Three Papua villagers in hiding die of starvation<\/p>\n
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua<\/p>\n
Three residents of Kuyawage village in the Papua regency of
\nWamena have reportedly starved to death after fleeing their homes
\nto avoid a sweep by the Army for those responsible for last
\nmonth's raid on the arsenal of the Wamena military compound.<\/p>\n
The identities of the three people were not immediately
\navailable.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the regional office of the Indonesian
\nCommunion of Churches (PGI), Rev. Socrates Sofyan, told The
\nJakarta Post here on Tuesday that the three villagers, also
\nmembers of the PGI, starved to death in the forest in which they
\nhad taken refuge.<\/p>\n
He said all of the residents of Kuyawage village fled to the
\nforest when the Army deployed hundreds of soldiers to search for
\nthose responsible for stealing rifles and ammunition from the
\nmilitary arsenal.<\/p>\n
The villagers were fearful because in the past the military
\nhas accused them of supporting the Free Papua Movement (OPM), he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"So far three villagers have died and if this situation
\ncontinues more and more villagers will also die,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said he and other church ministers could do nothing to help
\nthe villagers because the village and the surrounding forest were
\nisolated and outsiders were not being allowed into the area.<\/p>\n
The Army has deployed 140 soldiers from its Special Forces
\n(Kopassus) and Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) to help in
\nthe hunt for the rebels though to be responsible for the killing
\nof two soldiers and the theft of 29 rifles and guns and thousands
\nof rounds of ammunition.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two of the rifles and guns have been recovered and a
\nnumber of people, including three soldiers, are being held as
\nsuspects in the raid.<\/p>\n
Socrates called on the military to call off its operation and
\nallow the villagers to return to their homes.<\/p>\n
Local religious leaders also have expressed concern over the
\nmilitary operation, which they say could result in civilian
\ndeaths.<\/p>\n
Iwan K. Nidoen, a member of a coalition of local non-
\ngovernmental organizations (NGOs) carrying out its own
\ninvestigation into the arsenal raid, said the military was
\ntargeting several villages suspected of supporting separatist
\nrebels.<\/p>\n
\"Many villagers have been living in fear since the military
\nswept through their villages looking for rebels. Many youths have
\nbeen beaten, their houses ransacked and their belongings stolen,\"
\nsaid Frederika, another member of the coalition.<\/p>\n
Both Socrates and the coalition of NGOs called on the military
\nto halt the operation and establish an independent team to
\ninvestigate the arsenal raid.<\/p>\n
Maj. G.T. Situmorang, spokesman for the Trikora Military
\nCommand overseeing Papua, declined to comment on the reports of
\nthe three civilian deaths.<\/p>\n
All he would say was that Trikora Military Command chief Maj.
\nGen. Nurdin Zainal had been informed that the villagers had fled
\ninto the forest not because of the military operation but because
\nthey were afraid of the rebels.<\/p>\n
\"The villages were abandoned before the military operation was
\nlaunched. The villagers went into hiding in the forest because of
\nthe rebels,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the local military would continue with its
\noperation until all of the remaining rifles and rounds of
\nammunition had been recovered, adding that \"we have called on the
\nvillagers to return to their homes and resume their daily lives
\nif they were not involved in the raid\".<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Jayawijaya military district chief Col. Agus
\nMulyadi told the Post by telephone on Tuesday that soldiers shot
\nand killed a rebel, identified as Kabelek Hiluka, inside a house
\nin Ibele village, 10 kilometers south of Wamena, at 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
\"The victim was shot for resisting arrest and trying to
\nescape,\" he said, adding that 13 other people who were hiding in
\nthe house were detained, while another person, Harun Sikopere,
\nescaped with a rifle.<\/p>\n
Of the 13 people, 12 were released after being questioned
\nwhile another man, Linus Siluka, admitted to being a member of
\nthe OPM and was detained for further investigation.<\/p>",
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