Govt asked to investigate right abuses in Papua

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua

Leaders of religious groups in Papua have called for an independent investigation into alleged human rights abuses by the military in Wamena in the hunt for the perpetrators of an arms robbery at the local military compound in April.

"We call on the central government and local authorities in the province to pay serious attention to the human rights abuses in the military operation in Wamena," Rev. Herman Saud of the Evangelical Church in Papua said here on Saturday.

Rev. Socrates Sofyan Yoman, chairman of the Papua branch of the Baptist Communion, said the National Commission on Human Rights had been asked to thoroughly investigate the rights abuses.

Brother Theo Van der Broek of the Jayapura Diocese concurred and said an independent, thorough investigation was vital to avoid confusion in the province.

A coalition of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has formed a team to do an independent inquiry into the arsenal raid, and claims to have found a number of human rights violations committed by soldiers against local people.

At a press conference here on Thursday, team spokesman Anum Siregar said the team had collected data on 35 cases of arrest, torture and intimidation, 17 arson cases and 16 robbery cases since the military investigation into the arms robbery began in the middle of April.

"Villagers have been tortured, as have those detained at detention houses belonging to the both local military and police. Yapenas Murib died before reaching hospital due to injuries inflicted during torture. Many villagers in Wamena have been tortured and intimidated, and their belongings stolen during military sweeps in their villages in Jayawijaya regency. Many houses, churches, school buildings and polyclinics have also been burned down," said Anum.

Frederika, a staff member at the Jayapura bishop's office, said that during the two-month hunt, seven innocent civilians, including two Baptist church ministers, had been killed or persecuted.

Brothers Enggelek and Kotis Tabuni, both in their 40s, died of injuries inflicted during torture in Kuyawage village on May 4, she said.

The team also recovered the bodies of three civilians in a forest in Kuyawage village on May 14. The three were identified as brothers Yesaya and Obenus Tulenggan, and Eretene Murib. They died of starvation while hiding from the military in the forest, said Frederika.

She said Kabelek Hiluka, who was shot dead in a house in Ibele village, was a resident of Kurulu village and not a rebel as the military claimed.

"Hiluka was a grandson of Karulu Mabel, a Papuan figure who played a major role in the province's integration with Indonesia.

The Army has deployed hundreds of soldiers, including 140 personnel of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), to hunt down the men who killed two soldiers and stole 29 rifles and guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the arsenal on April 4.

Most of the arms have been recovered.

Several personnel of the Jayawijaya military district and several villagers allegedly involved in the robbery have been detained at local military and police detention houses.

Anum, also coordinator of the Democratic Alliance for Papua (ALDP), said soldiers burned down houses and other buildings such as churches and schools in Wapuga and Kuyawage villages, Jayawijaya, on April 21 and April 22.

The soldiers also stole money, eggs and important documents such as school certificates and bank books, he said.

"The rights of the people of Wamena have been abused in the search for arms and ammunition stolen from the military district's arsenal," he said.