West Papua human rights activist Sebby Sambom has been arrested by police at Sentani Airport in Jayapura yesterday morning. He was on his way to a meeting with the Asian Human Rights Commission.
Sebby was released from prison last year after serving 1 year of a 2 year sentence following a legal glitch. He has since been living in hiding after him and his family received death threats.
It is not clear what offence he is alleged to have committed. Witnesses said he was in the boarding lounge of the airport when Indonesian intelligence officers and police arrested him.
In other developments, police last night shot dead Miron Wetipo at Abepura Prison leading to a riot by prisoners. High profile political prisoners Filep Karma and Buctar Tabuni have now been moved to Papua police hearquaters from Abepura prison by police. There are reports of intimidation towards remaining prisoners.
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
In this video West Papuan farmer Tunaliwor Kiwo recounts the details of his torture by Indonesian soldiers on May 30 2010. Indonesian soldiers arrested Kiwo and his neighbor Telangga Gire on May 30 in Papua’s Puncak Jaya regency. This video was shot on October 23, 2010 and released by the Papuan Customary Council. Kiwo describes the torture he suffered for 2 days before escaping from the soldiers on June 2.
After the public release of the torture video the Indonesian government promised to investigate but now claims it cannot identify the perpetrators and is dragging it’s feet on taking action.
In the 10-minute torture video previously released to the public on October 18, soldiers are seen kicking Kiwo’s face and chest, burning his face with a cigarette, applying burning wood to his penis, and placing a knife to Gire’s neck. Indonesia is party to the UN Convention Against Torture and has strict obligations to promptly investigate and prosecute all incidents of torture and to ensuire that victims and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of any complaint or evidence given.
Rejection of OTSUS intensifies
DPRP should convene plenary session
The rejection of OTSUS, the Special Autonomy Law of 2001, has intensified with a demonstration outside the office of the regional legislative assembly, the DPRP calling for it to convene a plenary session to discuss the eleven recommendations adopted recently by the MRP which included the rejection of OTSUS.
‘We declare that the OTSUS law adopted in 2001 has resulted in no significant improvements in the living conditions of the Papuan people, and we state that OTSUS has failed.’
The chairman of Pepera PB, Selpius Bobii said that OTSUS provided for a system that sides with the Papuan people, and which protects and empowers them. But in the nine years since the enactment of the law, not a single special regulation as required under the law has been adopted. There have been inconsistencies between the attitude and the actions of the central government.
The chairman of the Customary Youth of Papua, Wilson Uruway, presented a joint statement to the deputy chairman of the DPRP who was urged to make a statement in response. He said that all the aspirations of the people submitted to the assembly had been discussed. Those concerning the central government would be quickly forwarded to the government in the same way that the eleven recommendations of the MRP has been forwarded.
The joint statement was supported by a large number of groups and NGOs.
Hardly any of the OTSUS funds has not been used in ways that would assist and help indigenous Papuans but had been misdirected as ‘fictive funds’. The central government was accused of thwarting the MRP at all levels of its activities, as a result of which it has be incapable of struggling for the rights of the Papuan people.
Among the indicators of the problem was the tardiness in adopting special regulations – Perdasi and Perdadus – regarding management of the administration and for economic development. Dualism between provincial and districts administrations has occurred in their adoption of different regulations
Before demonstrating in front of the DPRP, the crowd gathered at Expo Waena, where they waited for a group from Sentani Customary Council to join them.
One speaker called on the government to speak out against acts of intimidation, threats and killings of Papuans perpetrated by the TNI/Army and the Police.
A group led by the chairman of DAP Forkorus Yaboisembu arrived at the DPRP travelling on several trucks.
The demonstration was surrounded by two special Brimob units and members of the local police. Nevertheless, the action proceeded peacefully
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Historic Papua day commemorated
Bintang Papua, 19 November 2010
19 November 1969 is a historic day for the Papuan people, a day regarded as been sacred by many sections of the people struggling for independence. On this day in 2010, groups gathered to recall the historic event when the Papuan issue was discussed in the US Congress, although it did not clearly stated that the US Congress fully supports Papuan sovereignty.
