Tag: west papua

Indonesian army units torch houses, shoot villager, during Wamena sweep operation

by West Papua Media

November 7, 2012

Credible Reports have again emerged detailing a rampage by troops from the notorious Indonesian Army (TNI) Battalion 756, who have reportedly run amok burning houses and beating up Papuan civilians, during a recent security sweep against Papuan civil society activists.

At 2pm local time on November 4, a joint force of 756 BTn troops, together with Brimob paramilitary police units and troops described as “non-organic special forces” – most likely troops from the Australian-supported Detachment 88 counter-terror unit – conducted a sweep of the houses behind the New Jibama market in Wamena town. The troops laid siege to a group of houses and started shooting at the houses and directly at residents, according to witnesses interviewed by local human rights sources.

One person was reportedly seriously injured by gunshot wounds sustained during the attack, and many more people received major burn injuries after being caught in three houses that were torched by the joint force. Exact casualty figures have been unable to be ascertained and the gunshot victim has yet to be identified, however family members confirmed that several people had been treated at the Wamena hospital for their injuries.

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Family members of those targeted, spoken to by stringers for West Papua Media, have fled Wamena after their houses were set on fire by the joint force. According to local sources, they fled to the forest outside Wamena, and are too scared to return for fear of being shot by Indonesian security force. Those fleeing are being forced to survive on the resources in the forest, as the security presence makes in difficult to return home, according to our sources.

Local human rights activists have also claimed that people in Wamena are confused over the reason behind the attack and the arson, and have questioned who has commanded the attack. “What forces are behind this? This case is not obvious, but the combined forces commit arson and loot residents’ property in the home of all three victims,” said the activist.

The behaviour of security forces against Papuans “is very exaggerated beyond procedures that should be enforced under applicable human rights law in Indonesia and Internationally,” he continued.

On june 7, members of Battalion 756 went on another rampage of arson, looting, shootings and beatings after one of their members was killed after an accident that seriously injured a young boy. In recent months, Detachment 88 troops have also led an intensifying and brutal crackdown on activists from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), after claims of their involvement in a bombing campaign.

Many credible observers have cast doubt on the motivations of the security forces in this crackdown, accusing them of engineering a situation to criminalise legitimate peaceful free expression.

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38 Papuans flee TNI/Polri security sweeps in Keerom

ELSHAM News Service

November 2, 2012

Investigations and monitoring conducted by Elsham Papua in Keerom between Saturday (27 Oct.) and Sunday (28 Oct.) have revealed that at least thirty-ight (38) indigenous Papuans have had to leave their villages and have fled into the forest and stayed there for more than five (5) months.

During these five months, they have had to move from one place to another, and they have had to settle in huts around the Bagia hills, west of the tow of Arso.

The locals evacuated their villages because they were afraid of becoming victims of ongoing sweeps conducted by  joint army/police forces in the area, who are hunting indigenous Papuans who would allegedly be members of the separatist armed struggle (TPN-OPM); another alleged motive behind these sweeps is the search to find the killer of the head of the village of Sawyatami, who was shot on 1 July.
The names of the indigenous Papuans who fled to the forest, and who are now internally displaced persons (IDPs) are as follows:
Name of IDPs from the village of Sawyatami:
1. Hironimus Yaboy (45)
2. Alea Kwambre (28)
3. Afra Kwambre (27)
4. Carles Yaboy (10)
5. Ardila Yaboy (8)
6. Desi Yaboy (4)
7. Lefira Yaboy (1)
8. Markus Kuyi (17)
9. Yustus Kuyi (16)
10. Timotius Kuyi (15)
11. Samuel Kuyi (13)
Name of IDPs from the village of Workwana:
1. Lukas Minigir (68)
2. Rosalina Minigir (36)
3. Hanas Pikikir (21)
4. Naomi Giryapon (19)
5. Krisantus Pikikir (12)
6. Penina Pekikir (3)
7. Habel Minigir (33)
8. Agustina Minigir (21)
9. Adrianus Minigir (2)
Name of IDPs from PIR III Bagia:
1. Agustina Bagiasi (35)
2. Mikael Kimber (18)
3. Jhon Kimber (14)
4. Kristiani Kimber (11)
5. Serfina Kimber (8)
6. David Kimber (2)
7. Fabianus Kuyi (50)
8. Martha Tekam (38)
9. Marselina Kuyi (23)
10. Fitalius Kuyi (20)
11. Margaretha Ibe (19)
12. Jubelina Kuyi (19)
13. Kristianus Kuyi (17)
14. Frins Alfons Kuyi (15)
15. Emilianus Kuyi (11)
16. Maria Yuliana Kuyi (8)
17. Moses Hubertus Kuyi (5)
18. Rati Kimber (1)
Out of the total displaced people, eight (8) are children who were attending school. Their names are:
1. Yubelina Kuyi, high school students at Negeri 1 Swakarsa Arso
2. Kristianus Kuyi, junior high school student at Negeri 1 Arso
3. Frins Kuyi, elementary school student at Inpres PIR III Bagia
4. Emilianus Kuyi, elementary school student at Inpres PIR III Bagia
5. Charles Yaboy, elementary school student at Inpres Sawyatami
6. Nike Ardila Yaboy Sanggwa, elementary school student at Inpres Sawyatami
7. Kristian Pekeukir, elementary school student at YPPK Dununmamoy Arso
8. Yohana Kimber, elementary school student at Inpres Sawyatami

