For the second time in four months, the Indonesian military blamed a pro-independence group for a deadly attack in West Papua, although separatist rebels claimed responsibility for the incidents in September and on Thursday.
The military accused the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), which is seen as an activist group, of carrying out Thursday’s attack that killed a government soldier and wounded four others in Maybrat regency. But a Papuan guerrilla group, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), said its forces were behind the attack.
“We strongly suspect that [Thursday’s attack] was the work of the KNPB group in Maybrat,” Col. Hendra Pesireron, spokesman for the Indonesian military in West Papua, said in a statement Friday.
A gunfight erupted between soldiers from the combat engineering division and people who attacked them at around 7 a.m. in East Aifat, a district of Maybrat, he said. The slain soldier was identified as Second Sgt. Miskel Rumbiak.
Meanwhile, TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom told BenarNews that its fighters carried out the Thursday morning attack.
“TPNPB attacked soldiers and police who were repairing the Aifuf River bridge and killed one of the soldiers,” Sebby told BenarNews.
Members of TPNPB’s Sorong Raya division, under the command of Denny Moos and his deputy Zakarias Fatem, were involved in the operation, Sebby said.
KNPB denies involvement
However, authorities blamed the KNPB group for this latest attack as well as one on a Maybrat military post that left four government soldiers dead in early September.
The military said the six suspects who were arrested for the September incident were from the KNPB. The suspects, who were flown to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, in December to be tried there, could face the death penalty if found guilty of premeditated murder.
But KNPB said it had nothing to do with either incident.
Its spokesman, Ones Suhuniap, told BenarNews that the group eschews violence and is unarmed. KNPB is known for holding pro-independence rallies demanding a referendum in Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost region that comprises the provinces of Papua and West Papua.
“KNPB as the voice of the Papuan people will continue to call on Jakarta and all parties to pursue a peaceful solution,” Suhuniap told BenarNews.
Suhuniap said armed violence would only harm all parties. He called for a referendum on independence as a peaceful solution to the Papua conflict.
“We urge the TNI [the military], police and TPNPB to stop armed violence that can have fatal consequences for civilians,” Suhuniap said.
The insurgency has simmered in Papua for decades. Papua, on the western side of New Guinea Island, is rich in natural resources and minerals, including copper and gold, but it remains among Indonesia’s poorest and underdeveloped regions.
In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua and annexed the region. Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia after a United Nations-sponsored ballot called the Act of Free Choice in 1969.
Locals and activists said the vote was a sham because only about 1,000 people took part. However, the U.N. accepted the result, which essentially endorsed Jakarta’s rule.
In 2003, the Indonesian-ruled western half of the New Guinea island was divided into two provinces – Papua and West Papua.
Deadly violence has intensified since late 2018 when rebels killed 19 people constructing a bridge as part of a government highway project in Nduga regency, claiming that the workers were government soldiers.
‘High levels of human rights violations’
KNPB’s Suhuniap blamed the ongoing violence in Papua partly on what he described as the excessive presence of government troops.
Meanwhile, Peter Prove, director of international affairs at the World Council of Churches, said that increased militarization had worsened the conflict, despite governmental promises of dialogue with indigenous Papuans. He also said the government had failed to address and improve the humanitarian situation in Papua.
“What we have seen for decades are high levels of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, denial of freedom of expression and assembly and many other violations,” Prove said in the video released by the council.
People displaced by violence are not receiving the assistance they need from the authorities, while international humanitarian agencies are given little or no access to the region, he added.
“The Indonesian authorities certainly need to address the longstanding, ongoing and worsening human rights crisis in the region,” Prove said.
Last month, Mohammad Mahfud MD, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, said the attorney general’s office had appointed 22 senior prosecutors to handle four past cases of alleged human rights violations.
These include the killing of four student protesters by security forces in Paniai regency in December 2014, he said.
Jayapura, Jubi – The Jayapura City Health Agency has intensively fought against malaria and dengue hemorrhagic fever caused by mosquito bites.