At a gathering held to socialise the events at the US Congress, Wilson Waimbo Uruwaya announced that they would hold a peaceful demonstration calling for the peaceful solution of Papua’s status which was discussed by the UN General Assembly in 1969.
Wilson said that all elements of the Papuan struggle were united in their determination to socialise the results of the US Congress on which occasion, a discussion took place about crimes against humanity and the need to seek a solution to the difficult problems that were being faced by the Papuan people to the present day.
The discussions in the US Congress which had occurred for the first time have taken the Papuan people a step forward in their history of struggle.
Indonesia: Stop Stalling on Investigating Torture Video Episode Papuan Farmer Describes Days of Abuse by Soldiers
(New York, November 22, 2010) – The Indonesian government should use the newly available video testimony of a torture victim to mount a thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation into the episode, Human Rights Watch said today. The torture of Tunaliwor Kiwo, a Papuan farmer, and his neighbor, was recorded with a mobile phone on May 30, 2010, and the video came to light in October. Kiwo recounted the details of his torture in videotaped testimony only made public in recent days.
Soldiers arrested Kiwo and Telangga Gire on May 30 in Papua’s Puncak Jaya regency. In a 10-minute video of the torture session, soldiers are seen kicking Kiwo’s face and chest, burning his face with a cigarette, applying burning wood to his penis, and placing a knife to Gire’s neck. In the newly available videotaped testimony, Kiwo describes that torture and details other forms of torture he suffered for two more days before he escaped from the soldiers on June 2. Soldiers also tortured Gire, who was finally released after interventions by his wife and mother. The government has promised to investigate, but claims it cannot identify the perpetrators.
“Once again, the authorities are sitting on their hands rather than fulfilling their obligations and proactively identifying and prosecuting the soldiers responsible,” said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division. “Kiwo has shown tremendous bravery in coming forward – he deserves justice and protection from retaliation, not another half-hearted army investigation and cover-up.”
Indonesia is a party in the United Nations Convention Against Torture and has strict obligations to investigate and prosecute promptly all incidents of torture and to ensure that victims and witnesses are protected against all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of filing a complaint or giving evidence.
Kiwo said in his testimony that he and Gire had been riding a motorcycle from their hometown, Tingginambut, to Mulia, the capital of Puncak Jaya, when soldiers stopped them at a military checkpoint in Kwanggok Nalime, Yogorini. Kiwo said that soldiers seized and hit them, bound their arms with rope, dragged them to the back of the army post, and tied their feet with barbed wire. He said the soldiers tortured him for three days, beating him with their hands and sticks, crushing his toes with pliers, suffocating him with plastic bags, burning his genitals and other body parts, cutting his face and head and smearing the wounds with chilies, and using other forms of abuse.
Kiwo’s videotaped testimony with subtitles in English and Indonesian can be viewed on the Engage Media website.
“The Indonesian government at the highest levels should guarantee that Tunaliwor Kiwo and Telangga Gire will be protected from retaliation and considered witnesses to crimes,” Robertson said. “The testimony of these two men will be critically important in prosecuting the soldiers who tortured them, so protecting them needs to be a top priority.”
The October media coverage of the May 30 torture video prompted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to hold a limited cabinet meeting on October 22, after which the coordinating security minister, Marshall Djoko Suyanto, admitted that the video showed Indonesian soldiers torturing Papuan villagers. Yudhoyono reportedly ordered the military to investigate immediately, but the government has provided no information about the progress of the investigation.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) estimates that as many as 50 civilians have been killed in the area since the Indonesian military and police began military operations there last year.
Representatives of the Papuan Customary Council provided the video of Kiwo’s testimony to the National Commission on Human Rights on November 5. The Commission set up a team to investigate the torture episode as well as other human rights abuses alleged to have occurred in Puncak Jaya. The Commission has scheduled a trip to Papua to investigate further, though an earlier visit in late October to investigate the Kiwo-Gire torture video was frustrated by a lack of access and cooperation from military and local officials.
