An Australian West Papuan solidarity group has condemned a brutal crackdown by Indonesian police against student protesters demonstrating against torture by the security forces.
A video of the cruel torture of a West Papuan man, Defianus Kogoya, by Indonesian troops in West Papua in early February, went viral last week with students and civil society groups staging several protest rallies and meetings over the past two days.
Indonesian security forces violently crushed these protests with tear gas and water cannon and arrested 62 people at one demonstration.
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“Yet again we have peaceful demonstrators being arrested, beaten and tear gassed by the Indonesian security forces,” Joe Collins, spokesperson of the Australian West Papua Association (AWPA), said in a statement.
“Do they really believe West Papuans will be so intimidated that they’ll stop protesting against the injustices they suffer under Indonesian rule?
“The West Papuan people will continue to protest until the international community and the United Nations start to bring Jakarta to account for the actions of its military in West Papua.
“The issue isn’t going away.”
University crackdown
In Jayapura, a rally was held yesterday at Perumnas 3 Waena and the Jayapura University of Science and Technology (JUST) by civil society groups, including by the Papuan Student and People’s Front Against Militarism (FMRPAM).
The local news outlet Jubi reported that the police had cracked down on the rally, assaulting demonstrators and firing tear gas.
The demonstrators were demanding that an independent investigation team be formed into the case of torture of Puncak regency residents by Indonesian military (TNI) soldiers and asked that the perpetrators be tried at the III-19 Jayapura Military Court.
Although the demonstrators tried to negotiate with the police, it ended in frustration. The police then dispersed the crowd by hitting the demonstrators and firing tear gas.
“Disperse, disperse, this is a public street,” shouted the Commander of Battalion A Pioneer of the Papua Mobile Brigade in Kotaraja Jayapura, Police Commissioner Clief Duwit.
The police then dispersed the crowd by beating them and firing tear gas.
Demonstrators ran for their lives towards the JUST campus.
In Sentani, at the red light junction where protesters began giving speeches and criticise the behaviour of the military in West Papua, security forces arrived quickly with two water canon vehicles.
Jubi reported that the field coordinator of the FMRPAM action, Kenias Payage, said that his party was taken away by a combination of TNI/Polri security forces while carrying out a peaceful speech at the Sentani red light.
Sixty two people were reportedly arrested.
‘Third party’ probe call
Meanwhile, Reverend Benny Giay, the moderator of the Papuan Church Council, has called for a “third party” to investigate allegations of violence by the security forces in Papua, reports Jubi News.
The third party should examine the facts, including allegations that the victims were members of the pro-independence West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).
“Those who are arrested or killed are often referred to as ‘armed groups’, ‘separatists’, ‘terrorists’, and with other accusations,” Reverend Giay said.
“It’s necessary to have a third party to clarify this. There is a lot of violence in Papua now but the media doesn’t classify it, so we suspect everything,” he said earlier this month.
Reverend Giay cited the incident of racial slurs against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, in August 2019, which sparked massive demonstrations in cities across Papua and Indonesia.
He said that when Papuans protested against the racism, they were instead branded as “insurgents”.
Reported with the collaboration of the Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) and Jubi News.
Sharon Muller – On Friday March 22, a video circulated of TNI (Indonesian military) soldiers torturing of a civilian in Papua. In the video, the victim is submerged in a drum filled with water with his hands tied behind his back. The victim was alternately beaten and kicked by the TNI members. The victim's back was also slashed with a knife.
The video circulated quickly and was criticised by a number of parties. Gustav Kawer from the Papua Association of Human Rights Advocates (PAHAM) condemned the incident and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. This was then followed by National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), the Diocese, the church and students.
Meanwhile, Cenderawasih/XVII regional military commander (Pangdam) Major General Izak Pangemanan tried to cover up the crime by saying it was a hoax and the video was a result of editing. This argument was later refuted by the TNI itself and it was proven that TNI soldiers were the ones who committed the crime.
The torture occurred on February 3 in Puncak Regency, Papua. The victim who was seen in the video was Defianus Kogoya, who had been arrested along with Warinus Murib and Alianus Murib. They were arrested and accused of being spies for the West Papua National Liberation Army-Free Papua Organisation (TPNPB-OPM), a cheap accusation which the TNI and police were subsequently unable to prove at all.
The three were arrested when the TNI was conducting a search in Amukia and Gome district. When Warinus was arrested, his legs were tied to a car and he was dragged for one kilometre, before finally being tortured. Alianus meanwhile was also taken to a TNI post and tortured. After several hours, they were finally handed over to a police post because there was not enough evidence to prove the TNI's accusations.
Defianus finally fainted, while Warinus died of his injuries. Warinus' body was cremated by the family the next day on February 4. Defianus meanwhile is still suffering and remains seriously ill. This is a TNI crime in Papua.