These children have not attended school from 2 July 2012 until the date of this report. YK, whom Elsham found in the camp, explained that she no longer went to school because she was afraid of the TNI/police. “I am scared that the soldiers will shoot me. My father is also fighting for an independent Papua so I am afraid to go to school,” said YK in a plain tone.
During the decade covering the period 1970 to 1980, Keerom was a Military Operations Area. Many local residents have undergone cruel and arbitrary treatment at the hands of the Indonesian security forces, as they were accused of alleged involvement in the separatist movement. Today, residents are still feeling the trauma of living in a military operation area. And up to the date of this report, the IDPs are still afraid to return to their villages.

ElshamNewsService

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Update on Manokwari police beating of journalist Oktovianus Pogau

Statement/ Media safety briefing from Oktovianus Pogau, SuaraPapua.com

October 27, 2012

I (Oktovianus Pogau, a journalist at suarapapua.com and a freelancer for The Jakarta Globe) will report on a beating that I experienced, perpetrated by police in Manokwari, West Papua.

Journalist Oktovianus Pogau (Photo: Andreas Harsono)

On the 24th October, 2012, at around 16.00 Eastern Indonesian Time, I was accompanied by three journalists, two from Cahaya Papua (Duma Sanda and Patrick Tandilerung) and one journalist from Tabloid Noken (Jo Kelwulan) to Manokwari police station to meet with the Chief of Police for Manokwari, AKBP Agustinus Supriyanto S.Ik, as had been arranged on the evening of Tuesday (23/10) with the officer.

The Chief of Police had initially stated that he was not aware if members of the force had beat up journalists, then, when many journalists from Jakarta began to call the station inquiring about the incident, Supriyanto became adamant that there were no beatings of journalists by police.
Then, continued Supriyanto, 5-10 minutes later at around 20.00 Eastern Indonesian Time, there was a brief message from me to his phone (whereas I sent him an SMS at 13.29 WIT, 30 minutes after the beating) which stated that there had been a beating and that my neck had been strangled while I was covering an action by Komite Nasional Papua Barat (KNPB) (National West Papuan Committee) on Tuesday 23/10 in front of Kampus Universitas Negeri Papua (Unipa) (Papuan State University) which was supporting an international lawyers meeting in London.

Then, the Chief of Police conveyed himself as the supervisor and manager of all the police in Manokwari, Papua Barat, and didn’t question that the media publish (when shown the news headlines in Cahaya Papua which detailed the violence perpetrated by members of the police force against me) news about the aforementioned incident.

Supriyanto said that the relationships between all journalists in West Papua, particularly in Manokwari, is really good, and because of this, he personally regrets the incident of the beating, and in fact, was surprised that a member of the force would do something like this to a journalist.

Supriyanto said that he wished to offer a personal apology for the incident. He also said that there was also a possibility that the incident occurred because the police didn’t realise I was a journalist, and that they were also carried away with the emotion of the moment.

Because of this, the Chief of Police firmly requested that I identify the men responsible for the incident so they could be subject to due legal processes, as in line with my request.

However, Supriyanto also suggested that the case didn’t have to be resolved amicably, that is, to be resolved by making peace with the offenders. According to the chief of police, it could be a rather difficult process to find the offenders, as there were many members in the force, and certainly no-one would be honest, but he said again that it depended on me.

After the chief of police opened this conversation, he gave us all the chance to talk. Duma Sanda explained that there was an issue of freedom of the press, in which the work of journalists is universal, meaning, it doesn’t mean that just because I didn’t live and become a journalist in Manokwari, I didn’t have the right to cover the demonstration by KNPB.

