Such raids have repeatedly occurred in the regencies
Nduga,
Pegunungan Bintang,
Intan Jaya,
Puncak, and
Yahukimo – all located in the central Papuan highlands. Security forces regard these regencies as strongholds of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). Human rights organisations have repeatedly raised concerns regarding atrocities against the civilian population during such raids, including acts of arbitrary detention, burning of houses, torture, enforced disappearance, and extra-judicial killings.
The video shows a Papuan man with hands tied to his back. He is sitting in a blue drum filled with water that has turned red as a result of blood from his wounds. The drum is surrounded by at least five non-Papuans, some wearing military trousers and one wearing an army shirt with a 300 imprint on the front. The men speak Indonesian with a Javanese accent (see video below. Viewer discretion is advised for these graphic images).
The videos display different forms of torture. One video shows the victim shivering. A man in a black jacket and black fingerless gloves repeatedly stabs and slashes the shoulder with a knife while saying, “{[The skin is] though. This feels good, right?” The second video shows various non-Papuan men taking turns punching, elbowing, and kicking the victim in the face and the back of the head. One man is beating the Papuan detainee with a stick, repeatedly shouting, “Take your head up. Dog! Bastard!”. Another man steps in and says,” It’s time to switch. Be patient.”
Human rights organisations urged Indonesian authorities to immediately investigate the allegations of torture and take legal firm action against the perpetrators. Cases of torture have been rampant in West Papua due to the widespread impunity in the region. Perpetrators are not held accountable in public trials, while the internal court processes, particularly police internal disciplinary procedures, lack transparency and independence. The perpetrators often receive sentences that are disproportionately lenient with regard to the severity of the crime. Recent military tribunals related to the enforced disappearance and execution of five indigenous Papuans in the regencies
Intan Jayaand
Mimika illustrate the pressing issue of accountability and impunity in West Papua.
Raids in the Districts Gome und Omukia, February 2024
One Papuan villager reportedly died because of the injuries he sustained due to the torture. At least three other civilians were injured after being tortured, including one pastor named Rev Eriak Waker. The torture occurred during his interrogation in the Yenggernok Village.
According to information received, security force members carried out a raid in the Manggume Village, Omukia District, on 4 February 2024, around 10.00 am. Mr Andinus Murib, 21, and Mr Devius Wanikbo, 19, were fixing the roof of a house when the security forces came to the villages. Villagers panicked and fled to the forest while Mr Murib and Mr Wandikbo were trapped on the roof. They were temporarily detained and tortured by security forces.
Mr Murib and Mr Wandikbo were admitted to the public hospital after losing consciousness due to the pain they experienced during the torture. On 5 February 2024, authorities suggested transferring both patients to Timika, where the hospital was better equipped. However, the relatives rejected the offer. Instead, they brought Mr Murib and Mr Wandikbo back to the village and treated them with traditional medicine because they feared further violence or criminalisation by the authorities.
During the raid in Manggume on 4 February 2024, security forces encountered Mr Werinus Murib, 20, in the forest near the village around 11.15 am while collecting firewood. After being arrested, security force members reportedly tortured Mr Murib until he succumbed to the injuries he sustained. The pattern of injuries indicated that the security force member beat and kicked the victim’s head and body using bare hands and blunt objects. The body also had stabbing and slashing injuries. Witnesses saw joint security forces tying Mr Murib’s feet to a car and allegedly dragging him for a distance of 1 kilometre. Mr Murib died on the way to the hospital as a result of the injuries he sustained.
Presence of Military in Puncak Regency
The
XVII Cenderawasih spokesperson, Lieutenant Inf Candra Kurniawan, declared that he had never received any complaints about the presence of III/Siliwangi, Yonif Raider 300/Brajawijaya Unit in Puncak. “There have never been complaints of harsh behaviour towards the community. In fact, the community is pleased with the presence of the Yonif 300 / R Task Force and was honoured by the Dani tribe with the title Kogoya from the Chief of the Puncak Regency Tribe in Gome.”
The video is a crack in the image of the military. Military officials have been trying to promote the military as being close to the people in Papua. Military members become teachers and provide medical services because the fundamental healthcare and education services in conflict areas remain dysfunctional. Professional health and education workers have left the areas (see images below, source: independent HRDs). The image contradicts information shared by affected community members in the Puncak Regency. Human Rights Monitor has received complaints about the heavy military presence in conflict areas, including from the Puncak Regency, as part of the Government’s soft security approach in West Papua. In November 2021, the coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs, Mahfud MD, declared a new security force approach in West Papua, which implied that military members should directly engage in community matters, participating in education, health, and infrastructural services in conflict-affected areas. Military members reportedly visit homes, schools, and public medical facilities. The government-driven practice is highly concerning, as many indigenous children in West Papua are afraid of the military. They have been traumatized over generations by the history of human rights violations over a period of more than 50 years. Moreover, the presence of military members in communities exposes civilians to a higher risk of becoming civilian victims during armed clashes between the conflict parties
Video of Indonesian soldiers torturing indigenous Papuan
Videos
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2) Indonesian military probes viral video allegedly showing Papuan’s brutal torture by soldiers
Victor Mambor and Dandy Koswaraputra
2024.03.22 Jayapura, Indonesia, and Jakarta
Military officials in Indonesia’s restive Papua region said Friday they were verifying the authenticity of a video that has gone viral and appears to show Indonesian servicemen beating and cutting with a bayonet a man believed to be an indigenous Papuan.
