2) Indonesia's military pledges to investigate brutal torture video of Papuan man
- In short: A viral video showing a man in a barrel being tortured by men who appear to be Indonesian soldiers has sparked backlash in Indonesia.
- The victim is believed to be a member of a West Papuan armed rebel group, which has been waging a decades-long effort for an independent state.
- What's next? Indonesia's incoming president says the situation in Papua is "complicated", but he has been personally accused of using brutal tactics in Papua during his time in the military.
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Indonesia's military has pledged to investigate after videos described as "barbaric" circulated online showing what appear to be soldiers punching, kicking and slicing a Papuan man in a steel barrel.
The short videos depict a man in a barrel of water unable to defend himself being brutally beaten by a group of five men, who also taunt him with racist slurs.
One man tells the others to be patient because they'll all have their turn.
A separate clip shows the men cutting into his back with a machete, as the water he's sitting in turns a deep red.
The clips only emerged online in recent days, but they were recorded in early February in a central area of Papua called Puncak regency.
Human rights group Amnesty International believes the man is one of three ethnic Papuans who were tortured at the time by members of a military unit from Central Java.
Amnesty says the man being tortured in the video, identified as Definus Kogoya, later died.
The clips have prompted an unusual level of public response from Indonesia's government and military, with a spokesman from the Presidential Staff Office encouraging firm action against the people in
the video if it is proven they are military personnel.
"Of course, it's our hope that our soldiers would not be involved in this barbaric act, but if it's proven true, the individuals must be dealt with firmly in accordance with
the applicable rules and regulations," said Ramadi Ahmad, the vice-chief of presidential staff.
Indonesia's Human Rights Commission said the incident in the videos shows "there are more victims of violence as a result of the conflict in Papua".
Violence in video follows pattern in Papua
Despite initial denials from a regional commander in Papua about the videos, the head of the Indonesian military's Information Centre, Major General Nugraha Gumilar, confirmed to local media that
the men in the videos are military personnel.
"The Indonesian military is seriously handling this matter and an investigation is underway," he told media outlet Kompas.
He also said the victim is a member of Papua's armed rebel group, which has been waging a decades-long effort for an independent state in Papua.
"Even if he is a member of the armed rebels, you can't torture him," said Usman Ahmid, Amnesty's spokesman in Jakarta.
"Even in wartime, you can't torture people."
While the brutality of the video has shocked many observers in Indonesia, the violence continues a pattern of attacks and retaliation that has claimed dozens of lives over the past year.
In early February, a faction of the rebel group called the West Papua National Liberation Army, said its fighters in Yahukimo, a district next to Puncak, shot three soldiers in what may have been a retaliatory attack for the killing of one of its fighters.
In recent weeks, the pro-independence group also claims to have killed an Indonesian soldier and wounded another in the central highlands area of Mulia.
Another two special operations police were reportedly killed by rebels near a small airport in Paniai regency.
The armed rebels view such attacks as resistance against colonial rule, with Indonesia's government long relying on using the military and other security forces to combat what it deems a terrorist insurgency.
"In the past five years there has been an increasing escalation of violence involving the Indonesian army and the pro-independence armed rebels," said Amnesty's Mr Hamid.
He said he had received many videos depicting the torture of Papuans in the past, including some that involved snakes or the use of electric shocks.
The latest video has prompted exiled pro-independence leaders to renew calls for a United Nations team to visit Papua to examine the human rights situation.
"Though it is extreme and shocking, this video merely exposes how Indonesia behaves every day in my country," wrote Benny Wenda, the exiled leader of the umbrella group for pro-independence movements.
Change at the top but not on the ground
The conflict in Papua dates back decades, and there's little expectation that an upcoming change of national leader in Jakarta will lead to a more peaceful situation in the region.
Last month Indonesian voters overwhelmingly elected former general Prabowo Subianto to be sworn in as the nation's next president in October this year.
The 72-year-old is personally accused of using brutal tactics in Papua during his time in the military, and he is currently defence minister, overseeing the army during the past five years while violence has been rising.