Duma also firmly requested that the Chief of Police teach the men to respect the profession of journalism, and also to respect journalists like myself. And, to make himself clearer, Duma also requested that the Chief listen to a chronological account of the beating I experienced.

I introduced myself (officially) to the Chief of Police.  I told him about my work writing news for the paper Papua Pos Nabire and Tabloid JUBI during high school, about writing several columns in Tabloid Suara Perempuan Papua, the newspaper Bintang Papua, along with Papua Pos Nabire.  And I conveyed to him that I’d also covered stories for The Jakarta Globe and that this is still continuing, and then that I established suarapapua.com as an online media outlet.

I explained to the Chief of Police in chronological order the incident of the beating (you can read my previous email). After this, I conveyed a number of important issues to the Chief of Police that have to be understood about the incident of the beating.

I said that firstly, his men had violated the article KUHP on disorder; secondly, the men had violated article UU Kebebasan Pers 1999 (UU on Freedom of the Press 1999) by preventing the work of a journalist; thirdly the UU anti-discrimination; and fourthly, Intelligence didn’t have the authority to capture let alone beat someone and certainly they violated their work code.

Because of this, I requested that the problem not be resolved amicably/peacefully, but should be followed up through a more direct process of law. I said that it was important that the police officers be aware, and law enforcement officers should be an example, that if there are officers who are at fault, then they have to be punished as criminals so that the public can know.

Oktovianus Pogau

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Okto Pogau: Police beating of journalist in Manokwari

Statement by Oktovianus Pogau

SuaraPapua.com

October 23, 2012
I’m going to describe the beating I (Oktovianus Pogau, Journalist) http://www.suarapapua.com experienced by the Manokwari district police in front of Papua State University campus in Manokwari, West Papua, on the afternoon of Tuesday 23rd October.

At about 10.00 am Eastern Indonesian Time I arrived at the place of the incident, in front of the Papua State University campus. I saw around 300 armed officers holding/restraining a crowd of 300 people. The crowd was planning on marching to Lapangan Borarsi, Manokwari. There were three trucks blocking the road, and also 1 TNI (military) truck with dozens of personnel.

There were negotiations between the police and the crowd. Police requested the crowd express their opinion there, on the main road, in front of the campus. The crowd insisted on continuing to Lapangan Borarsi. There was some commotion, then the crowd yielded and didn’t continue to Lapangan Borarsi (except) for a few people who continued there to wait for another crowd of demonstrators to arrive.

At about 10.40 am Eastern Indonesian Time, a police officer neared the crowd and took a photo. The crowd didn’t accept this, and moved nearer to the police and requested that they not take photos so close. Then, several people from the crowd spontaneously threw rocks in the direction of the officers, and from here, the officers responded brutally. Hundreds of people dispersed and the officers loosed thousands of shots in front of the campus Uncen. 11 people were arrested. 2 people suffered from gunshot wounds.

At this time I wasn’t far from where this was happening. I was trying to take footage and photos. A plain-clothed police officer approached me and told me to leave the area in a rude tone. I told him I was a journalist and carried a press card. He demanded I show him my card. I found my wallet so I could show him my card but suddenly a police officer in full uniform turned up. The officer strangled my neck and threatened me, so that I’d leave to the action. I resisted and said I was a journalist, then three more officers in uniform came and barked at me, ‘Where’s your press card . . . where’s your press card.’ I moved to look for it, but one of the police threw punches at my face and lips.
At this time my neck was aching from the strangulation by the officer and my lip was swollen and bleeding. Then several of my journalist friends came and stopped them and said I was a journalist, and only then did they release me.

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Papuan independence demo in London

Bintang Papua
25 October 2012 Benny Wenda leads an Independence Demo in London

Jayapura: Three British Members of Parliament were present at a meeting which was held in one of the committee rooms in the House of Commons for two hours on 23 October  at which information was given about the situation in West Papua.

The three parliamentarians were Andrew Smith, MP, member  for Oxford, Lord Harris a member of the House of Lords and Dan Rogerson MP, member for Cornwall.

While the meeting was in progress, a group of a dozen or more supporters of the OPM, the Papuan Freedom Organisation, held a demonstration outside, led by Benny Wenda, leader of the West Papuan.organisation overseas, who also addressed the demo. One of the demands made by the speaker was for the United Nations to send an observer mission to West Papua.

[The report is accompanied by a photo of the demonstration, which also shows the Morning  Star flag.]

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