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.
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.
westpapuamedia.info worked closely with SMH to break this story – it was released early after Papuan people released the footage on YouTube. As predicted, YouTube had removed this footage completely due to the depiction of actual sexual torture by Indonesian security forces. westpapuamedia.info is displaying the full unedited footage in the public interest.
October 18, 2010
‘‘Get a fire’’ … video posted on YouTube shows two Papuan men being tortured by apparent members of the Indonesian security services. One has a smouldering stick applied to his genitals.
A graphic and disturbing video shows a Papuan man being poked in the genitals with a fiery stick as he is interrogated by a group of men who appear to be members of Indonesia’s security services.
The video has come to light as the Indonesian government faces continuing criticism about abuses by its security forces in Papua, scene of a long simmering separatist struggle.
The Papuan man, stripped naked, bound and with one of the interrogators placing his foot on his chest, is being asked about the location of a cache of weapons. After he tells his interrogators it has been hidden in a pigpen, one of them screams at him: ”You cheat, you cheat.”
Another interrogator then yells ”get a fire, get a fire” before a colleague administers the torture with a stick that has been burnt in a fire and is smouldering. The man screams in agony, and does so again when the treatment is repeated.
The video appears to have been taken with a mobile phone by one of the interrogators, who speak Indonesian with Javanese and Ambonese accents and wear plain clothes.
While it is common for Indonesian police and military personnel to wear civilian clothing, it is impossible to verify those in the video are members of the security services.
But the nature of the interrogation suggests professionals are at work, as does a later incident shown on the 10-minute video when an M-16 rifle is pointed at the man’s mouth.
”So you want me to shoot your mouth? So your mouth breaks?” the interrogator shouts.
The emergence of the video – it was posted on YouTube three days ago by someone using the moniker papualiberationarmy and obtained independently by the Herald – will do nothing to lessen criticism of abuses by security forces in Papua.
”We have been living under Indonesia for almost 48 years,” said Victor Kogoya, a member of the central committee of the Aliansi Mahasiswa Papua, a Papuan student group. ”For all this time, we have never felt calm, never peace. Why? Because ever since the security state has been chasing us, arresting us, killing, terror and intimidation.”
Although Jakarta made an autonomy deal with the province almost 10 years ago, its indigenous Melanesian people remain the country’s poorest while migrants flood into the resource-rich area and dominate business and paid employment, further marginalising the Papuans.
There have been repeated reports of abuses by the military and police, but foreign journalists are banned from entering Papua without special permission, while non-government groups, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have been told to leave in the past year.
Two Papuan victims are recorded in the video – one naked and being burned, while the other is clothed and has a large knife placed under his nose as he is being questioned by the men. At one point, one of the interrogators says: ”I’ll cut your throat.”
The footage is graphic, with the men hit and threatened throughout the interrogation.
The victims speak in the Papuan dialect Lani, strongly suggesting the video was filmed in Puncak Jaya, a regency in Papua’s highlands where a unit of the armed Free Papua Movement commanded by Goliath Tabuni has been staging sporadic attacks on Indonesian police and military posts for the past two years.
Numerous weapons have been stolen in the raids and at least four soldiers and police have been killed in the past two years.
Jakarta has sent members of the national police’s mobile brigade and anti-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, to the region. Both units have been accused of using excessive force.
There have been repeated allegations of security forces making violent sweeps through villages in Puncak Jaya, a region characterised by soaring mountains covered in thick jungle. The military, including its controversial special forces unit Kopassus, also has a strong presence.
Papua, which was formerly known as Dutch New Guinea, was not incorporated into Indonesia when it became a state in 1949. It was held by the Dutch until 1962 when, following Indonesian military incursions into the area, an agreement brokered through the Untied Nations gave Indonesia administrative control of the region pending a referendum.
That ”referendum” involved just 1025 handpicked tribal leaders who unanimously agreed to join Indonesia. The so-called ”Act of Free Choice” has been labelled fraudulent and remains a source of great anger for many indigenous Papuans.
