Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM Papua) announced nine points from their investigation into the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents in Mimika Regency.
The Komnas HAM Papua team suspects that two other soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade were involved in the murder but have not been named as suspects. Komnas HAM Papua also said that they had not been allowed to meet the six Indonesian Military (TNI) suspects.
Head of Komnas Papua Frits Ramandey said on Monday, September 5, 2022, that the points as follows were based on his team’s work on September 2 and 3:
Komnas HAM Papua met with the XVII Cenderawasih Military Regional Command Chief of Staff and asked the TNI to enforce the law transparently against TNI soldiers suspected of being involved in the murder and mutilation.
Komnas HAM Papua visited the Mimika Regional General Hospital on September 2. Though the identity of the victims is already known, the Forensic Laboratory has yet to issue the final results of the DNA test.
Komnas HAM Papua checked with the Mimika Police who handled the case. The Mimika Police has named 10 suspects in the case, namely four civilians and six soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade. One suspect has not been caught and put on the wanted list, namely Roy or RMH, who is referred to by the police as one of the brains of the murder.
Komnas HAM Papua had sought testimony from three suspects with civilian backgrounds. The three suspects admitted that the murder, mutilation, and arson were carried out jointly with a number of soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade.
Komnas HAM Papua has also visited the Mimika Military Police Sub Detachment to check the progress of the investigation into the six suspected soldiers. The investigation involved investigators from Puspom AD, Pomdam XVII Cenderawasih, and Subdenpom Timika. However, the Komnas HAM Papua team was not allowed to check whether the six suspects were in detention or not, the reason was that the suspects were still undergoing legal proceedings.
Komnas HAM Papua had not permitted to obtain information from the six suspected soldiers due to the six of them were still undergoing legal proceedings.
Komnas HAM Papua attended the reconstruction of the murder and mutilation held at the Mimika Police Headquarters on September 3. However, the reconstruction had yet to clearly describe the role of each perpetrator because suspect Roy or RMH had not yet been caught. Several suspects also refused to act out in certain scenes, therefore, certain roles were replaced by other people. According to Komnas HAM Papua, the reconstruction raises the suspicion that two more soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade were involved in the murder but have not been named as suspects.
Komnas HAM met with the families of the victims. The victims’ families strongly condemned the murder and mutilation, saying the four victims were civilians, not sympathizers or members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) as accused by the police. They also confirmed that one of the victims was the village head in Kenyam. The victims’ families stated they would not take revenge but rather, they asked for transparency in the legal process.
Komnas HAM Papua is still trying to obtain information from six suspects of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade. Komnas HAM Papua asks the police to also immediately arrest Roy or RMH, and immediately finish the identification process of the victims’ bodies so that the families can hold a proper burial for them.
Confirmed separately, Chief of XVII/Cenderawasih Military Regional Command Maj. Gen. Muhammad Saleh Mustafa said his party would immediately provide access for the Komnas HAM Papua team to investigate the case. “Previously, access was not given because it was still in the preliminary investigation,” Saleh said. (*)
Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM Papua) has started an investigation into the murder and mutilation of four civilians from Nduga Regency in Timika, Mimika Regency.
Head of Komnas HAM Papua Frits Ramandey said his team started investigating in Timika, the capital of Mimika Regency, on Friday, August 2, 2022. Ramandey said the team had visited the crime scene, coordinated with the police and military police in Timika, and sought information from witnesses.
“I lead this team. We are still working on investigating and deepening the data. We are also trying to find new facts from the incident,” Ramandey said when contacted by Jubi via telephone call on Friday.
The murder occurred in Settlement Unit 1, Mimika Baru District on August 22, 2022. The four victims were Arnold Lokbere, Elemaniel “Leman” Nirigi, Irian Nirigi, and Atis Tini.
The Military Police of the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Region Command named six Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers as suspects in the case, while the Papua Police named four civilians as suspects.
Ramandey said his team had new findings related to the case but could not announce it yet as the investigation was still ongoing. He said the investigation was targeted to be completed within a week. “But it could be faster or slower,” he said.
Previously, Juli Gwijangge, a family member of Arnold Lokbere, expressed the victim’s family’s demand for the formation of an independent team involving the Komnas HAM, the House of Representatives, and civil society human rights organizations. The independent team must investigate allegations of gross human rights violations in the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents.
“We ask Komnas HAM, Commission I of the House of Representatives in charge of security and defense, Kontras, YLBHI, LBH Papua, Amnesty International, and the UN Human Rights Commission to immediately form an investigation team to reveal the facts of the murder case,” Gwijangge said.
Gwijangge said the killings and mutilations were gross human rights violations as the victims were killed in a planned, measured, and structured manner, as seen in their actions of burning the victim’s rented car. (*)
Jayapura, Jubi – Member of the Religious Working Group of the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP) Rev. Nicolas Degey condemned all forms of torture and killing of humans on earth, especially the killing of Papuans which kept recurring and had never seen justice. Degey mentioned the recent murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents by six Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers and four civilians on August 22, 2022.
“The lives of the four Nduga residents seem to have no value to the killers. They are humans created by God, their rights and dignity must be respected. This can be considered sadistic because they already killed them but continued with mutilating them,” Degey told Jubi on Sunday, August 4, 2022.
Degey also strongly condemned the actions of TNI members who committed violence and torture against three civilians in Bade, Edera District, Mappi Regency, which resulted in the death of one of the residents.
As a servant of God and representative of the religious community, Degey felt that the state did not respect Papuan people at all, as could be seen from the various cases of violence and loss of human life in Papua, which, is very rarely brought to justice. Perpetrators met with impunity, especially those who are members of the TNI and police.
“If we count, there have been too many [violations of human rights]. Let’s start with major cases that have made it to the news and are recognized by state institution Komnas HAM, such as the Bloody Paniai. President Joko Widodo promised the resolution to the Bloody Paniai during Christmas at Mandala Jayapura field in 2014 but to date, it has not yet been completed. And now we have seen more and more cases of human rights violations in recent years, including murder cases in Timika and Mappi,” he said.
“This must be resolved. Perpetrators must be strictly punished according to the rules, including perpetrators who are members of the security forces, they must be removed from the forces and punished. The government must prove that the process of justice is working, only then Papuans can trust them. If not, it means the state does not respect the Papuan humans and our dignity. This only adds to the wounds of the Papuan people. Our wounds become even bigger and more painful,” Degey added.
Further, Degey appealed to all people in Papua to respect and appreciate each other. “As a servant of God and a representative of the people in the MRP, I also want to appeal to all people in this land, let us live with mutual respect, uphold humanity, the great work of God. For the families of the victims, may God give strength. May no more people of God be killed and die in Papua,” he said.
Similar to Degey, Nduga Student Association of Jayapura City protested in the Abepura Circle on Saturday, August 3, 2022, urging the government to investigate thoroughly and resolve the murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents. They also rejected allegations that one of the murder victims was a sympathizer or member of an armed group.
In the peaceful protest, students carried a variety of posters. The posters read, among others, “TNI Commander, Papua Police Chief immediately prosecute the murderers of civilians in Mimika” and “Four victims in Timika are the same as victims of human rights violations in Paniai”.
Action coordinator Benny Murib said that the Timika murder allegedly carried out by TNI personnel was an inhumane act, a gross violation of human rights. “We strongly urge that the case be investigated thoroughly,” Murib said. (*)
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