Manokwari, Jubi – Following an incident in the Kramomongga District, Fakfak Regency, West Papua Province on August 15, 2023, the police have apprehended a total of 12 individuals suspected of involvement in the attack. Seven of them have faced legal prosecution, while five were fatally shot by law enforcement officers.
Yan Christian Warinussy, the Executive Director of the Manokwari Legal Aid Research, Assessment, and Development Institute (LP3BH), expressed concerns regarding the shooting of four civilians in an ambush operation following the attack that killed Kramamongga District’s chief, Darson Hegemur.
This concern arises from information provided by LP3BH Manokwari’s contact person in Fakfak, indicating that the four civilians who were fatally shot on Saturday, September 9, 2023 in Nembukteb Village were not connected to the death of the Kramamongga District chief in August 2023.
“To the best of our knowledge from our contact person’s investigation, the four residents killed on Saturday were innocent civilians unrelated to the Kramomongga incident,” Warinussy said on Saturday,
Warinussy emphasized that, in order to obtain impartial and unbiased information, LP3BH Manokwari has called upon the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to promptly dispatch an investigative team to probe the deaths of the four civilians.
In accordance with the Human Rights Courts Law, when there is a strong suspicion of human rights violations, Komnas HAM can investigate such incidents, including those in Kramomongga.
“We have recently seen reports of civilians allegedly being shot dead by security forces from the West Papua Police on grounds of resistance to law enforcement officers,” he added.
Previously, the West Papua Police had undertaken efforts to apprehend the perpetrators of the arson attack in Nembukteb Village, Kramomongga District, with three individuals being taken into custody.
“Twelve suspects have been apprehended. Seven are currently in custody, while five have been fatally shot,” said Sr. Comr. Adam Erwindi, the West Papua Police spokesperson.
The attack in Kramomongga District on August 15 involved the arson of the district office and school building, along with the torturous death of Kramamongga District’s chief Darson Hegemur.
Jayapura, Jubi – Yustus Yekusamon, a key figure and driving force behind the economic progress of indigenous communities in Grime Nawa Valley, Jayapura Regency, is collaborating with the Assessment and Empowerment of Indigenous Peoples Association (PPMA Papua). Together, they are involved in the cultivation and processing of chocolate fruit from community-owned plantations in the area.
Speaking to Jubi on Saturday, September 9, 2023, Yekusamon mentioned that they were currently experimenting with chocolate production on a small scale, processing chocolate beans into both chocolate bars and powdered chocolate.
“The chocolate undergoes a fermentation and drying process. The entire process of transforming cocoa beans into ready-to-eat chocolate takes approximately a week, from bean selection to packaging,” said Yekusamon.
He clarified that the cocoa beans used come from Grime Nawa Valley, where the chocolate plantation has a history dating back to the Dutch era. He noted that it has evolved from a mere plantation into what is now referred to as a “chocolate forest.”
Yekusamon explained that this production is part of PPMA’s program which will eventually be introduced to the Grime Nawa indigenous people, to empower these communities to have control over the entire chocolate production chain.
Furthermore, he highlighted the need for a production facility within the village that would serve as a hub for chocolate production in the region, allowing the community to not only cultivate, nurture, and harvest cocoa beans but also produce market-ready chocolate.
Yekusamon emphasized that chocolate has long been a vital source of income for the indigenous people of Grime Nawa Valley, dating back to the Dutch colonial period. He shared his personal experience, mentioning that he financed his education with the proceeds from his parents’ cocoa bean sales.
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