While separatist sentiment remains strong, it has little international support. Australia recognises Indonesia’s sovereignty over the region. The Herald was unable to obtain a response from the Indonesian military or police late yesterday.
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. The younger man is believed by local investigators to be Reverend Pltinius Kogoya
westpapuamedia.info is presenting the full UNEDITED video on the torture. Please click on the link below (opens in new window) WARNING: THIS FOOTAGE IS HIGHLY DISTURBING AND GRAPHIC.
The above link, is for a QuickTime version of the film, for play or download.
To play it, you may need to install the QuickTime Player, from: www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
This is the situation in Puncak Jaya so please could you add because this is very important message from elder in Tingginambut.
Indonesia Military Kill Rev Kindeman Gire.
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE REPORT
Special Report on Piron Moribnak, Puncak Jaya
I. Rev . Kindeman Gire shot dead by Indonesia Soldier .
At 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon, Wednesday, 17th March, 2010
Location: the Tingginambut district Kalome Puncak Jaya Regency
Chronology:
Rev. Gire Kindeman was shot dead by TNI. Kideman was a Servant of the Lord
as Church Pastor to the GIDI Toragi district in Tingginambut.
On Wednesday, 17th March, 2010.
A week ago[RP1] , the victim was [arranging] with the community to send money via Air Gire to Wamena in order to buy 15 litres of gasoline for the purpose of [accessing] timber to support building the church.
Air [Gire] sent news to the victim to watch the road because he would be sending this gasoline in transport which would pass by the area and he [did not want the driver to miss their meeting point and go too far], that’s why. The plan was that the victim would get the message to watch the road.
At the same time another reverend, named Pltinius Kogoya, was carrying an amount of money to a driver, Ekstrada, to buy cooking oil in Wamena [and requested] if he was returning to Puncak Jaya [also] to carry [his order] with the same expectation mentioned above [namely, that a person would meet him along the road] – so that he himself (Rev. Kogoya) would wait along the road to collect his order – which would be carried from Wamena by another driver with the [alias] Yakop, from Toraja, who was already well acquainted with Rev. Kogoya.
As this was happening, the victim Rev. Kindeman reached the road first to await his package. Just then TNI Yonif 756 arrived from the Ilu district and met with the victim and asked him intimidating questions like,
“Do you know Gorobak?” or “Have you seen Gorobak?
[He] didn’t know what was meant by “Gorobok” [but] then the victim answered him, “I know[RP2] ”
“Then, where do you live?”
“in Kalome,” the victim answered.
The next thing that happened was the military opened a ‘magazine’ and then pulled out a bullet and poked him with it and asked the victim,
“Do you know what this is? Are you storing any in your house? Do you have a stash in your house?
The victim smiled [?] mixed with fear because the bullet was poking at him. These questions became more repetitious . And this is how [we came to hear] the testimony about the victim, Rev. Kindeman, by the servant of the Lord, Rev. Kogoya. Earlier, while waiting for his package, it seems he too got caught by this military group, and they asked him:
“What are you looking for?”
Rev. Kogoya answered, “…ah… I gave a sum of money to a driver when he left to go to Wamena to buy cooking oil. So I have come to look out for his car [to return]; which is [supposed] to enter here from Wamena [direction].”
The questions that followed were:
“Do you know bullets? Do you know [of any] weapons? Where is OPM hiding? ”
H[e] pointed, “That place at the side of the hill, we usually hear them there. “
By that time it was already 3:30. Victim and testifier were parted 2 or 3 meters from one another then they interrogated/tortured both of them in two separate groups until 5 in the evening. The torture they experienced was severe to the point that their faces were swollen and bruised black. At the time of 5 in the evening, according to the testimony of Rev. Kogoya, he was forced by another military to stand alone on a high spot he then leaped off onto a lower step, tripping on a member who wasn’t standing straight (lying across the stair), making like a termite and crawling into the bush to escape while […[RP3] ].
