2) Intolerance, Papua Conflict Will Haunt Indonesia for Next 10 Years: LIP
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1) Soldier behind death of Papuan pastor: Independent team
Nina A. Loasana
Jakarta
Jakarta / Sat, October 31 2020 / 01:00 am
Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Haris Azhar speaks in a press conference in this file photo taken last year.(Kompas.com/Abba Gabbrilin)
An independent team calling itself the Intan Jaya Humanity Team has alleged that Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel were behind the fatal shooting of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani last month in Intan Jaya regency, Papua, as well as a string of violence prior to the killing.
Prominent human rights activist and Lokataru Legal and Human Rights Foundation executive director Haris Azhar led the team, which also comprises local religious figures, academics and activists. Haris said villagers had seen a spike in violence in Hitadipa district since military personnel were stationed in the village last year following antiracism protests in the province in August 2019. “ ased on our investigation, TNI personnel carried out a series of violence against Hitadipa villagers prior to the shooting," Haris said in a press conference on Thursday.
The team found that at least two military personnel were involved in Yeremia’s death. “The information we received pointed to members of Hitadipa Subdistrict Military Command [Koramil],” he said. The pastor’s death was part of a prolonged conflict in Intan Jaya. He explained that in April, two villagers went missing after allegedly being detained by military officers during a “COVID-19 raid".
This case remained unsolved even after a series of meetings between the military and local stakeholders, including Pastor Yeremia. Before Yeremia’s fatal shooting on Sept. 19, there had been a gunfight between the TNI and a party that the authority claimed to be an armed criminal group, Haris further said. The team also claimed that on Sept. 19, military officers gathered hundreds of Hitadipa villagers in front of a local school building that has been converted into a military post following a gunfire exchange between the TNI and the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in the village on Sept. 17.
The shooting resulted in the death of a TNI soldier. Members of the TPNPB also reportedly managed to seize a gun belonging to the deceased soldier. "During the meeting, villagers claimed that the district military commander gave them two days to return the gun or else the TNI would carry out an annihilation operation in the village," Haris said. Later that day, he added, soldiers allegedly burned down an official residence of a local health worker in the village, claiming that the house sheltered a TPNPB member. On the evening of Sept. 19, Pastor Yeremia was found fatally wounded in his pig pen, with a bullet wound in the arm and a stab wound in the neck. He passed away a few hours later.
Haris claimed that witnesses saw a soldier named Alpius and three other soldiers heading to the pig pen prior to the incident. "There's a strong indication that Alpius is the culprit. Previously, Alpius had publicly stated that Pastor Yeremia and five other local residents were enemies of the TNI," he said. The team’s finding is in line with the investigation result from the government-sanctioned joint fact-finding team (TGPF), which said it had found indications that security forces had been involved in the death of the pastor, although the TGPF also stated there was a possibility that a third party was behind it.
The team, however, did not reveal detailed information on the suspected killers. Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) III spokesperson Col. Czi IGN Suriastawa refuted the Intan Jaya Humanity Team's findings, calling them "baseless" and "a total fabrication". "Why would TNI member kill a pastor, what benefit would we gain from such an act?" he told The Jakarta Post. Suriastawa also claimed that witnesses' accounts of the incident kept changing. "It was the fourth version that I've heard. It’s very odd,” he said.
The Cendrawasih Military Command (Kodam) in Papua said in a statement that an investigation was still under way. "If military personnel are found to have been involved, they will be processed in accordance with the law." the statement read. Haris said Pastor Yeremia's shooting had caused a deep fear in the hearts of some 1,000 Hitadipa residents, who fled the village shortly after the incident. “It is the hope of the villagers for the TNI personnel to leave Hitadipa and to return to the village safely.”
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2) Intolerance, Papua Conflict Will Haunt Indonesia for Next 10 Years: LIP
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Translator:
Dewi Elvia Muthiariny
Editor:
Markus Wisnu Murti
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researcher Cahyo Pamungkas opined that Indonesia would face two major problems in the next 10 years, viz. religious intolerance and separatism conflict in Papua.
“These political conflicts will haunt Indonesia for the next 10 years,” said Cahyo in a discussion on Conflict Resolution at the National and Regional Levels on Friday, October 30, 2020.
Cahyo said that intolerance, radicalism, and identity politics had threatened the principle of diversity and the spirit of nationalism.
Persecution and expatriation of the Rohingya, Cahyo added, reminded that Indonesia did similar action towards minority groups, such as the Shia and Ahmadiyah. “This is an example that the country fails to protect minorities,” he said.
Conflict in Papua is the longest in Indonesia, which is also one of the humanitarian crises that are rarely addressed. Cahyo said the cycle of political violence in Papua had been going on since 1965 and lingered after the reformation. He mentioned cases of human rights violations in Wasior, Wamena, and Paniai.
“This violence in Papua is why they want to separate from Indonesia. I think this strengthens Papuan nationalism,” he said.
Cahyo said that the government had used illiberal and liberal peace to overcome the Papua conflict by creating special autonomy up to deploying military (TNI) and police personnel. However, these measures failed to create peace.
Read: TNI Investigates Alleged Soldier Involvement in Death of Papuan Pastor
FRISKI RIANA
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