Rights body to probe Irian violations
Rights body to probe Irian violations
JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights promised
yesterday to investigate reports of killings and vandalism in a
number of Irian Jaya villages allegedly committed by an Armed
Forces unit.
Commission members B.N. Marbun and Clementino dos Reis Amaral
received a delegation of Irian Jaya students yesterday. The
students presented a report which claimed that between December
1996 and October 1997, a number of innocent civilians were killed
when a military unit was operating in the Mimika area.
The report, compiled by three church groups in Irian Jaya,
said the incidents occurred in the villages of Bela, Alama, Jila
and Mapenduma.
Prior to meeting with commission members, the students also
tried to meet with Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces
Commander Gen. Wiranto at the Armed Forces headquarters.
However, Wiranto was unavailable so they presented the report
to Col. F.X. Bachtiar, a member of staff in the secretary
general's office in the ministry.
According to one of the students, Yafet Kambai, Bachtiar said
the Armed Forces would look into the matter.
The report claimed that during the military operations, in
which the troops were assigned to crush the Irian Jaya separatist
movement, many rights violations were committed, including the
destruction of several houses.
The report also accused soldiers of damaging two community
health centers and a radio communication facility owned by a
local church.
The Irian Jaya students urged commission members to
immediately establish a fact finding team to thoroughly
investigate the case.
"We want an independent team to investigate the rights
violations in Irian Jaya," student Yafet Kambai said.
Yafet also said military operations in the area should be
stopped because they only spread fear among the local community.
Separately in Jayapura, 300 students came to the provincial
legislature to protest against the treatment they received from
security forces in the inland areas of the vast province.
The students demanded the Armed Forces adopt a more humane
approach and end repressive measures. (byg/swe)