After that the victim, named Rev. Kindeman was shot with a weapon 2 times.
From the day of the shooting until this report came to us, we have never found the body. The community largely suspects it is possible the TNI mutilated (cut into pieces) the victim’s body and put it in a bag and threw it into the Tinggin River or in the Yamo River, or even possibly in the Gurai Reiver – or maybe they [just] burnt it.
II. Action against Pembantain civilians continues
On the same date, i.e. Wednesday night, March 17th, 2010, The TNI that had held operations from the direction of Kalome earlier, continued to head for the capital district of Tingginambut, there is one lumbuk honai house (meeting house of elders?) in the area and a group of people were sleeping there and they were surrounded by the same
military personnel after they had shot Rev. Kideman at 5 in the evening the day before. In the morning at 5 am on Thursday 18th of March, 2010 they surrounded all residents that were present at that honai [meeting house]; in total 13 people. Not one of them escaped: all were captured and tortured. They suffered a severe torture; much worse, more than […[RP4] ] so that they waited for their time to die because they were kicked and stepped on, they were thrashed around with the ends of guns and bayonet knives.
The name of the victims names are as follows:
1. Garundinggen Morib, 45 years
2. Ijokone Tabuni, 35 years
3. Etiles Tabuni 24 years
4. Meiles Wonda, 30 years
5. Tabuni Jigunggup, 46 years
6. Nekiler Tabuni 25 Years
7. Blue Tabuni 51 Year Old Man, Position as It ill Severe Malaria
8. Tiraik Morib, 29 years
9. Yakiler Wonda, 34 years
10. Tekius Wonda, 20 years
11. Neriton Wonda, 19 years
12. Yuli Wonda, 23 Years
13. Stools Tabuni 42 Years
Until today the condition is very precarious. And until we received this report it has been difficult to get a picture because, of course, [moments where the] conditions are safe are hard to come by.
III. Enditi Tabuni has been shot
Chronology of the shooting.
Enditi Tabuni was the daughter-in-law of Rev. Yason Wonda, Vice Chairman of
Honor Victims GIDI. The victim was the wife of Rev. Yason’s first son.
At around 4 pm in the afternoon, on Monday 23rd March, 2010 a gun shots occurred from amongst the TNI
from Yonif 753 units in charge of the Puncak District Senjum Mulia Post,
capital of Puncak Jaya. Open fire broke out with members of TPN / OPM at
the cement [stream/canal] or around the Wulundan canals area. [And, lasting] until 7 pm, was the sound of
guns which made the residents of the Mulia capital panic – particularly the Wondenggobak church community and [those] in the area located around Puncak Senyum. People fled and slept in the forest.
From 7 pm till 8 pm a combing took place until the limits of the PT.Moderen WIDYA TEKNICAL area [were cornered-off].
At about 8 or 9 at night, as the operation continued to be carried out well into the night, the party apparatus took a detour to comb and shoot resident’s houses in Wondenggobak Village. Like
Blind Pigs], the above mentioned shot a sleeping mother in her home, then they released shots from outside her door and they blasted her knees. She was carried to Mulia Public hospital but she still needs her [now infected] knees to heal. It is possible her legs will heal, [but] if not her legs will have to be amputated (chopped off) and it is possible the poor victim will die. At the time this report was being sent, the victim was still being hospitalized in Jaya Pura. And that, you see, is the character and model of the NKRI Aparatus; which has the mentality of prawn crackers so that even a woman is shot. Or maybe they were slaughtered like Blind Pigs.
Your Honor, March 24, 2010
Accurate reporting
Puncak jaya Piron Moribnak
[RP1]It says a week before but in the context I think this makes more sense
[RP2]This does not make sense, he should have said “I don’t know” I wonder if the person made a mistake in the account here?
Pax Christi International Statement on the Situation in the Papuan Provinces of Indonesia
Human rights issues arising from the transfer of the western half of New Guinea from Netherlands to Indonesia in the 1960s threaten to flare up again if Papuan concerns are not addressed peacefully.
