Police, military involved in Papua abuses: Komnas
Police, military involved in Papua abuses: Komnas
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has
completed the report on its investigation into bloody incidents
in the Papua towns of Wamena and Wasior, saying soldiers and
police committed gross abuses in both cases.
After six months of investigation in the province, the
commission's fact-finding team found that both Indonesian
Military (TNI) soldiers and police officers were involved in
serious rights violations in Wasior regency in 2001 and Wamena
regency in 2003.
"The conclusion ... is that gross violations of human rights
occurred as defined by Law No. 26/2000 on human rights,"
Sa'afroedin Bahar, who chairs a Komnas HAM team on Papua, told
The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He said the report would be discussed during a plenary session
of the commission on Aug. 11 and 12. A week later, the findings
would be submitted to the Attorney General's Office for follow-
up.
Sayihg that disclosure of details would have to wait until
after the plenary, he only said that the findings showed that
"rights abuses were committed by military and police personnel."
Komnas HAM launched the investigations into the Wasior and
Wamena incidents last November to verify its preliminary findings
that blamed extra-judicial killings and torture on military and
police officers in both cases.
The probes started after the commission received permission
from President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
In raids on Wamena villagers between April and June 2003 by
Army troops, at least seven people were killed, 48 tortured, and
some 7,000 others were forced to flee.
The sweeps were launched after suspected Free Papua Movement
(OPM) members stole 29 rifles from the military armory in Wamena
on April 4, 2003.
In Wasior, at least three people were killed, 16 others
tortured and dozens of houses were set ablaze when police raided
a village in Wasior in 2001 following the killings of six police
Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers by alleged rebels.
The six paramilitary force officers were found dead on June
13, 2001, and the subsequent police raids and operations lasted
for more than two months.
The investigation team led by Komnas member Anshari Thayeb
questioned dozens of both civilian victims and security officers
over the last six months.
"The investigations ran smoothly because we received good
cooperation from the relevant agencies," Anshari told the Post.
Under the prevailing law on human rights tribunals, the Komnas
HAM findings can be admitted as evidence in cases being heard by
an ad hoc human rights court.