- https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/indonesian-military-confirms-authenticity-of-torture-video-detains-13-of-its-own-20240325-p5ff60.html
- 1) Indonesian military confirms authenticity of torture video, detains 13 of its own
Warning: graphic content
The Indonesian military has detained 13 of its own after disturbing videos surfaced of a group beating and slashing a young Papuan trembling in a barrel of bloodied water.
One of the videos showed the mob making deep cuts into the upper body of Defianus Kogoya while discussing how easily the blade peeled his skin. Another captured them punching and kicking him in the face.
Defianus appeared to have his hands restrained behind his back underneath the level of the water, which had turned pink.
One of the men was wearing a T-shirt printed with the number “300”, an apparent reference to his battalion. The footage, seen by this masthead, is too distressing to publish.
In a disturbing turn, authorities on Monday revealed another arrested Papuan, a man they identified as Warinus Kogoya, died when he supposedly jumped from a moving vehicle while restrained and hit his head on a rock.
The incidents happened in Gome in Papua’s Puncak regency on February 3.
There were conflicting reports about the fate of Defianus. The military said he was alive and safe with his family. A human rights source, however, believed he had died from his injuries. A military official earlier said his “body” had been returned to his family. The confusion may stem from Defianus and Warinus sharing the same last name.
The Indonesian military said that it investigated the torture videos and confirmed that they were authentic. Forty-two soldiers were investigated and 13 detained. This number was five more than announced earlier this week.
“We will investigate it thoroughly,” said Papua military commander, Major General Izak Pangemanan, referring to Defianus’ torture. “Nobody should escape – those who were involved will be punished in accordance with the existing laws.”
The military leadership at Monday afternoon’s press conference said that their soldiers had earlier received intelligence about planned arson at a health clinic.
According to the military’s account, soldiers and police trying to secure the clinic were fired at, bringing about the arrests of three Papuans.
Pangemanan said Warinus, alleged to be one of the shooters and a “fugitive of Puncak police”, jumped out of the car on the way to the police station.
“Perhaps due to imbalance, he fell and his head hit a stone,” Pangemanan said. “He died on the way to the community health centre.”
Defianus had admitted to previous violence – including the wounding of a soldier – and the arson plot, the generals said. As such, their members became “emotional”. Jules Ongge from the Papuan Human Rights Advocacy Association, said soldiers had been known to use torture to produce confessions.
Indonesia does not allow foreign media into Papua, making it difficult to independently verify and document this and other incidents.
Exiled West Papua pro-independence leader Benny Wenda said they were not uncommon. Also last month, he said, Indonesian soldiers tortured two 15-year-old boys.
“Though it is extreme and shocking, this video merely exposes how Indonesia behaves every day in my country,” Wenda said.
“How many victims go unnoticed by the world? How many incidents are not captured on film?
“There is an urgent need for states to take more serious action on human rights in West Papua.”
The independence movement in Papua, which borders Papua New Guinea, has been active since the early 1960s.
“We are grateful that more than 100 countries have called for a visit by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,” Wenda said.
“But Indonesia clearly has no intention of honouring their promise, so more must be done.”
In Jakarta last month, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles re-affirmed Australia’s position of not supporting Papuan independence.
Marles was visiting defence minister and now president-elect Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general accused of historical human rights abuses in Papua and elsewhere.
In February last year, armed rebels in Papua kidnapped New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens and have attempted to use him as leverage in getting Indonesia to the bargaining table.
Wenda has previously called for Mehrtens’ release.
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- https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/indonesias-military-arrests-13-elite-soldiers-accused-involvement-108472601
- 2) Indonesia's military arrests 13 elite soldiers who are accused of involvement in a torture video
- Indonesia’s military says it has arrested 13 elite troops accused of involvement in a video showing the torture of an indigenous Papua man believed to be a member of a separatist group
- ByNINIEK KARMINI Associated Press March 25, 2024, 12:11 PM
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesia's military said Monday it has arrested 13 elite troops accused of involvement in a video showing the torture of an indigenous Papua man believed to be a member of a separatist group.
The video that emerged in recent days on social media shows men who appear to be soldiers kicking, beating and dunking the man in a barrel of water.
“This is a violation of the law and we will act according to the applicable laws and regulations," army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Kristomei Sianturi told a news conference, adding: “This is what we regret, that the Indonesian military or Indonesian army never taught, never approved any violence in asking for information."
Sianturi said the incident occurred at a post for the border security task force in Puncak, a mountainous district of Central Papua province, on Feb. 3.
At least five men are seen in the video beating a man, taunting him with racist slurs and slicing into his back with a machete.
Sianturi said all 13 suspects had been detained at the military police’s maximum security detention center in West Java for further investigation.
Papua Military Chief Maj. Gen. Izak Pangemanan told reporters the abuse began after a shootout between security forces and separatist rebels suspected of burning a public health facility in Omukia village, 300 meters (yards) from a military post. Security forces arrested three men while others fled.
On the way to a police station, one of the men jumped from the car with his hands tied behind his back. His head hit a rock and he died on the way to a health facility, Pangemanan said.
Another man, seen in the video and identified as Definus Kogoya, tried to escape, Pangemanan said. Security forces recaptured him and tortured him at a military post in Gome in an effort to get information on the whereabouts of others, he said.
Kogoya's condition has recovered after medical treatment and he has been returned to local police, Pangemanan said.
The video has sparked an outcry in Indonesia and from rights activists.
“This incident is cruel torture that truly destroys the instinct of justice,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia. He said statements by military and government officials about their humane approach in the Papua region have become meaningless.
Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common in the impoverished Papua region, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. 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 mineral-rich region.