Pax Christi International made a written intervention on the occasion of the 15th session of the Human Rights Council: 13 September – 1 October 2010.
The Human Rights Council should urge the Indonesian Government to enter meaningful negotiations with the leadership of the representative Papuan bodies without pre-conditions and under international mediation.
Recently, political tension in the Papuan provinces of Indonesia has increased, particularly over the past two months as Papuan people across all sectors have openly rejected the 2001 Special Autonomy Law (OTSUS). The high hopes for greater self governance brought about by the autonomy law, have withered away as its implementation is obstructed by the Indonesian authorities. From the start OTSUS has been hamstrung by delays in the Central Government’s empowering regulations and systematic interference by Indonesia’s political and military bureaucracies. Money allocated to the provincial government for development, education and health is being absorbed by a vastly increased bureaucracy as regencies grew from nine to thirty, each with its own military, police and intelligence agencies. Because these funds are depleted by corruption, the maintenance of buildings, public servants’ wages and military operations, healthcare and education are in serious decline. The hopes for greater self governance have also been swamped by the persistent migration from other parts of Indonesia which rendered the Papuans a minority in their own country. The ever growing numbers of police and military personnel, countering any form of Papuan opposition with severe and sometimes deadly force as well as the central government’s plans for clear-felling millions of hectares of rainforest can only confirm the fears of the Papuans for their very survival as a people. The rejection of OTSUS has been accompanied by public demonstrations, including one of more than 20,000 indigenous people in Jayapura on 8 July. Pax Christi International fears that such demonstrations of discontent by indigenous people will lead to increasingly violent suppression by the Indonesian authorities. Recent reports speak of “sweeping” operations in the regency of Punkak Jaya, the central highlands area in the vicinity of major mining operations. This practice, where military units focus on a particular area to “sweep” out any real or suspected resistance to the takeover of land or resources, was already a feature of the early years of Indonesian occupation of West Papua, resulting in extensive loss of life and destruction of indigenous infrastructure.
West Papua Report
September 2010
This is the 77th in a series of monthly reports that focus on developments affecting Papuans. This series is produced by the non-profit West Papua Advocacy Team (WPAT) drawing on media accounts, other NGO assessments, and analysis and reporting from sources within West Papua. This report is co-published with the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) Back issues are posted online at http://etan.org/issues/wpapua/default.htm Questions regarding this report can be addressed to Edmund McWilliams at edmcw@msn.com.
Summary:
More than a score of international non-governmental organizations called on President Yudhoyono to release Papuan Political Prisoners in commemoration of Indonesia’s August 17 Independence Day. Although the President did release and reduce sentences for convicted terrorists and common criminals on the national day, he did not respond to the appeal regarding political prisoners. The Indonesian Government has banned activities by Cordaid, a Dutch humanitarian organization that has aided poor Papuans for over three decades. The action is reminiscent of the Indonesian Government’s banning of International Committee of The Red Cross in West Papua in 2009. The Indonesian Commission on Human Rights and Papuan churches have urged the Indonesian government to reconsider its security approach in the Puncak Jaya region and address the growing violence there, including attacks on churches. The Indonesian government is under growing pressure to investigate the mysterious murder of a journalist in Merauke. Local police claim he committed suicide. The murdered journalist had built a reputation on investigation of illegal military businesses. The murder comes at a time of growing tension in the area as corporate interests seek to develop a massive food plantation. A video circulating widely on YouTube reveals the final moments of a Papuan bayoneted while in custody as he is taunted by the police.
