Four people were shot and killed by an armed rebel group in Indonesia's restive West Papua province, the latest in a string of attacks on civilians, police said on Friday.
The West Papua National Liberation Army, which the government has designated as a terrorist organisation, said its members on Thursday night shot people they believed were Indonesian intelligence personnel disguised as road construction workers.
"Our troops succeeded in shooting dead four Indonesian intelligence officers disguised as workers," Sebby Sambom, a spokesperson for the rebel group said in a statement, adding that the victims' bodies were still being held by the group.
He did not provide evidence to substantiate the claim that the victims were intelligence officers.
Indonesia's easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua have seen a long-simmering independence movement, which has intensified in recent years. The Indonesian military maintains a heavy presence in the impoverished region, and has been accused by activist groups of human rights abuses, which it denies.
West Papua's police spokesperson, Adam Erwindi, said a total of 12 road construction workers had been shot, but added that an investigation had been launched into whether the deceased were in fact civilians or military personnel.
"We are also still looking into the conditions of the remaining victims, and where their exact locations are now," Adam said.
A military spokesperson in West Papua declined to comment on the attack.
The rebel group, which is the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, also killed nine civilians in July, and eight telecommunications technicians in March, according to police.
Jayapura, Jubi – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) continues to trace various cases similar to the murder and mutilation case in Mimika Regency on August 22, 2022. The search was conducted to find similarities in the modus operandi of the killing of Indigenous Papuans.
Komnas HAM suspected that the Mimika case was not the perpetrators’ first crime. “If we look at the pattern of the incident, it is strongly indicated that this is not the first time. Just wait, we will reveal it to the public,” said Komnas HAM commissioner Mohammad Choirul Anam in Jayapura City on Thursday, September 29, 2022.
Anam said the commission’s visit to Papua was not only to probe the murder and mutilation in Mimika and persecution that killed a civilian in Mappi, but also to explore various other cases of violence that have occurred in Papua.
He asked the public to be patient and let the commission’s team do the work. “We are still investigating, please be patient because we will definitely convey it to the public,” Anam said.
Meanwhile, on the Mimika murder, Komnas HAM RI asked the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander to evaluate the unit of Raider 20/Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade based in Timika, the capital of Mimika Regency. This is because Komnas HAM found that soldiers of the unit were involved in the firearms and ammunition trade.
“There are also assembled weapons. Therefore, we ask for an evaluation, why do [violations or crimes] by TNI members continue to occur?” he said.
Komnas HAM believes that the TNI Commander, Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army (KSAD), and Commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Pangkostrad) want a professional TNI that focuses only on defense and security.
Jayapura, Jubi – Papuan students studying in Russia and Australia asked the Indonesian government to respect the health rights of Papua Governor Lukas Enembe, who has recently been named a graft suspect for allegedly receiving Rp 1 billion of gratuities. The students hoped Lukas Enembe was allowed to seek medical treatment abroad.
Student President of the Association of Papuan Students in Russia Yosep Iyai said that access to health services is a fundamental right of the citizen, including the governor. He emphasized that Enembe needed his regular medical check-ups at the hospital that has been treating him in Singapore. Iyai said the treatment would be different if handled by a new doctor.
“We already know that when Papuan officials seek treatment in the country, they are mostly not safe. There is a kind of suspicion that when Indigenous Papuans seek treatment in hospitals in Indonesia, on average they do not survive. This fear is an accumulation of a series of past experiences,” Iyai said via WhatsApp message to Jubi on Thursday, September 29, 2022.
Iyai also stated that the government must stop all forms of discrimination against the Governor of Papua. According to Iyai, the graft allegation against Lukas Enembe must be proven with accurate data.
“It is still in the investigation stage but the data conveyed to the public is confusing. The government also mentions different amounts of the Special Autonomy Fund suspected of being corrupted by officials in Papua. We think that the central government does not want to disclose the matter clearly. They only give piecemeal information which is not backed by accurate data and evidence. It seems that they are still looking for data to strengthen the statement,” he said.
Iyai emphasized that the government must be able to account for all kinds of accusations against Lukas Enembe by providing actual, accurate, and balanced data to the public. He said this was important to avoid uproar.
Further, Iyai hoped that the naming of Enembe as a graft suspect would not disrupt the scholarship program funded by the Papua Special Autonomy Fund and hamper the disbursement of scholarship funds for Papuan students in Russia and other countries.
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