2) Indonesian forces to blame for Papua killings: Amnesty
3) At least 95 killed by security forces in Indonesia's Papua - Amnesty
4) Amnesty International Papuan report
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2 July 2018 — 2:18pm
Jakarta: Indonesia's police and military are responsible for at least 95 unlawful killings in the easternmost Papua region since 2008, including targeted slayings of activists, Amnesty International said on Monday, condemning a near-total absence of justice for the mainly indigenous victims.
In a report based on two years of research, Amnesty said that more than half the victims were either political activists or people taking part in peaceful protests often unrelated to the Papuan independence movement.
It said none of the killings was the subject of independent criminal investigation. In about a third of the cases, there was not even an internal investigation. When police or military claimed to have investigated internally, they did not make the findings public. Eight deaths were compensated with money or pigs.
The victims are overwhelmingly male indigenous Papuans and the majority are young, aged 30 or under.
The killings - nearly one a month for the past eight years - are a "serious blot" on Indonesia's human rights record, said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.
"This culture of impunity within the security forces must change, and those responsible for past deaths held to account," he said.
An independence movement and an armed insurgency have simmered in the formerly Dutch-controlled region since it was annexed by Indonesia in 1963. Indonesian rule has been frequently brutal, and indigenous Papuans, largely shut out of their region's economy, are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia.
A majority of the killings documented by Amnesty were the result of unnecessary or excessive use of force during protests or law enforcement operations and unlawful acts by individual officers, it said.
Some occurred in circumstances related to the Papuan independence movement such as raising of the banned "Morning Star" independence flag or ceremonies marking significant dates.
The rights group said the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, elected in 2014, had failed to end the security forces' pervasive impunity in Papua, like all Indonesian governments before it.
Despite a promise by the newly elected Jokowi to bring to justice officers responsible for killing four people when they fired into a crowd of protesters in December 2014 in Paniai district, there has been no criminal investigation even after Indonesia's Human Rights Commission found evidence of "gross human rights violations", Amnesty said.
In that case, villagers were protesting the alleged beating of Papuan children by soldiers and threw stones and wood at a police and military buildings before officers opened fire. Two witnesses saw police officers beat one of the protesters and shoot him at close range after he fell to the ground, according to the Human Rights Commission.
AP
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2) Indonesian forces to blame for Papua killings: Amnesty
Agence France-Presse
Jakarta | Mon, July 2, 2018 | 12:43 pm
Indonesian security forces are behind the unlawful killing of at least 95 people in Papua since 2010, with most perpetrators never held to account, Amnesty International said in a new report on Monday.
Papua, on the western half of New Guinea island, has been the scene of a simmering independence insurgency since it was annexed by Indonesia in the late 1960s.
Political activists and demonstrators peacefully protesting the government were among those killed in recent violence, as well as residents involved in non-political gatherings in Indonesia's easternmost province, the rights group said.
Not one case has been subject to an independent criminal investigation, according to Amnesty, which said it spent two years interviewing victims' families, witnesses, rights organisations, political activists and church-based community groups.
"Papua is one of Indonesia’s black holes for human rights. This is a region where security forces have for years been allowed to kill women, men and children, with no prospects of being held to account," Amnesty Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said in a statement.
"This culture of impunity within the security forces must change, and those responsible for past deaths held to account."
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
Amnesty said 39 deaths were linked to peaceful political activities including raising the Morning Star, Papua’s banned flag.
Another 56 killings involved excessive use of force by the army or police and were unrelated to calls for independence.
Some of the violence has been centred on protests against a huge gold and copper mine owned by US-based firm Freeport McMoRan -- a frequent flashpoint in the local struggle for independence and a bigger share of the region's rich resources.
President Joko Widodo promised to improve human rights in Papua after taking office in 2014, but Amnesty says he has not lived up to his pledge.
It urged the Indonesian government to immediately investigate alleged killings and rights violations, as well as review tactics used by security forces.
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3) At least 95 killed by security forces in Indonesia's Papua - Amnesty
2:12 pm today
Amnesty International claims at least 95 people have been killed by Indonesian security forces in the Papuan region in the past eight years.
In a new report, it said forces in the restive eastern region act with near total impunity, with the overwhelming majority of perpetrators never being held accountable.
The report documents 95 deaths in 69 incidents between January 2010 and February this year.
It notes 39 killings were at political events, such as pro-independence marches or soldiers opening fire at raising ceremonies for the West Papuan morning star flag.
But 56 of the killings were in non-political contexts, such as firing live rounds into worker protests, raids on villages, or the killing of a mentally-disabled young man.
Amnesty said none of the perpetrators have been tried in an independent court, let alone been subject to an independent investigation.
In 25 cases, there was no investigation at all.
The report said despite Indonesian president Joko Widodo's promise to prioritise human rights in Papua, killings and the impunity have shown no sign of letting up.
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4) Amnesty International report
INDONESIA: "DON'T BOTHER, JUST LET HIM DIE": KILLING WITH IMPUNITY IN PAPUA
, Index number: ASA 21/8198/2018
Over the two decades since Indonesia’s 1998 reforms (Reformasi) began, successive governments of Indonesia have pledged to end human rights violations by security forces. However, Amnesty International has continued to receive allegations of unlawful killings by security forces in the provinces of Papua and West Papua. These killings occur mainly in the context of unnecessary or excessive use of force during mass protests, during law enforcement operations or due to misconduct by individual officials. In this report, Amnesty International highlights how investigations for the unlawful killings cases are rare, and it is even rarer that anyone is held accountable.
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