Contents:
* International NGOs Call on President Yudhoyono to Release Papuan Political Prisoners
* The Indonesian Government Blocks the Operations of International Humanitarian Aid Group in West Papua
* Komnas HAM Speaks out Against Security Forces Operations in Puncak Jaya
* Churches Call for an Investigation of Attacks on Churches in Puncak Jaya
* Government under Growing Pressure to Seriously Investigate Journalist’s Murder
* The Reality of Security Force Brutality in West Papua
International NGOs Call on President Yudhoyono to Release Papuan Political Prisoners
Twenty five international non-governmental organizations have urged President Yudhoyono to release Papuan Political Prisoners. The August 16 letter which on the President to announce the release in the context of August 17 Independence Day celebrations. The letter also urged him to amend the Indonesian Criminal Code which criminalizes peaceful political protest and to investigate and prosecute prison warders guilty of abuse of these prisoners.
The NGO appeal noted that Indonesia’s incarceration of peaceful political dissenters violates Indonesia’s commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which Indonesia ratified in 2006. Indonesian authorities also have incarcerated Moluccans and others engaged in peaceful protest. There continue to be credible reports that political prisoners are being mistreated in custody.
President Yudhoyono has failed to respond to the NGO appeal though he did announce release of criminal prisoners, including those convicted of crimes of violence.
(See here to view full text of the August 16 letter and list of 25 signatories)
The Indonesian Government Blocks Operations of International Humanitarian Group in West Papua
The Jakarta Post, August 6, reported that the Indonesian government has banned Cordaid, a Dutch funding agency, from operating in West Papua. Cordaid has operated in West Papua for over three decades, assisting Papuan NGOs and the Papuan people more generally with a focus on social development and economic empowerment for the poor.
The ban came in the form of a refusal by the Ministry of Social Affairs to extend an existing Memorandum of Understanding that had expired in April of this year. The Government announcement that Cordaid must end its activities came in the form of a July 23 letter from the Social Affairs Ministry that responding to the standard request for an extension.
In rejecting the extension the Ministry, according to the Post, voiced suspicions regarding Cordaid’s exchange program between Papua and Mindanao, a restive region in southern Philippines –the program promoted participation of women in development from a faith-based and women’s perspective. The Government suspicions included purported Cordaid support for separatist elements.
In her written response to the Ministry, Cordaid sector manager Margriet Nieuwenhuis strongly denied that Cordaid helped Papua separatists. “The participants met only with Mindanao community groups and women leaders, not with political actors,” Nieuwenhuis said, adding that the program had been stopped.
The Jakarta Post reported that the July 23 letter also alleged that Cordaid had violated a “principle provision” in the memorandum of agreement with the Indonesian government. The letter claimed that “Cordaid has been involved in commercial and political activities by being a shareholder of Bank Andara and sponsoring the participation of a community group in the “Initiatives for International Dialog (IID).” The Indonesian ministry contended that IID supported secessionist movements in southern Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines and Indonesia.” The government requested that Cordaid hand over ongoing projects to its local partners and neither expand the scope of the projects nor extend deadlines.
While adhering to the ban, Cordaid said its share in Bank Andara was less than 10 percent and that its participation in the program was directed toward support of microfinance institutions, particularly those with a strong focus on poverty reduction, helping clients who are considered too poor by other financial institutions to get loans.
The government’s policy to ban Cordaid was criticized by prominent human rights lawyer Totdung Mulya Lubis who said the decision was taken “too hastily” and without sufficient evidence. “It could set a bad precedent and lead outsiders to believe Indonesia is isolating Papua,” he said. Lubis pointed out that the government needed foreign donors to help develop Papua, one of Indonesia’s poorest regions. The Post quoted Lubis as observing that “to stop foreign social funding is akin to killing off NGOs in Papua, which almost entirely depend on overseas funding.
WPAT Comment: The decision to close the Cordaid office in West Papua parallels the decision to close down operations there by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2009. Cordaid, like the ICRC, is seeking to negotiate its return to West Papua quietly. Shutting down the operation of these respected humanitarian organizations is consistent with the Jakarta policy to limit international assistance to Papuans who for decades have suffered from a dearth of basic humanitarian services and respect for human rights, areas of need that Cordaid and the ICRC respectively were manifestly addressing. The decision also is consistent with Jakarta’s long standing campaign to limit international awareness of Papuan suffering. Finally, it is noteworthy that closing the operation of these two organizations which have done so much good for Papuans was a decision taken exclusively by Jakarta with no involvement of Papuans. These two episodes underscore that the promise of “special autonomy” is hollow.
