Three Papua villagers in hiding die of starvation
Three Papua villagers in hiding die of starvation
Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua
Three residents of Kuyawage village in the Papua regency of
Wamena have reportedly starved to death after fleeing their homes
to avoid a sweep by the Army for those responsible for last
month's raid on the arsenal of the Wamena military compound.
The identities of the three people were not immediately
available.
The chairman of the regional office of the Indonesian
Communion of Churches (PGI), Rev. Socrates Sofyan, told The
Jakarta Post here on Tuesday that the three villagers, also
members of the PGI, starved to death in the forest in which they
had taken refuge.
He said all of the residents of Kuyawage village fled to the
forest when the Army deployed hundreds of soldiers to search for
those responsible for stealing rifles and ammunition from the
military arsenal.
The villagers were fearful because in the past the military
has accused them of supporting the Free Papua Movement (OPM), he
said.
"So far three villagers have died and if this situation
continues more and more villagers will also die," he said.
He said he and other church ministers could do nothing to help
the villagers because the village and the surrounding forest were
isolated and outsiders were not being allowed into the area.
The Army has deployed 140 soldiers from its Special Forces
(Kopassus) and Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) to help in
the hunt for the rebels though to be responsible for the killing
of two soldiers and the theft of 29 rifles and guns and thousands
of rounds of ammunition.
Twenty-two of the rifles and guns have been recovered and a
number of people, including three soldiers, are being held as
suspects in the raid.
Socrates called on the military to call off its operation and
allow the villagers to return to their homes.
Local religious leaders also have expressed concern over the
military operation, which they say could result in civilian
deaths.
Iwan K. Nidoen, a member of a coalition of local non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) carrying out its own
investigation into the arsenal raid, said the military was
targeting several villages suspected of supporting separatist
rebels.
"Many villagers have been living in fear since the military
swept through their villages looking for rebels. Many youths have
been beaten, their houses ransacked and their belongings stolen,"
said Frederika, another member of the coalition.
Both Socrates and the coalition of NGOs called on the military
to halt the operation and establish an independent team to
investigate the arsenal raid.
Maj. G.T. Situmorang, spokesman for the Trikora Military
Command overseeing Papua, declined to comment on the reports of
the three civilian deaths.
All he would say was that Trikora Military Command chief Maj.
Gen. Nurdin Zainal had been informed that the villagers had fled
into the forest not because of the military operation but because
they were afraid of the rebels.
"The villages were abandoned before the military operation was
launched. The villagers went into hiding in the forest because of
the rebels," he said.
He said that the local military would continue with its
operation until all of the remaining rifles and rounds of
ammunition had been recovered, adding that "we have called on the
villagers to return to their homes and resume their daily lives
if they were not involved in the raid".
Meanwhile, Jayawijaya military district chief Col. Agus
Mulyadi told the Post by telephone on Tuesday that soldiers shot
and killed a rebel, identified as Kabelek Hiluka, inside a house
in Ibele village, 10 kilometers south of Wamena, at 4:30 p.m.
"The victim was shot for resisting arrest and trying to
escape," he said, adding that 13 other people who were hiding in
the house were detained, while another person, Harun Sikopere,
escaped with a rifle.
Of the 13 people, 12 were released after being questioned
while another man, Linus Siluka, admitted to being a member of
the OPM and was detained for further investigation.