1) Indonesian troops recover bodies of 6 workers missing after attack by Papua separatists
JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian security forces said Saturday they have recovered the bodies of six traditional gold mining workers who had been missing since a separatist attack at their camp in the restive Papua region almost two weeks ago.
By The Associated Press Saturday, October 28, 2023
JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian security forces said Saturday they have recovered the bodies of six traditional gold mining workers who had been missing since a separatist attack at their camp in the restive Papua region almost two weeks ago.
Gunmen stormed a gold panning camp in the Yahukimo district of Highland Papua province on Oct. 16, killing seven workers and setting fire to three excavators and two trucks, said Faizal Ramadhani, a national police member who heads the joint security force.
Hours later, a two-hour shootout took place between members of the joint security forces of police and military and the rebels occupying the camp, Ramadhani said.
The West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Eleven workers who had hid in the jungle were rescued safely after Indonesian security forces cleared the camp. However, they only found one body, and the six other victims had been declared missing until their rotting bodies were recovered early Friday near a river, a few kilometers from the camp. Two of the remains were charred and the four others had gunshot and stab wounds, Ramadhani said.
It was the latest in a series of violent incidents in recent years in Papua, where conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common.
Rebel spokesman Sebby Sambon confirmed the group’s fighters carried out the attack. He said the group had warned all workers to leave Indonesian government projects as well as traditional gold mining areas, or they would be considered part of the Indonesian security forces.
“The West Papua Liberation Army is responsible for the attack Oct. 16 at Yahukimo’s gold panning camp,” Sambom said in a statement provided to The Associated Press on Saturday. “Because they were outsiders and were part of Indonesian intelligence.”
Indonesia’s government, which for decades has had a policy of sending Javanese and other Indonesians to settle in Papua, is trying to spur economic development to dampen the separatist movement.
Papua is a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the region, which was divided into five provinces last year.
Attacks have spiked in the past year, with dozens of rebels, security forces and civilians killed.
Data collected by Amnesty International Indonesia showed at least 179 civilians, 35 Indonesian troops and nine police, along with 23 independence fighters, were killed in clashes between rebels and security forces between 2018 and 2022.
2) Polish Citizen Convicted of Treason Released on Parole from Abepura Prison
The sentence is 7 years, [and] he's already served five years, so he can [get] parole
News Desk - Foreigner Convicted of Treason Case
October 28, 2023
Jayapura, Jubi TV– A Polish citizen convicted of treason, Jackub Fabian Skrzypsi, has been on parole from the Abepura Correctional Institution in Jayapura City, Papua Province, since 22 September 2023.
This was conveyed by his legal advisor, Latifah Anum Siregar in Jayapura City on Friday (27/10/2023).
“The sentence is 7 years, [and] he has already served five years, so he can [get] parole. "He has [served] two-thirds of his [sentence, so] he can apply for parole," said Anum.
On May 2 2019, the Wamena District Court sentenced Jackub Fabian Skrzypsi to 5 years in prison. Another defendant in the same case, Simon Magal alias Simon Carlos Magal, was sentenced to 4 years in prison.
Both were found guilty in the case of trafficking firearms with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).
Jackub Fabian Skrzypsi and Simon Magal alias Simon Carlos Magal made an appeal at the Jayapura High Court, and their appeal was rejected.
The Polish citizen then appealed to the Supreme Court. On November 20 2019, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, and sentenced Skrzypsi to 7 years in prison.
Anum said that Skrzypsi's parole process took quite a long time, because parole required permission from Interpol. “[The] conditional release process is very long, you have to go through general and special procedures, you have to get permission from Interpol. [There must be] a guarantee from the Ambassador, a guarantee from a local citizen, and a notification letter from Interpol. "Even though we have complete documents, but without Interpol permission, he cannot leave prison," he said.
Anum said that during the conditional release period, Skrzypsi was required to report every month to the Correctional Center (Bapas) and the Immigration Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights for the Papua Region. Anum said Skrzypsi was also not allowed to leave Indonesia until 2025.
“[He] is obliged to report every 10th, [and] will be completely free [in] October 2025. I as his guarantor will monitor and see while he reports. He can go outside Papua, as long as he is still in Indonesia, [and] he must have permission from the Father, [for] notification of transfer he must report. [Because he is] a foreign citizen, Immigration must be involved. "This is the first case [convict] who is [required] to report to Immigration," he said. (*)
This article was published on jubi.id with the title: Treason convict Jackub Fabian Skrzypsi on parole
3) Arnoldus Kocu's group claims to have shot dead a TNI soldier in Maybrat, Southwest Papua
October 28, 2023
Writer: Adlu Rahusun | Editor: Edho Sinaga
Arnoldus Kocu, Head of TPNPB Kodap IV Sorong Raya when giving a statement via video received from the TPNPB Spokesperson -Jubi/screenshot of the TPNPB Spokesperson's video
Manokwari, Jubi - West Papua National Liberation Army – TPNPB claims to have shot dead a TNI soldier and burned a heavy equipment vehicle in Maybrat Regency, Southwest Papua.
TPNPB spokesperson Sebi Sambom, in a video release received, said that Sorong Raya Regional Military Command IV leader Arnoldus Kocu admitted to setting fire to a heavy excavator vehicle and shooting dead a TNI personnel in Ayata Village.
