Media release West Papua -5 civilians shot dead, up 22 people injured

Australia West Papua Association (Sydney)

Media Release 8 December 2014

West Papua -5 civilians shot dead, up 22 people injured

Five civilians were shot dead by a joint force of Indonesian Police and Military in  Paniai, on Monday 8th December.

First reports in the local media indicate that the incident seems to have occurred over an altercation between children and a police patrol car.

A number of young children were guarding a Christmas cottage that had built when a patrol car (without lights) driven by two police approached the children who  asked them to turn their lights on. They refused and returned to their headquarters in the City Madi. 

Subsequently and  with extra members of the military they returned to chase the children and beat them. The next morning, residents gathered in Paniai, to go to district police office in Madi to ask officials to account for the attack on the children.  However a joint group of military and police opened fired on the civilians killing four people with another dying  later.  Up to 22  others were reported injured some critical in hospital. 

Joe Collins of AWPA said, "Wednesday the 10 December is Human Rights Day and this year’s theme is  Human Rights 365, the idea that every day should be  Human Rights Day.   Tragically, this is not the case in West Papua where every incident no matter how minor can end in people being killed by the security forces. The Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop should immediately contact the Indonesia President urging him to investigate the incident and to bring those responsible for the killing of civilians to account for their actions".

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