Human rights activists demanded a swift inquiry to determine if soldiers were involved in what would be yet another case of torture and abuse, which is a longstanding accusation against Indonesian military and security forces in Papua.
The location and time of the alleged incident are unclear.
“We are verifying its authenticity,” Col. Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa, a military spokesman in Papua, told BenarNews. “If it is genuine, we need to determine where and when it occurred.”
The graphic video footage, viewed by BenarNews, shows men in trousers that resemble Indonesian military uniform fatigues, taunting the victim who is seen inside a water-filled drum.
“How does that feel? Head up! Head up,” the men say as they hit him and make incisions on his back with a bayonet.
As the men continue to inflict the wounds, the water in the drum can be seen turning red.
In a statement issued after the video was widely circulated, PAHAM Papua, a local human rights organization, issued a statement that makes the assumption that the abusers in the footage are members of the Indonesian Armed Forces [TNI].
“If the individual was suspected of criminal activity, the TNI should not have resorted to such brutal and sadistic torture as shown in the video,” PAHAM chairman Gustaf Kawer said.
“The act of torture inflicted on [the] civilian was extremely cruel, carried out by TNI [personnel without adhering to the principle of presumption of innocence.”
PAHAM urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and the Indonesian military to conduct a “comprehensive investigation.”
Theo Hesegem, executive director of the Papua Human Justice and Integrity Foundation, urged authorities “to ensure that the perpetrators of the torture are processed swiftly.”
“It is clear that the individual subjected to torture is a native Papuan,” he said in a statement.
Komnas HAM, meanwhile, indicated that initial findings point to the incident taking place in the Puncak regency of Central Papua province.
“This compounds the toll of violence from the ongoing conflict in Papua, with suspicions pointing to torture by authorities,” Komnas HAM chairwoman Atnike Nova Sigiro Atnika said in a statement.
Rights groups have long accused Indonesian security forces of abuses in Papua, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
Papua, at the far-eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago, has seen an escalation in violence following an insurgent attack that resulted in the deaths of 19 road construction workers and a soldier in 2018.
The heavy military presence and ongoing violence have stifled development in the region.
On Friday, Rumadi Ahmad, a deputy chief of the Indonesian presidential staff, said that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had committed to accelerating development in Papua, but these efforts would be hampered if the military was responsible for the violence in the video.
“While we hold a strong hope that our soldiers are not involved in such reprehensible acts, if proven true, the individuals responsible must be held accountable in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations,” Rumadi said in a statement.
He said the military played a strategic role “in bringing about a sense of security” in Papua.
“If the video is proven to be true, the actions by a few irresponsible individuals could be very disruptive to the development that has been planned and implemented so well,” Rumadi said.
Insurgents have also been responsible for civilian fatalities, targeting those they suspect of espionage for the authorities. In 2022, rebels killed eight employees of Telkomsel, the nation’s leading telecommunications provider, who were constructing cellular towers in the Puncak regency.
However, one armed separatist group, the West Papua National Liberation Army, quickly distanced itself from the incident in the video and condemned the acts therein, which spokesman Sebby Sambom attributed to the TNI.
“The actions of the Indonesian military and police are akin to [those of] ISIS terrorists,” Sambom said, referring to the Islamic State militant group.
Papua, a mineral-rich and underdeveloped region, has been grappling with a separatist insurgency for decades. The mineral extraction and alleged discrimination against indigenous Papuans by the Indonesian government have fueled the conflict.
Papuans have long felt marginalized economically and politically, despite the immense wealth their land generates.
The territory was incorporated into Indonesia in the 1960s after a controversial United Nations-backed plebiscite.
Many Papuans allege the vote was rigged and have since fought for independence.
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3) Renewed calls for UN visit to West Papua after torture video surfaces online
6:39 pm on 22 March 2024
A West Papua freedom movement leader is renewing calls for a UN human rights visit to Papua after new videos of Indonesian soldiers torturing a West Papuan man emerged online.
In the video viewed by RNZ Pacific, a group of men wearing Indonesian military uniforms take turns kicking, punching and slicing an indigenous Papuan man.
He was in an open 44-gallon drum filled with water with his hands tied behind his back.
The president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, Benny Wenda, said he is truly horrified by the video that he says has emerged from the Yahukimo regency in Highland Papua.
He said the men can be heard saying in Indonesian "my turn, my turn" and comparing their captive's flesh to that of an animal.
RNZ Pacific has contacted the Indonesian government for comment.
In 2018, Indonesia's then president Joko Widodo extended an invitation to the UN Human Rights Commissioner to visit Papua but it has so far not eventuated.
Wenda is calling on the international community to pressure Indonesia into facilitating the visit.
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