NGO says civilians killed in Papua clash

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A non-governmental organization (NGO) has refuted reports on the death of two members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) separatist group during a clash with local police recently.

A field observation it carried out following Tuesday's violence found the people killed were local villagers who demanded fair compensation for ancestral land they had sold to timber company PT Djajanti.

"Limited information and the remoteness of the site have resulted in conflicting reports. Therefore, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) should investigate possible rights abuses in the incident," National Solidarity for Papua said in a statement on Saturday.

Police shot dead two Papuans in Bintuni regency when a group of people attacked PT Djajanti employees who were on their way to hand over Rp 150 million (US18,750) in financial compensation to local residents.

The police immediately claimed the two men, identified as Bernard Furima and Matius Nasira, were OPM members.

The NGO said the incident was sparked by discontent at the amount in compensation offered by the timber company, which has a forest concession in the area, for the ancestral land.

The owners had asked Rp 300 million for their 250-hectare site.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos of Solidarity said branding the dissatisfied villagers as rebels was an attempt to distract people's attention from the ongoing dispute between the company and local residents.

"Whenever there are disputes between villagers and PT Djajanti the company has always involved security officers. Those who protest have always been labeled members of the OPM or other separatist movements," he said.

He also demanded PT Djajanti clarify the involvement of police officers in settling the dispute.

The NGO said it had found a number of unresolved disputes between Papuans and the timber company that involved acts of violence against locals by police or military personnel.

Bonar also reminded all parties involved in conflicts in the province to refrain from resorting to violence or intimidation.

Attacks on security personnel have been increasing in the natural resource-rich province, where a low-level armed resistance for independence has been taking place since the 1960s.