"Many of us fear he will even increase the intensity of the military deployment to West Papua," said Mr Hamid.
Mr Subianto hasn't commented on the torture video, but during the recent election campaign, he was asked about his approach to the violence in Papua.
"Papua is complicated," he said during a debate in December.
"And we see foreign intervention behind the separatist movement. They want disintegration of Indonesia.
"So we need to prioritise anti-terrorism because those terrorism groups are attacking innocent people."
He also vowed to uphold the law, human rights and improve economic conditions, noting that that was the strategy of incumbent leader Joko Widodo.
While calling for the perpetrators of the torture to be held accountable, a spokesman for Mr Widodo also defended the government's approach to Papua.
"The government has an extraordinary commitment to accelerating Papua's development … fulfilling human rights and upholding the law is fundamental and essential," said Mr Ahmad.
The ABC has contacted the office of Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, who is currently negotiating a closer military cooperation deal with Indonesia, for comment.
Footage of a West Papuan man, bound in a water-filled barrel and being beaten and cut with knives, allegedly by Indonesian soldiers, has reanimated demands for international intervention in the contested province.
Two videos of the man being tortured are alleged to have been filmed in early February this year, during a military raid in the Omukia and Gome districts in Puncak regency, in the Central Papua province.
The footage – which the Guardian has seen but chosen not to republish – shows the man sitting in a 44-gallon barrel that is filled with bloodied water.
In one video he is repeatedly punched, elbowed, hit with sticks and kicked as he sits in the barrel. Blood can be seen running from numerous injuries on his face and head.
In another, a knife is repeatedly run over his back – which is already bleeding – while a hand holds his head. He can be seen to be bleeding from his ear and head, and he is shivering.
The man, with his arms behind his back, does not speak nor resist during the assaults. The assailants are dressed in civilian clothes, however, at least one is wearing camouflage pants that match the uniform of the Indonesian military, the TNI.
The executive president of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Menase Tabuni, condemned the assaults on civilians.
“This kind of action violates human values. No law can condone heinous acts of torture as seen in the two video clips.”
Tabuni said the UN high commissioner for human rights should “immediately form an investigation team to carry out investigations into human rights violations and threats of genocide against the Papuan people”.
Exiled West Papuan leader Benny Wenda, the president of ULMWP, said while the videos were “extreme and shocking”, they “merely expose how Indonesia behaves every day in my country”.
“Torture is such a widespread military practice that it has been described as a ‘mode of governance’ in West Papua,” he said. “I ask everyone who watches the video to remember that West Papua is a closed society, cut off from the world by a 60-year media ban imposed by Indonesia’s military occupation.
“How many victims go unnoticed by the world? How many incidents are not captured on film? Every week we hear word of another murder, massacre, or tortured civilian.”
Rumadi Ahmad, a deputy chief of the Indonesian presidential staff, said in a statement that the Indonesian government was committed to bringing development and security to Papua, but those efforts would be undermined if military personnel committed acts of violence and torture.
“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.
“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.
Col Gusti Nyoman Suriastawa, a military spokesman in Papua, told BenarNews the video was being investigated.
“We are verifying its authenticity … if it is genuine, we need to determine where and when it occurred.”
The four contested Indonesian provinces on the island of Papua (also referred to as New Guinea island) are referred to collectively as West Papua.
Indonesia has controlled the former Dutch colony since invading in 1963. It formalised its annexation through the controversial UN approved “Act of Free Choice” in 1969, widely regarded as a sham referendum, in which just over 1,000 selected Papuans were forced – some threatened with violence – to vote in support of Indonesian rule.
In the decades since, security forces have been accused of severe human rights violations, with an estimated 500,000 Papuans killed. A Guardian investigation last year detailed consistent reports of torture and murder of civilians, including children, by military officials.
The Indonesian state has always maintained that the West Papuan provinces are an indivisible part of the Republic of Indonesia.
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