Papuan people had become the objects of development, resulting in  many incidents of violence and human rights violations over many years. This was acknowledged in the introductory paragraphs of the OTSUS law and Articles 45- 47 of OTSUS,   in which the State acknowledged that mistakes had been made. There were hopes that an era of truth would emerge by means of creating peace and the right to life for the people of Papua. At the same time, however, there were groups who were against the enactment of OTSUS.

After being in force for nine years, these hopes have not been realised in accordance with expectations. There have been a numebr of  very serious  cases, such as Warior, Wamenda, Puncak Jaya, Tingginambu, Serui, Abepura and UNCEN, Mamberamo, Nabire, Manokwari and the arrest of a number of pro-democracy activists, the most recent of which being threats against journalists that have occurred with increasing intensity during the course of 2010. During 2010, there were at least five acts of violence against journalists . In July 2010, Ardiansyah Matrais who worked for Merauke TV and the JUBI tabloid was found dead after having received threats and being followed in Keerom, a typical example of cases that have occurred during the OTSUS era.

None of these cases have been properly resolved by legal procedures as required by the law, meaning that the people of Papua have no sense that the perpetrators have been brought to justice by the State.

The situation had been made even worse because the civil authorities in Papua have created the impression that they exert no authority or are too weak to handle cases of human rights violations. None of the civil authorities, the DPRP, the MRP or the Governor, have raised their voices or offered to mediate with institutions in power  whenever violence has been  experienced by civil society, meaning that there has been a virtual absence of control by the civil authorities. Even worse is the fact that the human rights agendas of OTSUS have been completely neglected and have been given no place whatever in the policy of development in Papua.

We members of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations feel deeply concerned at and mourn the death of the enforcement of human rights and peace in the Land of Papua. We therefore propose the following to all those who have an interest in the Land of Papua.

1.  The Central Government

Should promotee and foster dialogue between Papua and Jakarta for a compehensive solution to all the problems in Papua that have occurred since Papua was integrated into the Republic of Indonesia/NKRI because OTSUS has been incapable of becoming the final solution in restoring relations between Jakarta and Papua.

The central government should, starting now, change its view  of Papua as an  area of conflict because such an attitude  can only cause continuing political crises in Papua because of the security approach and the use of the law. Experience has shown that such an approach has failed to end resistance  by the Papuan people, even causing the emergence of new Papuan movements.

End all forms of stigmatisation of the Papuan people because this is deeply humiliating for the Papuan people who have ceased to have any confidence in development undertaken by the central government in Papua.

Evaluate and reconsider that policy of dispatching non-organic troops to Papua because  many cases have occurred as a result of the presence of these troops and have resulted in new problems within society, while revealing a lack of sensitivity for the local values of the people.

The government should make public the size of the defence budget for the deployment of troops to Papua because these funds are extracted from the state budget, while the public in Papua, especially the Papuan people, should know what are the objectives of all this, how many personnel are involved, the locations where they are deployed and the amount of the funds being used for all this during the course of a single year.

To enhance human rights policies that take sides with the victims in the Land of Papua. This is because there is the erroneous view that the problems in Papua are only about the economy. As long as the central government persists in holding this view, disturbances will continue to occur in Papua.

The police force must act professionally in the performance of their duties and not discriminate against the Papuan people when they uphold their basic rights as citizens, while at the same time striving to restore confidence in the police.

Treat all prisoners in accordance with the procedures in force and the rule of law, so as to safeguard dignity and humanitarianism while steering clear of all arbitrary treatment, in particular ending the practice of torture.

The use of military courts as has recently occurred in Jayapura is proof that these military tribunals are incapable of creating a sense of justice for the victims and among  the public and are far removed from the basic human rights standards adopted by the Indonesian Government with its ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the adoption of law 5/1998 which established the basis for fair trials.

2. The Government of Papua.

It should never forget or neglect  the human rights agenda in policies pursued in the Land of Papua, because up until now, more  emphasis has been placed on the economy and welfare. There must be a balance between these two agendas.

Treat all prisoners in accordance with the rule of law, guaranteeing people’s sense of dignity and humanitarianism  and avoid all arbitrary actions, in particular the practice of torture.

The Governor, the DPRP and the MRP  should coordinate with each other and respond quickly to cases of violence  and human rights violations in the Land of Papua. The absence of such an attitude  is proof that these civil institutions have no commitment to upholding human rights in Papua and will only intensify public mistrust of these institutions in the eyes of the Papuan people.

All programmes regarding the economy and welfare should be gender specific  and take the side of the victims of human rights violations, in particular taking due regard for the education and health of the victims and their families including the granting of reparations.

To immediately set up a team to draft a special regulation  (Perdasus) for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Human Rights Court as provided for in OTSUS, bearing in mind that these matters have not been dealt with during the nine years since OTSUS was enacted, and have been forgotten altogether.

Jayapura, 9 December 2010

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KomnasHAM holds dialogue about cases of violence in Papua

JUBI, 8 December 2010

KomnasHAM is trying hard to discuss the continuing violations of human
rights and the use of violence still occurring in Papua, Ridha Saleh
told journalists in Jayapura on Wednesday. He said that after reporting
the videos of torture and the burning of prisoners’ vital organs to the
military commander of Cenderawasih Military Command, they were keen to have a dialogue and seek opinions about these violations that are still occurring in Papua.

He said too that prior to reporting the case of the videos, they had
undertaken investigations and collected data about these cases which
occurred recently in Puncak Jaya. They were told that according to the army and the local people, there are three elements who have been causing chaos in Puncak Jaya, the TPN/OPM, the Indonesian army and o-called unknown elements.

A dialogue had taken place with all these people and also involved some other people, including some academics, the department of law and human rights, the army and members of the community.. The dialogue took place at Swissbel Hotel in Jayapura.

[This is the first time we have read about such a dialogue having taken
place. TAPOL]

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Situation tense in Jayapura as police and military launch operations

Report from KNPB, Jayapura

I inform you directly from Jayapura West Papua that the people of West Papua is now on emergency under Indonesia military forces. Until this night TNI (the national army of Indonesia) and Police are still blockading every places in Abepura. I got accurate information from my people near Tanah Hitam that Indonesian military shot dead a farmer at Abe Gunung when this man was in garden. One man namely Miron Wetipo shot on 6.18 PM this afternoon and his body was in Bhayangkara Hospital.

Last night on 03.00 AM Indonesia military forces destroyed all of the West Papua people’s houses near Abe gunung and arrested 2 man. One of them was a shepherd. From the morning till this night police and TNI arrested people without any reasons. According to the witness, they are looking for Dany Kogoya. He is an activist and also advocate for the OPM and TPN.

According to Danny’s neighborhood, TNI and Police intentionally put the gun and bullet near the Danny’s house to publish out that it was Danny’s gun and bullet so that they could carry out everything they want.

Here is the name that were arrested:
1. Ev. Yesmin Yikwa
2. Yupiter Tabuni
3. Tenius Yikwa
4. Manu Kogoya
5. Lambert Siep
6. Nalius Karoba
7. Yumbuk Yikwa
8. Yotan Kogoya

According to the chef of Police in Jayapura, the reason was to arrest the perpetrators of the shooting that happening some days ago. But I inform you that the Indonesian army and the police are carrying out shooting and arresting without any interrogation against them. They have intimidated, terror and tortured the civil of West Papua brutality. In fact, they are not the perpetrators. Police and TNI also were blockaded near the barracks of Uncen (Cenderawasih University).

Tonight, many shooting sounds are still continue.
Victor F. Yeimo
The international Spokesperson for KNPB

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