Jayapura, Jubi – Director of the Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) Emanuel Gobay has asked President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to immediately audit the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) regarding its alleged purchase of weapons used in the armed conflict in Papua.
Gobay made his call following a report by Tempo.co on allegations that BIN had purchased mortars from Serbia, which were then used in the armed conflict in Papua. This allegation was conveyed in a report by London-based weapons monitoring group Conflict Armament Research (CAR), which stated that the mortar purchased by BIN was used in the attack on eight villages in Kiwirok District, Bintang Mountains Regency, in October 2021.
“Tempo’s report stated that since October 10, 2021, helicopters and drones had shot and dropped ammunition in eight villages in the Kiwirok District for several days. This immediately raises questions because according to the prevailing regulations, BIN does not have the authority or duty to purchase defense equipment,” said Gobay in his written statement on Tuesday, June 7, 2022.
BIN’s duties, Gobay said, were clearly limited by Article 29 of Law No. 17/2011 on State Intelligence. According to the article, BIN is tasked with conducting assessments and formulating national policies in the field of intelligence, submitting intelligence products as consideration for determining government policies, planning and implementing intelligence activities, making recommendations relating to foreign people and/or institutions, and providing considerations, suggestions, and recommendations on securing the government’s administration.
“BIN does not have a duty to buy firearms or ammunition of any kind as they were not mentioned in Article 29 of the State Intelligence Law,” said Gobay.
He further asked President Jokowi to order the National Police Chief to carry out legal proceedings against alleged criminal acts of illegal arms trade, which violates Emergency Law No. 12/1951.
“That is to uphold Indonesia’s status as a state of law and the principle that everyone has the right to legal certainty, recognition, guarantees, protection, and equal treatment before the law,” Gobay said.
He also reminded The National Police chief not to be discriminatory in carrying out the legal process for alleged criminal offenses under Emergency Law No. 12/1951. So far, there have been many Indigenous Papuans who have been arrested and legally processed as perpetrators of arms trafficking using the provisions of Emergency Law No. 12 /1951, including several people who were criminalized under the provisions of the Emergency Act.
Gobay mentioned the case of Abet Telenggen, who was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison by the Public Prosecutor but was acquitted by the Jayapura District Court judges because Telenggen did not know anything about the arms trade in Papua.
“If there are other parties, whether private persons or legal entities/state-owned, who commits any of the actions prohibited by the Emergency Law No. 12 /1951, they must be processed by law, in order to avoid discrimination in law enforcement,” said Gobay.
LBH Papua also asked the House of Representatives to immediately intervene and examine BIN regarding the alleged purchase of weapons from Serbia. “The House must examine BIN and publicly announce the results of the examination in accordance with the principle of public openness,” said Gobay. (*)
Activists say authorities should investigate who dropped mortar shells from the sky on eight villages in Indonesia’s rebellious Papua region during counter-insurgency operations last year, and whether the ammunition belonged to the national spy agency.
The call for a probe came after the Reuters news agency reported last week that the shells bought for the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) were converted to be air-dropped and used in attacks on the Papuan villages in October 2021, an assault the military denied.
BIN, a civilian agency under the direct authority of the president, is barred from functioning as an armed force and can only procure weapons to arm its personnel. A separatist insurgency has simmered for decades in the far-eastern Papua region, but activists have also accused government forces of human rights abuses against residents.
Emanuel Gobay, director of the Legal Aid Institute in Papua, urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to order an audit of BIN.
“BIN has no power to buy firearms or ammunition of any kind,” Gobay said.
Gobay also called on the president to order the national police to investigate the alleged shelling of villages by security forces.
Military denies
October’s counter-insurgency operations were precipitated by events of a month earlier, when suspected rebels set fire to public buildings, including a health clinic and an elementary school, in Kiwirok district, after government forces killed an insurgent during a gunfight.
