Human Rights Ministry Deems Investigation Team Unnecessary for Papua Shootings

The Ministry of Human Rights has assessed that a special investigation team is not yet needed to probe the shootings in Papua, including the incident involving a pregnant woman in Intan Jaya Regency. Deputy Minister of Human Rights Mugiyanto admitted that he had initially considered forming an investigation team. However, after coordinating with the National Police, he stated that such a team is currently unnecessary. “Actually, we previously thought that forming an investigation team was necessary. But Mr Astamaops, Mr Fadil, has explained that the process is being handled comprehensively, so there is no need to form an investigation team,” Mugiyanto said at his office in South Jakarta on Tuesday (7/7). On the same occasion, National Police Astamaops Commissioner General Fadil Imran stated that the military is currently investigating the shooting of the pregnant woman. He also noted that the military and police have identified the perpetrators of the shooting of a pilot from AMA Air in Papua. “The collaboration between the military and police on the ground in the context of law enforcement to identify the perpetrators has been going well. I think there is no need, as the Damai Cartenz Operations Task Force and the Gakkum Task Force are already working, and it is just a matter of technical coordination on the ground to find the suspects,” he said. In a written statement on 3 July, Koops TNI Habema explained the incident involving the shooting of a pregnant woman named Melkiana Dwitau in Wandoga Village, Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency. Head of Information for Koops TNI Habema, Lieutenant Colonel Inf. M. Wirya Arthadiguna, said that based on field reports, chronological analysis, and location mapping, the shooting was carried out by an armed group led by Peles Tigau from three different points over a span of about 15 minutes. The first shots were fired around 6.45 p.m. local time from the direction of Wandoga Village. Five minutes later, more shots were heard from a different point in the hills in front of the Sugapa Military Sub-District Command. At around 7.00 p.m. local time, the group fired again before fleeing towards the river. He explained that during the sequence of events, TNI task force personnel did not return fire. “Rainy conditions, thick fog, and very limited visibility led personnel to take up protective positions while monitoring the situation, in order to avoid risks to civilians,” Wirya said. He stated that spatial analysis showed the three sources of gunfire were at different points, ranging from 900 to 1,500 metres away. Meanwhile, the victim’s location was approximately 321 metres from the first point of gunfire and further away from the positions of the TNI task force personnel. “This data serves as one of the bases in the incident analysis process, which is still being investigated further alongside other field facts,” he said.