12 soldiers in Papua die of AIDS, says military

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Breaking a long-held tradition of secrecy, the Indonesian Military disclosed on Tuesday that 48 of its soldiers in Papua had contracted HIV/AIDS since 2000, with 12 of them having died so far.

Besides the 12 soldiers, the deadly virus has also taken the lives of two soldiers' children and a civilian working with the Trikora Military Command, which is responsible for military affairs in Papua, a military spokesman admitted on Tuesday.

"The soldiers should not be having sex with prostitutes. This tragedy should serve as a wakeup call to commanders," said the spokesman, Maj. G.T. Situmorang, in a rare interview on a sensitive TNI internal issue.

Some of the soldiers were married while others were still bachelors, said Situmorang.

The remaining 33 soldiers with HIV/AIDS are still in the service and are being provided with antiretroviral drugs to improve their immunity and keep them alive.

In order to prevent the further spread of the lethal virus among soldiers, the military high command has ordered task force commanders to keep their men away from prostitutes, who are at high risk of being infected with HIV.

The Trikora Military Command currently has some 10,000 soldiers, excluding troops from other regions deployed in the resource rich province where a low level insurgency has been taking place since Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in the 1960s.

Located in the eastern part of Indonesia, Papua has a high level of HIV/AIDS infection -- some 19 times higher than the national rate. Experts say the high rate of infection stems from a lack of education and a local culture that permits multiple sexual partners.

Officially, a total of 2,134 people, including the soldiers, had contracted HIV/AIDS in Papua as of September this year, but it is believed that the real figure could be very much higher. Of the 2,134 people who have been infected, 932 have developed AIDS. The majority of HIV/AIDS cases have been found in Merauke, where a total of 769 people have been affected.

The report on soldiers dying of AIDS came only a week after World AIDS Day was marked by a visit from UN AIDS supremo Peter Piot, who warned that Indonesia was on the brink of an AIDS epidemic. The nation had to act quickly to fight the lethal virus, Piot said.