"The attack was carried out in the Middle East Aifat District, Ayata Village, led by Arnoldus Kocu, Head of TPNPB Region II Kamuntan Raya Kodap IV Sorong Raya," said TPNPB Spokesperson Sebi Sambom in a press release received by this media Saturday (28/10/2023).
In the 46 second video, Arnoldus Kocu said that his party had shot at the TNI post in Ayata Village.
"We attacked the TNI Post in Ayata Village and shot one TNI member and burned an excavator unit or Beka," said Arnoldus via video received from Sebi Sambom.
Arnoldus emphasized that in the operational area of TPNPB Kodap IV Sorong Raya there are no safe areas.
"In the operational area of TPNPB Kodap IV there is no safe area, this is a conflict area, until Papua becomes independent," he stressed.
West Papua Regional Police Chief Inspector General Daniel TM Silitonga admitted that there was arson at the work site for the Community Health Center construction project by OTK, but he denied that there were any casualties.
"The situation in Maybrat, yesterday there was burning of heavy equipment there, but this morning I communicated with the military commander and I have dispatched my troops there (Maybrat) to search and investigate," said Inspector General of Police Daniel TM Silitonga to journalists Saturday (28/10 )
The Regional Police Chief said that actually the people in Maybrat were not afraid (of the incident).
"Because maybe they know who did it, but just wait for the investigation," he said.
Regarding the claim that there were victims of TNI members after the attack in Ayata Village, the Regional Police Chief denied this.
“Until now there hasn't been any, it's a hoax. "Maybe there are people who are not happy with the project and maybe someone lost the village head election so he took action, that's possible, but it's clearer to wait for the results of the investigation in the field," explained the Regional Police Chief.
The Regional Police Chief also said that he sent a team of police personnel to Maybrat, Southwest Papua.
"The security and social security situation in West Papua and Southwest Papua is actually very conducive," he said.
Head of Public Relations of the West Papua Regional Police, Police Commissioner Adam Erwindi, denied that there were any victims in the attack in Ayata Village, confirming that they were members of the TNI as claimed by the TPNPB spokesperson.
"Yes, it is true that today, Friday 27 October 2023, at around 05.10 WIT, there was an incident of excavator burning and the sound of gunfire in the Ayata Village area, Aifat District, Middle East, Maybrat Regency, Southwest Papua Province. "The perpetrator is still being investigated," said Police Commissioner Adam Erwindi.
Adam Erwindi said that the chronology of the incident was that on Friday, October 27 2023, information had been obtained from the public who reported to the TNI post in Ayata that there had been an excavator being burned, and materials being damaged at the Community Health Center's work involving gunshots around the Ayata Post.
At 05.15 WP, one of the residents ran towards the Ayata Post and reported that the excavator had caught fire and materials had been damaged.
"With this incident, the Maybrat Police Chief gathered West Papua Police Mobile Brigade Task Force personnel and TNI colleagues at the Ayata post to visit the crime scene and consolidate to respond to the situation," explained Adam Erwindi.
"Until now, no fatalities have been reported from this incident. "The perpetrator is still being investigated by the Maybrat Police," he said. (*)
4) Indonesia: Police close investigation into bomb attack on journalist Victor Mambor
On October 14, West Papuan journalist Victor Mambor was informed that the police investigation into an explosion outside his home in January had been terminated months prior. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliates, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia urge Papuan police to reinstate the investigation immediately and ensure that those responsible are not allowed to escape with impunity.
On May 12, the North Jayapura Police issued a Letter of Termination of Investigation (SP3), closing their investigation into the detonation of an explosive device outside the home of Papuan journalist Victor Mambor in January. The investigation has been criticised for irregularities, as well as a lack of transparency, with Mambor only informed of the letter in October through the Papuan representative for the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights.
Substantial evidence was available following the attack, with Mambor recording CCTV footage of the perpetrator, traces of explosive and flammable compounds found at the scene, and police conducting interviews with six witnesses. However, law enforcement failed to produce crucial evidence in their official recollections and did not present Mambor in the case title.
The decision has been criticised by AJI, with Secretary General Ika Ningtyas calling the handling of the case unprofessional, and urging West Papuan authorities to stand against impunity in crimes against journalists. The Journalist Safety Committee and the Press Legal Aid Institute further statedthe attack and subsequent failures in the police investigation were concerning for journalists and press freedom in Papua.
On the morning of January 23, a bomb detonated approximately three metres from Mambor’s residence in the northern Papuan city of Jayapura. The motive behind the attack and the identity of the perpetrators have remained unknown since the incident. Mambor, the editor and founder of the independent Papuan online news outlet Jubi and former AJI Papua chair, is renowned for his critical reporting and support for the West Papua freedom movement. He has previously faced harassment and intimidation, including vandalism of his car in April 2021.
AJI Secretary General Ika Ningtyas said: “The National Police in Papua lack professionalism and commitment to press freedom. It also lacks communication and transparency from the police in notifying Mambor and his family about the developments in the investigation.”
The IFJ said, “The termination of this case sets a dangerous precedent for impunity for crimes against journalists in West Papua. Police must ensure that their investigations are transparent, effective, and consider all available evidence. The IFJ urges authorities to recommence the investigation and ensure that those responsible do not escape with impunity.”
For further information contact IFJ Asia - Pacific on
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