“January and February are the peaks of the rainy season. We urge the people to remain vigilant against diseases, including malaria and dengue fever,” said Jayapura Health Agency head Ni Nyoman Sri Antari at the Jayapura Mayor’s Office on Thursday, January 20, 2022.
Antari said the intervention for malaria and dengue fever was not only carried out during the rainy season but rather, was an annual program meant as a preventive measure against diseases that were most experienced by residents in the tropical and subtropical area.
“We have distributed mosquito nets and anti-mosquito spray at flood and landslide locations. We also do the fogging technique. There were three cases of malaria reported during this disaster [flood and landslide on January 6],” said Antari.
Antari said residents affected by malaria and dengue fever generally experienced fever, rash, and muscle and joint pain due to the viral infection transmitted through mosquito bites. In severe cases, bleeding and shock can occur, which can lead to death.
“We hope we can control it, by spraying in the house and puddles so that there will be no mosquitoes, making sure the running water is not stagnant, especially in the home environment, to curb the potential for mosquito breeding. While treatment consists of pain medication and fluids,” said Antari.
Meanwhile, Jayapura deputy mayor Rustan Saru asked the public to be vigilant of the threat of malaria and dengue fever during the COVID-19 pandemic, as decreased immunity could increase the probability of catching any disease.
“Currently, the intensity of rainfall is quite high. It will lead to water reservoirs becoming the main breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito [responsible for dengue fever] and Anopheles mosquito [responsible for malaria]. Therefore, people need to be vigilant with the 3M method, namely draining water reservoirs, closing pools or water storage containers, and burying used items so they don’t become mosquito nests,” said Rustan.
Rustan also warned the public to immediately go to the hospital or health center for immediate treatment if symptoms appear in the form of vomiting, abdominal pain, changes in body temperature from fever to cold or hypothermia, and slowing of heart rate.
“Let’s protect ourselves and our families from malaria and dengue fever, starting at home. I also ask the people to keep fighting against COVID-19 so that we can do activities safely and comfortably,” said Rustan. (*)
Reporter: Ramah
Editor: Dewi Wulandari
Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) recorded 1,182 cases of violence in Papua committed either by the TNI (Indonesian military), Polri (Indonesian police) or the OPM/KKB (Free Papua Movement/Armed Criminal Groups) in 2020-2021. The majority of cases or 41.31 percent of the violence related to the work of the Indonesian police.
Komnas HAM Commissioner Choirul Anam says that they handled around 480 cases of violence against civilians in Papua over two years. The majority of these cases were reportedly related to the work of the Indonesian police.
"Based on case handling data in the monitoring and investigation division in 2020-2021, 480 cases or 41.31 percent out of a total of 1,182 cases which were handled related to the work of Polri members", said Anam during a virtual press conference on Monday January 17.
According to Komnas HAM's records, the forms of violence suffered by civilians in Papua included armed contacts, shootings, assault with a sharp weapon, fires and damage to goods and buildings.
Anam also said that the violence by members of the TNI and police along with the OPM and KKB were marked by the loss of life. "The total number of victims were 47 people, 24 of which died", said Anam.
Despite this, Anam said that nationally complaints by the public over the police's basic duties declined in 2021.
Over a period of two years complaints against the police conducting their basic duties included violence with a total of 71 cases, torture 45 cases, intimidation six cases, arbitrary arrest 35 cases, arbitrary detention 18 cases, slow handling of reports 162 cases, criminalisation 57 cases and deaths in custody 11 cases.
"The focus of the results of investigations and analysis of human rights violations related to state violence was on institutional acts and members of Polri, in particular the use of violence, torture and deaths in custody", said Anam.
The Commission is also asking the TNI and the police to improve their supervisory systems, in particular at criminal investigation units and in the treatment of detainees in order to ensure that acts of violence, torture and criminalisation are not repeated.
"Our recommendations are improvements to supervisory systems especially at criminal investigation units and in the treatment of detainees by installing CCTV systems, improving prison cell facilities as well as ensuring the enforcement of legal and criminal sanctions against Polri members who are proven guilty", he said. (mln/pmg)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Komnas HAM Catat 480 Kasus Kekerasan di Papua oleh TNI, Polri & KKB".]
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