Study finds proof of genocide in Papua

Study finds proof of genocide in Papua

Michael Casey, Associated Press, Jakarta

A United States university study released on Thursday alleges Indonesia is violating UN genocide rules in Papua province with abuses that appear aimed at the destroying the region's indigenous people.

An Indonesian army commander, however, dismissed the findings as "baseless lies."

The Yale University law school study said security forces had committed crimes against humanity -- including rape, forced relocation, torture and killings -- in the province, where a small separatist group there has been battling Jakarta rule since 1969.

The school's Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic said the acts appeared to "bring about the destruction of the West Papuans."

"Many of these acts, individually and collectively clearly constitute crimes against humanity under international law," said the study, which was based on historic and contemporary evidence and interviews with Indonesians, Papuans and international experts.

It did not say whether researchers visited the province.

The report said the evidence showed that Indonesia had violated the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Col. Agus Mulyadi, the military commander for central Papua, rejected the study -- the latest in a series that criticize his troops in the province. He said the findings were "baseless lies."

"These accusations of human rights abuses are not true," he said. "We are only conducting our duty to keep the country unified. Secessionism is illegal and we are preventing it from growing."

Indonesia seized the resource-rich province in 1963 and formalized its occupation in 1969 following a UN-sanctioned ballot that rights groups have labeled a sham. Ever since, the poorly armed Free Papua Movement (OPM) has fought a sporadic campaign for independence.

Unlike mostly Muslim Indonesia, Papua, formerly known as Irian Jaya province and about 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) east of Jakarta, is overwhelmingly Christian. Its people are dark skinned and ethnically distinct from most Indonesians.

In recent years, rights groups have accused the military of widespread abuses in the province, including forcibly displacing families and killing independence supporters. Two years ago, independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay was killed by security forces. Seven soldiers were later convicted in his killing and jailed for up to three years.