Conflict there has spiked in the past year, with dozens of rebels, security forces and civilians killed.
Sebby Sambom, a spokesperson for the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the pro-independence Free Papua Organization whose members are accused of burning the health facility, urged the United Nations to take action.
“This is shown that Indonesian military and police are real barbaric,” Sambom said.
Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is calling for an evaluation of the placement of TNI (Indonesian military) in Papua after a video of a Papuan man being tortured by several soldiers at the Gome Post in Puncak Regency, Central Papua, went viral on social media.
"This incident was a [case of] cruel and inhuman torture that really damages our sense of justice. It tramples over humanitarian values that are just and civilised. To the families of the victim, we expressed our deep sorrow", said Amnesty International Executive Director Usman Hamid in his statement on Saturday March 23.
Hamid stated that no one in this world, including in Papua, may be treated inhumanely and their dignity demeaned, let alone to the point of causing the loss of life.
"The statements by senior TNI officials and other government officials about a humanitarian approach and prosperity [in Papua] are totally meaningless. It is ignored by the apparatus on the ground", he said.
Hamid said that such incidents are able to be repeated because up until now there has been no punishment for TNI members proven to have committed crimes of kidnapping, torture and the loss of life.
Based on this, said Hamid, they are calling for a joint fact finding team to be formed to investigate the abuse, including urging that an evaluation be carried on to the placement of TNI soldiers in the land of Papua.
"There must be a sharp reflection on the placement of security forces in the land of Papua which has given rise to people falling victim, both indigenous Papuans, non-Papuans, including the security forces themselves", he said.
Earlier, a short video containing an act of torture by TNI members went viral on social media. It shows a civilian who has been placed in an oil drum filled with water being tortured by members of the TNI.
TNI Information Centre Director (Kapuspen) Major General Nugraha Gumilar has revealed the identity of the person being tortured by the soldiers as being a member of an armed criminal group (KKB) named Definus Kogoya.
"The rogue TNI soldiers committed acts of violence against a prisoner, a KKB member by the name of Definus Kogoya at the Gome Post in Puncak Regency, Papua", he said when sought for confirmation on Saturday.
Despite this, Gumilar has still has not revealed any further information about the identity of the TNI members who committed the torture. He confirmed only that more than one member was involved in the abuse.
He said that they are still conducting an intensive examination and promised to be transparent and act firmly against all of the members involved.
"Later I will convey [more information] after the investigation is finished, what is clear is that it was more than one person if you see from the video", he said. (dis/sfr)
Notes
The video (warning: contains graphic, violent content and viewer discression is advised) of the Papuan man being tortured by TNI soldiers can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJgAHYdLgVo (requires registration), or from the United Liberation for West Papua (ULMWP) website at https://www.ulmwp.org/president-wenda-a-crime-against-humanity-has-been-committed-in-yahukimo.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Amnesty Desak Evaluasi Penempatan TNI Buntut Aksi Penyiksaan di Papua".]
An Australian solidarity group for West Papua today warned of a fresh “heavy handed” Indonesian crackdown on Papuan villagers with more “arrests and torture”.
Joe Collins of the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) gave the warning in the wake of the deployment of 30 elite rangers last week at the Ndeotadi 99 police post in Paniai district, Central Papua, following a deadly assault there by Papuan pro-independence resistance fighters.
Two Indonesian police officers were killed in the attack.
- READ MORE: ‘Committed to human rights’, claims Indonesia over West Papua torture
- West Papuan wounds of suffering – diplomatic pressure on Indonesia needed urgently – Ronny Kareni
- Wenda condemns ‘sadistic brutality’ of Indonesian torture of Papuan – calls for UN action
- Other West Papua human rights reports
The AWPA warning also follows mounting outrage over a brutal video of an Indonesian Papuan man being tortured in a fuel drum that has gone viral.
Collins called on the federal government to “immediately condemn” the torture of West Papuans by the Australian-trained Indonesian security forces.
“If a security force sweep occurs in the region, we can expect the usual heavy-handed approach by the security forces,” Collins said in a statement.
“It’s not unusual for houses and food gardens to be destroyed during these operations, including the arrest and torture of Papuans.
“Local people usually flee their villages creating more IDP [internally displaced people]”.
60,000 plus IDPs
Human rights reports indicate there are more than 60,000 IDP in West Papua.
“The recent brutal torture of an indigenous Papuan man shows what can happen to West Papuans who fall foul of the Indonesian security forces,” Collins said.
“Anyone seeing this video which has gone viral must be shocked by the brutality of the military personal involved.
The video clip was shot on 3 February 2024 during a security force raid in Puncak regency.
“The Australian government should immediately condemn the torture of West Papuans by the Indonesian security forces [which] Australia trains and holds exercises with.
“Do we have to remind the government of Article 7of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights? It states:
NO ONE SHALL BE SUBJECTED TO TORTURE OR TO CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT. IN PARTICULAR, NO ONE SHALL BE SUBJECTED WITHOUT HIS FREE CONSENT TO MEDICAL OR SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTATION.
“As more Papuans become aware of the horrific video, they may respond by holding rallies and protests leading to more crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators,” Collins said.
“Hopefully Jakarta will realise the video is being watched by civil society, the media and government officials around the world and will control its military in the territory.”
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- More on torture video below. Media coverage on it around the world
Indonesian Military Claims 8 Soldiers Detained Following Violence Against Papuan
- ABC
- More than a dozen soldiers detained as Indonesia's military investigates brutal torture video of Papuan man
- By Indonesia correspondent Bill Birtles in Jakarta Posted 11h ago11 hours ago, updated 2h ago
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