But that's not all. On February 22, 2022, the TNI also tortured seven children in Sinak district, Puncak. The seven children were Deson Murib, Makilon Tabuni, Pingki Wanimbo, Waiten Murib, Aton Murib, Elison Murib and Murtal Kurua. Makilon Tabuni died as a result.
On August 22, the TNI murdered and mutilated four civilians in Timika. They were Arnold Lokbere, Irian Nirigi, Lemaniel Nirigi and Atis Tini. The bodies of the four were dismembered: the head, body and legs were separated into several parts, put in sacks then thrown into a river.
Six days later, soldiers from the Infantry Raider Battalion 600/Modang tortured four civilians in Mappi regency, Papua. The four were Amsal P Yimsimem, Korbinus Yamin, Lodefius Tikamtahae and Saferius Yame. They were tortured for three hours and suffered injuries all over their bodies.
Three days later, on August 30, the TNI again tortured two civilians named Bruno Amenim Kimko and Yohanis Kanggun in Edera district, Mappi regency. Bruno Amenim ended up dying while Yohanis Kanggun suffered serious injuries.
On October 27, three children under the age of 16 were tortured by the TNI in Keerom regency. They were Rahmat Paisel, Bastian Bate and Laurents Kaung. They were tortured using chains, coils of wire and water hoses. The incident occurred in the Yamanai Village, Arso II, Arso district.
On February 22, 2023, TNI personnel from the Navy post in Lantamal X1 Ilwayap tortured two civilians named Albertus Kaize and Daniel Kaize. Albertus Kaize died of his injuries. This crime occurred in Merauke regency, Papua.
Between 2018 and 2021 Amnesty International recorded that more than 95 civilians had been tortured and killed by the TNI and the police. These crimes target indigenous Papuans, and the curve continues to rise year by year, ever since Indonesia occupied Papua in 1961. [1]
These crimes were committed one after another without a break, and followed the same pattern. So it can be concluded that these was not the acts of rogue individuals or one or two people as the TNI argues to reduce their crimes to individual acts.
Rather, they are structural (systematic) crimes designed to subdue the Papuan nation, to stop all forms of Papuan resistance for the sake of the exploitation and theft of Papua's natural resources.
The problems in Papua cannot be solved by increasing the number of police or soldiers. The problems in Papua must be resolved democratically. This democratic solution must include establishing a Human Rights Court for all perpetrators of crimes in Papua since the 1960s, and not just the perpetrators in the field, but also those responsible in the chain of command.
Only this will break the pattern of crimes that are occurring and provide justice for the Papuan people. A Human Rights Court will also mean weakening the anti-democratic forces that exist in Indonesia and Papua, namely military(ism).
A prerequisite for achieving democratisation is to eliminate the old forces, the garbage of history. The cleaner the process is carried out, the broader and deeper the democracy that can be achieved. This also includes the demands of the Papuan people to be given the right to determine their own destiny.
This is not a task for some later day, but is the task of the Papuan people today. Nor is the task of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) political elite or political activists alone, but it is the task of all Papuan people if they want to extract themselves from the crimes of the TNI and police or Indonesian colonialism.
Independence can only be gained by the struggle of the ordinary people themselves. The people must fight, the people must take to the streets, the people must build their own ranks, their own alternative political tool, and fight in an organised and guided manner.
References
1. Read Gemima Harvey's report The Human Tragedy of West Papua, January 15, 2014. This reports states that more than 500,000 West Papua people have been slaughtered by Indonesia and its actors, the TNI and police since 1961. The full report can be read at https://thediplomat.com/2014/01/the-human-tragedy-of-west-papua/.
2. Veronica Koman, upload on the chronology of torture of civilians in Papua. Posted on the Veronica Koman Facebook wall, Sunday, March 24, 2024. Accessed via: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/eDBJMeT9wS1MyA6T/?mibextid=qi2Omg on March 25, 2024, 13:00 WIB.
3. Jubi, Alleged torture of citizens by the TNI adds to the long list of violence in the land of Papua. March 23, 2024. Accessed via: https://jubi.id/polhukam/2024/dugaan-penyiksaan-warga-oleh-prajurit-tni-menambah-panjang-daftar-kekerasan-di-tanah-papua/ on March 25, 2024, 14:00 WIB.
4. VOA Indonesia, Amnesty International: 95 civilians in Papua have been victims of extrajudicial killings. Accessed via: https://www.voaindonesia.com/a/amnesty-international-95-warga-sipil-di-papua-jadi-korban-pembunuhan-di-luar-hukum-/6494380.html on March 21, 2022, 15:00 WIB.
-- Sharon Muller is a leading member of the Socialist Union (Perserikatan Sosialis, PS) and a member of the Socialist Study Circle (Lingkar Studi Sosialis, LSS). Arah Juang is the newspaper of the Socialist Union.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kejahatan TNI di Papua dan Solusi Demokratis Untuk Rakyat Papua dan Indonesia".]
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