Unexpectedly, Maj. Gen. Hotma Marbun, the Indonesian military commander in Papua, was removed from his post on November 12. It was announced as a “routine transfer” even though Marbun had only been in Papua since January. Human Rights Watch has no information indicating that this transfer is punitive or connected in any way with the torture video. His replacement, Brig. Gen. Erfi Triassunu, should ensure that investigations in the torture case are carried out thoroughly and impartially, and that army officials under his command fully cooperate, Human Rights Watch said.
“Changing military commanders will not root out impunity,” Robertson said. “The victims deserve justice. The Indonesian military and police in Papua should fully cooperate with investigators from the National Commission on Human Rights.”
To view the videotaped testimony of Tunaliwor Kiwo, please visit:
For more information, please contact:
In Jakarta, Elaine Pearson (English): +1-646-291-7169 (mobile); or +62-812-8222-3591 (mobile)
In Bangkok, Phil Robertson (English, Thai): +66-850-608-406 (mobile)
In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341; or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile)
Appendix: Confusion over two different torture videos from Papua
March 17, 2010 video
On November 5, 2010, the Jayapura military tribunal opened the trial against Master Pvt. Sahminan Husain Lubis, Pvt. Second Class Joko Sulistiono, Pvt. Second Class Di Purwanto, and their commander Second Lt. Cosmos N. of the Kostrad 753 battalion on the charge of “disobeying orders.” Cosmos led a 12-person unit to man a checkpoint in Kolome village, Illu district, Puncak Jaya. Many international and national reporters, and some Indonesian officials, mistakenly believed the trial was to focus on the torture of Kiwo-Gire as captured in the video of May 30, 2010.
During the trial, it became clear that the case involved a different incident of torture also caught on video but filmed on March 17, 2010. In the proceedings, the soldiers admitted the torture depicted in the video. According to Cosmos, the incident happened when his team conducted a routine patrol. He said he received intelligence information suggesting that there was an AK-47 and Mauser weapons stockpile in Gurage village.
The team entered the village and separated the men and women. One by one, they questioned all the men, and when they did not receive responses they considered acceptable, the soldiers began kicking and punching the villagers. Second Pvt. Ishak used a Nokia N-70 mobile phone to record the interrogations and beatings. He told the court that Cosmos had ordered him to do so.
Observers at the trial reported to Human Rights Watch that a judge, Lt. Col. CHK Adil Karo Karo, told Ishak, “You’re stupid. Knowing how sensitive it was, why did you keep recording it anyway?” It was a quick trial with only two sessions for hearings and not a single external witness was summoned by the court. On November 12, the Jayapura military tribunal found Cosmos and the three privates guilty of “disobeying orders.” Cosmos was sentenced to seven months. The three privates were sentenced to five months each.
May 30, 2010 video
The May 30, 2010 video showed a number of soldiers with two bound Papuan men lying on a dirt road. An electronic analysis of the video showed that it was taken at 1:30 p.m. A Puncak Jaya-based official of the Papuan Customary Council reported in August 2010 that two men had been tortured on the afternoon of May 30: Tunaliwor Kiwo and Telangga Gire. Moribnak had managed to interview Gire in July. Moribnak wrote that the torture had probably taken place in Yogorini village, Tingginambut district, Puncak Jaya regency. It allegedly involved members of Kostrad 753rd battalion. Given government restrictions on international organizations entering these areas, Human Rights Watch has not been able to independently confirm the actual location where the torture took place or the identity of the unit of the soldiers.
Kiwo escaped from the soldiers on June 2, and the soldiers released Gire after his mother and his wife had pleaded for his life.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement on October 20, calling on the Indonesian government to investigate the incident seriously.
West Papua human rights activist Sebby Sambom has been arrested by police at Sentani Airport in Jayapura yesterday morning. He was on his way to a meeting with the Asian Human Rights Commission.
West Papua Media Alerts 