According to Reuters, which cited a report by Conflict Armament Research (CAR), a London-based group, some of the almost 2,500 Serbia-made 81 mm mortar shells bought for BIN last year were used in the October security operation in the eight Papuan villages.
The alleged purchase was not disclosed to the parliamentary committee that approves its budget, Reuters reported, citing three unnamed lawmakers.
However, the military commander in Papua, Maj. Gen. Ignatius Yogo Triyono, denied using mortar rounds on villages.
He told the news magazine Tempo in November that while his troops did fire mortar rounds, it was on a rebels’ jungle hideout in Kiwirok for “a shock effect,” and not on villages.
But residents in Kiwirok, in Pegunungan Bintang regency, showed journalists photos of what appeared to be 81 mm mortars that failed to explode during a helicopter raid by security forces in October.
Sebby Sambom, a spokesman for the West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the separatist Free Papua Movement, claimed his group had evidence that mortar shells were used by government forces.
Sebby also said some of the rounds burned houses and farms belonging to residents.
“At that time Kiwirok was bombarded with mortar shells almost every day – from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13,” he told BenarNews.
“Mortar shells that didn’t explode were collected by residents as evidence,” he added.
A Kiwirok resident told BenarNews that they saw a helicopter flying over their village on Oct. 11 and then heard loud explosions.
The helicopter was used by a joint team of soldiers and police to hunt down separatist rebels whom they accused of attacking health workers and setting fire to government buildings there, said the resident, who declined to be identified for security reasons.
Rise in tensions
A member of the Papua legislative council, Laurens Kadepa, said councillors were concerned about the report.
“This report on the use of mortar-type weapons has attracted the attention of the international community and has become our concern,” Kadepa said.
Violence and tensions in the Papua region – made up of the provinces of Papua and West Papua – have intensified in recent years.
Last year, the government designated separatist rebels as terrorists after insurgents ambushed and killed an army general who headed the regional branch of BIN. The killing prompted President Widodo to order a crackdown.
The Free Papua Movement has fought for independence for the mainly Christian region since the 1960s.
In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua – like Indonesia, a former Dutch colony – and annexed the region that makes up the western half of New Guinea island.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a United Nations-sponsored vote, which locals and activists said was a sham because it involved only about 1,000 people. However, the U.N. accepted the result, which essentially endorsed Jakarta’s rule
Jayapura, Jubi – The pilot of the Semuwa Aviation Mandiri (SAM) Air, M Farhan Fachri, managed to save himself when the plane he was carrying was shot at by armed groups at Kenyam Airport, Nduga Regency on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Farhan escaped the gunfire after jumping into the sewers and taking cover for a while.
Director of SAM Air Wagus Hidayat said the plane flown by M Farhan Fachri departed from Wamena Airport in Jayawijaya Regency on Tuesday morning. The plane carried passengers and a number of basic necessities to Kenyam.
“However, after landing and parking in the courtyard of Kenyam Airport for approximately 5 minutes, the plane was shot at by a group of people. The pilot immediately saved himself,” said Wagus on Tuesday.
Farhan managed to save himself by jumping into the sewer and sheltering there for a while. He finally jumped out of it and was helped by a number of residents and security forces.
When the shooting occurred, Wagus said, there was no security personnel on duty at Kenyam Airport. Whereas Nduga Regency is one of the conflict hotspots in Papua.
“This is based on the testimony of our pilot, and indeed I have confirmed by telephone there was no Kopasgat air force personnel there, only Mobile Brigade personnel and the Army,” he said.
Wagus said the plane was badly damaged after being fired upon. There were dozens of shots at the plane hitting a number of important aircraft instruments.
“Currently we have placed two technicians to examine the damage to the plane. Hopefully there will be results in the near future,” he explained.
He added that flight routes in vulnerable areas have become SAM Air’s vision and mission in serving the people in Papua. “We hope that the government is really serious about providing maximum security to every flight,” he concluded. (*)
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