1) Investigation finds Malang police chief order to shoot Papuans violated discipline
Papuan students in Malang commemorate International Women's Day – March 8, 2021 (WhatsApp)
Jakarta – The results of an investigation by the police's professionalism and security affairs division (Propam) has found that Malang municipal police chief Senior Commissioner Leonardus Simarmata committed a disciplinary violation when he allegedly threatened to shoot Papuan students at the Malang municipal police headquarters in March.
This was discovered based on a Propam investigation progress notification (SP2HP2) obtained by CNN Indonesia dated April 19, 2021. The notification was obtained by Michael Hilman, the lawyer representing the students who submitted a complaint over the incident with the national police headquarters Propam.
"From the investigation results, enough evidence was found against Senior Commissioner Leonardus Simarmata alleging that the East Java regional police Malang city municipal police chief committed a disciplinary violation as a member of the national police", read the notification.
In the notification, it explained that the case would be handed over to the East Java regional police chief as his superior who is authorised to hand down a punishment in order to obtain legal certainly.
CNN Indonesia has attempted to confirm the investigation result with the head of Propam, Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, but has still not received a response.
Simarmata was officially reported to Propam by Papuan students on Friday March 12 for alleged racism and discrimination.
When making the report, Hilman explained that the alleged racism and discrimination took place when Simarmata ordered his officers to shoot any Papuan students who attempted to enter the Malang municipal police headquarters on Monday March 8.
In a video circulating on social media, a police officer can be heard ordering officers to shoot the Papuan students.
"If you cross the fence line, it'll be halal darah [a lawful or legitimate killing under Islam], shot dead. Halal darah, shot dead. If you enter the gates, you will be halal darah", shouts a voice which can be heard on the video circulating on Social Media on Tuesday March 9.
One of the accounts which has shared the video is a Twitter account belonging to Papuan activist Veronica Koman, @VeronicaKoman.
At the time, East Java regional police public relations head, Senior Commissioner Gatot Repli Handoko, said that the video had been intentionally edited and was incomplete.
The order, he said, was made because the Papuan students were threatening to force their way into the Malang municipal police headquarters so the police repeatedly warned them not to do this.
"The narrative was not actually like that, it was actually just a piece of a sentence which was cut by those making the video, intentionally", Handoko told journalists on March 9. (yoa/pmg)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kapolres Malang Diduga Melanggar soal Ancam Tembak Mahasiswa".]
The government of Indonesia is planning to build a military base (KODIM 1810) in the rural area of Tambrauw West Papua, the home of four indigenous tribes. The Tambrauw Youth Intellectual Forum for Peace (FIMTCD) is an advocacy group that works on issues concerning development, environm
ent, investment and military violence. FIMTCD was formed in April 2020 to address the establishment of KODIM 1810 and now they are asking for your help to keep this base from being built.
The Tambrauw Indigenous Community residents live in safety and peace. There has never been an armed resistance, no armed groups nor any major conflicts have disturbed the peace in Tambrauw. More than 90% of the people are traditional farmers or fishermen who depend on the environment for their survival. Construction of a military base does nothing to meet the community’s needs, like roads, electricity, schools, and hospitals. There are still many people who die due to untreated illnesses and there are still many school-age children who do not attend school or drop out.
It is believed that the purpose of KODIM 1810 is to protect mining interests in the area and not for military defense, which is a violation of the rule of law. Residents of Tambrauw have already been the victims of military violence, which will only increase with the increased number of military personnel.
Despite all of these concerns there has been no meeting between the Tambrauw Government and the indigenous people. The customary landowners have explicitly stated that they have not released their land to be used to build the KODIM base, and the land is still under their control; yet the construction process is continuing.
Click "Start Writing" to send a message to President Widodo of Indonesia and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to reject the KODIM base!
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