Komnas HAM Speaks out against Security Forces Operations in Puncak Jaya
The Papuan branch of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) urged the Indonesian police and military to cease their military operations in Puncak Jaya district, in an August 11 statement by Mathius Murib, deputy chair of the organization in Jayapura. The public appeal came on the heels of a visit to the area by a Komnas HAM team to investigate recent incidents. The team, which Murib led, urged senior police officials in Puncak Jaya to initiate legal proceedings against all those persons or groups involved in the Puncak Jaya case from 2004 rather than simply employ armed force.
Murib noted that from 17 August 2004 up to August 2010 the inhabitants of Puncak Jaya have lived in a constant state of trauma because of reports that dozens of civilians as well as members of the security forces have been killed in Puncak Jaya. Murib urged that the police and the military immediately stop all operations to hunt people down in Puncak Jaya district and consider instead other ways of resolving the problems there. “We believe that force of arms or other forms of violence will never resolve these problems and will only lead to yet more problems and more casualties,” he said.
He also urged the civilian population in the area to remain calm, work together, and avoid being provoked by irresponsible elements. Murib said that Komnas HAM will be urging the district chief of Puncak Jaya as well as civil society, in particular the church, to draft a comprehensive account of developments during the current year. Murib explained that the role of the church in particular was important.
Churches Call for an Investigation of Attacks on Churches in Puncak Jayaa
Church leaders in the Puncak Jaya region on August 18 called for an investigation of shootings which have targeted churches in Puncak Jaya since 2004. Rev. Socrates Yoman, President of the Fellowship of Baptist Churches in Papua, called for creation of an “independent team” to investigate the attacks.
The Jakarta Post reported that Yoman’s call has been echoed by other Papuan religious leaders including the Indonesia Christian Churches (GKI) of Papua, Indonesia Bible Churches, the Kingmi Synod of Papua, the Catholic Diocese of Jayapura. All specifically call for an independent investigation of the attacks.
For its part, the Fellowship of Baptist Churches of Papua urged the provincial council and the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) to immediately invite the Governor and police and military chiefs to explain about the violence to the public and appealed to people to remain calm.
Government under Growing Pressure to Investigate Journalist’s Murder Seriously
The July 30 murder of journalist Ardiansyah Matra’is in Merauke and the failure of the Indonesian police to seriously investigate the crime has drawn growing criticism.
A police autopsy of the victim revealed that Matra’is was struck by several blows before falling into the water and drowning in Maro River, Merauke. The Indonesian police spokesman in Jakarta acknowledged that several of Matra’is teeth were missing and that there was swelling in several parts of his body, wounds likely to have resulted from his having been struck with a blunt implement. The Merauke police, however, rejected the announcement in Jakarta, saying that Matra’is had probably committed suicide.
Nezar Patria, the chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) stated that the police should immediately investigate who murdered Matra’is, adding that it had sent a representative to visit Jayapura and trying to arrange a meeting in Jakarta with the national police.
Forkorus Yoboisembut, the chairman of the Papuan Customary Council, suggested President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to set up an independent team to investigate the murder of Matra’is as well as Ridwan Salamun, a Sun TV stringer in Tual, Kei Island, on August 21.
Yoboisembut told the Voice of Human Rights radio that many parties have interest in not having the police to seriously investigate the Matra’is murder. “I think if the case is investigated, many parties will be implicated, prompting the investigation to be delayed up to now, a month after the murder.”
Matra’is is the son of a Javanese transmigrant in Merauke. He worked mostly as a freelancer, including his latest work for the Tabloid Jubi website. He is survived by his wife and two children.
