DPRP Members Say Police And Army Chiefs Held Responsible

Bintang Papua, 25 October 2011 [Abridged in translation by TAPOL]

Jayapura: A member of the Provincial Legislative Assembly of Papua, the DPRP, had called for the Chief of Police in Papua and Commander of the Cenderawasih Military Command to be held responsible for the loss of life when the Papuan People's Congress was broken up last Wednesday.

'The actions of the security forces in dispersing the Congress exceeded all bounds and exceeded their authority and in so doing were in violation of the laws in force'.said Yan Mandenas, chairman of the Pikiran Rakyat group in the DPRP.

'They exceeded their powers in attacking and shooting people who happened to be in the location, whether or not those people were involved in the Congress.'

'If indeed they were committing an act of subversion, then those responsible should be arrested, not beaten up and shot. This is a serious violation of human rights and should be thoroughly investigated,' he said . 'This is not a trivial matter but something which attacks the self-respect of Papuan people. It seems as though whenever anything happens in Papua, the security forces act uncontrollably and start shooting.'

'Killing innocent people is inhumane and it is always Papuans who are the casualties.If we want to develop Papua and preserve the unitary Republic of Indonesia, then we should stop hitting out at people and treating Papuan as if they are worthless.'

As for the claim of the chief of police in Papua that the casualties were only stabbed and not shot, if this is true, there should be autopsies. 'Why have there been no reports of the result of autopsies?'

He said that if Papua is an indivisible part of Indonesia, then why do so many conflicts occur there. 'There have been a number of mysterious shootings none of which has been properly investigated.'

Mandenas said that an investigation team should be set up immediately to see whether violations were committed. 'If there were violations, then those members of the security forces who were responsible should be sacked.'

Similar views were expressed by Ruben Magay, chairman of Commission A on Politics and Law of the DPRP.

He went on to say that he had urged the chief of police to withdraw his men because it (the Congress) was already over, but what in fact happened was that even though the event was at an end, they started chasing people, hitting them and shooting at people who happedn to be in the vicinity.And no one was fighting back. 'This is clearly a violation, with armed people shooting at random, hitting people who were not showing any resistance or carrying firearms.'

'The National Human Rights Commission, Komnas HAM, as the competent body should carry out an investigation and say whether human rights were violated or not.' He went on to say that the DPRP will press for an investigation team to be set up.

Meanwhile, a man named Yosep Nawipa who was happened to be in the vicinity became a casualty and was held in custody at police command headquarters. He said that he has been struck with a rifle butt by a member of the security forces, then pushed into their vehicle and taken to the police station. 'Just as the event was being dispersed,' he said, 'I happened to pass through the location and I too was beaten up, dragged into their vehicle and struck on the crown of my head,' he said, pointing to the injury that he had sustained.

ENDS