The Voice of Human Rights reported that Matra’is had earlier written reports on illegal logging around Jayapura as well as military businesses in Merauke. The killing transpired at a time of growing tension in the Merauke area associated with a plan backed by the local government and Jakarta to create a massive plantation. The “development” plan would severely impact local Papuans who rely on the forest and other lands that would be consumed by the project. Local opposition and local media coverage of that protest has been under growing pressure from local authorities. Some journalists received threatening text messages in the week during which Matra’is was murdered.
Complicating any effort to understand or resolve this crime is the infiltration of intelligence personnel into the ranks of journalists. The Voice of Human Rights named two men who had allegedly worked for the intelligence and infiltrated the Tabloid Jubi website. One of them is a Javanese man who originates from Rangkas Bitung, West Java, but went to college in Yogjakarta, who claimed that he is an NGO activist but also a car workshop owner, a crocodile skin trader and a political analyst. His writing revealed his Indonesian military-styled analysis about the failures of local elites in post-Helsinki Aceh and in Sarmi, Papua. He has disappeared from Papua after the Matra’is murder.
see also
* FORUM-ASIA, Imparsial, and AJI Condemn the Murders of Two Journalists in Indonesia
* IFJ Worried for Safety of Journalists in Papua As Elections Loom
* CPJ: Indonesian reporter dies; had received death threats
The Reality of Security Force Brutality in West Papua
Through much of August a video depicting the reality of Indonesian state security force brutality in West Papua has circulated widely on the internet. The stark YouTube video presents the last minutes of a Papuan man captured and then bayoneted by the Indonesian police (Brimob). In the video, as the man lies dying with his intestines spilling onto the ground, his head propped against a log, he is taunted and tormented by his murderers. “Oh God!” Yawan Wayeni cries a few times in pain. Instead of treating him, the policemen seen on the video continue to question and taunt him. The scene is reminiscent of the killing of Papuan resistance leader Kelly Kwalik several months later who bled to death from an untreated bullet wound to his thigh while in police custody.
The torture-murder of Yawan transpired in early August 2009 but the video of his final moments surfaced only in late July 2010. During the intervening 11 months the police failed to investigate the incident. Only in the wake of the surfacing of the tape and growing international outrage did the police move to investigate. But even that tardy explanation has been inappropriate with police threats and intimidation aimed at any potential witnesses including Yawan’s wife and young family. The evidence the police have sought to suppress incriminates Yawan’s captors: Yawan was seized without a weapon and was hobbled by a bullet wound to the calf. He was secure in police custody at the time a bayonet was thrust into his abdomen.
Yawan was no stranger to the Indonesian authorities and was on a police blacklist. He was the personal bodyguard of the Chairperson of the Serui Traditional Board, Yusuf Tanawani, a vocal critic of Indonesian policy. Yawan, 39, was also a member of the “Team of 100” Papuan civil society leaders who in 1999 met with President B.J. Habibie at the Palace to demand independence for Papua. It was this group that 50 U.S. members of Congress proposed that President Obama meet with during his anticipated November 2010 visit to Indonesia.
At the time of his capture, as he breakfasted at dawn with his family in a potato patch on Yaopen Waropen islands, Yawan was also a wanted man. He had who escaped from Serui prison months earlier where was serving a nine-year jail sentence for state-alleged involvement in an armed raid against the employees of PT Artha Makmur Permai and the military post at Saubeba, Serui. According to the report of the Commission for Missing Persons & Victims of Violence (Kontras), during the raid the police found only Yawan’s wife and children in the hut. Yawan’s widow has stated that Yawan did not have a weapon. He had fled the breakfast site at their approach but returned when his children began crying in the presence of the heavily armed police at their garden hut. As he returned to the site of his distressed family he was shot in the calf and seized.
Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights, Ifdhal Kasim has joined in a wide public outcry in Indonesia over the incident, insisting the “Police must investigate Yawan’s death and protect his family.”
‘‘Get a fire’’ … video posted on YouTube shows two Papuan men being tortured by apparent members of the Indonesian security services. One has a smouldering stick applied to his genitals.
West Papua Media Alerts 
