Amnesty: Indonesian forces behind unlawful killings in Papua
Jul 2, 2018
Amnesty International has identified 95 unlawful killings by security forces in Indonesia's easternmost Papua region since 2008, included targeted killings, and says there is a near-total absence of justice for the mainly indigenous victims
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's police and military are responsible for at least 95 unlawful killings in the easternmost Papua region since 2010, including targeted slayings of activists, Amnesty International said Monday, condemning a near-total absence of justice for the mainly indigenous victims.
In a report based on two years of research, Amnesty said that more than half the victims were either political activists or people taking part in peaceful protests often unrelated to the Papuan independence movement. Security forces often explain their use of deadly force in Papua as a justified response to violent separatists.
It said none of the killings was the subject of independent criminal investigation. In about a third of the cases, there was not even an internal investigation. When police or military claimed to have investigated internally, they did not make the findings public. Eight deaths were compensated with money or pigs.
The killings — nearly one a month for the past eight years — are a "serious blot" on Indonesia's human rights record, said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.
"This culture of impunity within the security forces must change, and those responsible for past deaths held to account," he said.
An independence movement and an armed insurgency have simmered in the formerly Dutch-controlled region since it was annexed by Indonesia in 1963. Indonesian rule has been frequently brutal, and indigenous Papuans, largely shut out of their region's economy, are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia.
The army's spokesman in Papua province, Col. Muhammad Aidi, rejected Amnesty's report, describing it as "untrue and baseless."
"It is clearly slandering the government and trying to corner the army and police," he told The Associated Press.
Aidi claimed the rights group's investigations were "just based on interviews" and ignored the background to incidents. Amnesty's 66-page report, however, provides extensive detail and context and acknowledges that police and the military face a "complex environment" in the two Papuan provinces.
A majority of the killings documented by Amnesty were the result of unnecessary or excessive use of force during protests or law enforcement operations and unlawful acts by individual officers, it said.
Some occurred in circumstances related to the Papuan independence movement such as raising of the banned "Morning Star" independence flag or ceremonies marking significant dates.
Whatever the situation, victims were overwhelmingly male indigenous Papuans and the majority were 30 or younger.
The rights group said the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, elected in 2014, had failed to end the security forces' pervasive impunity in Papua, like all Indonesian governments before it.
Despite a promise by the newly elected Jokowi to bring to justice officers responsible for killing four people when they fired into a crowd of protesters in December 2014 in Paniai district, there has been no criminal investigation even after Indonesia's Human Rights Commission found evidence of "gross human rights violations," Amnesty said.
In that case, villagers were protesting the alleged beating of Papuan children and youths by soldiers and threw stones and wood at a police and military buildings before officers opened fire. Two witnesses saw police officers beat one of the protesters and shoot him at close range after he fell to the ground, according to the Human Rights Commission.
Jokowi's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
His administration has released long-incarcerated Papuan political prisoners but activists say prosecutions and jailings that appear politically motivated have resumed recently.
At a news conference, Hamid faulted top security minister Wiranto, a former military chief who goes by one name, for lack of government attention to human rights abuses in Papua since he was appointed to the Cabinet in July 2016.
"We all know Wiranto has been implicated in human rights violations in East Timor in 1999," he said, referring to Indonesian military atrocities after East Timorese voted for independence in a U.N.-supervised referendum.
Amnesty said there have been 10 killings of activists from the pro-independence West Papua National Committee since 2010.
___
Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Indonesia contributed.
More News
DeepSeek and Huawei Target a Key Source of Nvidia’s A.I. Dominance
In China’s push for self-reliance in artificial intelligence, DeepSeek and Huawei have teamed up to develop software tools for advanced chips.
Kuala Lumpur is world’s most polluted city due to haze, Singapore third, index shows
Malaysia’s capital topped a global pollution ranking on Wednesday and nearby Singapore came in third, with smoke from wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia blamed for the unhealthy conditions. A milky haze has shrouded the cities for more than a month as smoke drifted from fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands. Kuala Lumpur was the world’s most polluted major city early on Wednesday, according to Swiss monitor IQAir, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 166. Singapore ranked third at 155. The...
Indonesia targets free public schooling amid funding concerns
Indonesia is pursuing plans to make public schools free at all levels, stretching from kindergarten to university, but mounting pressure on the state budget could hinder the government from pulling off the massive undertaking, analysts have said. President Prabowo Subianto summoned his ministers last week to discuss a plan to “accelerate the implementation of free education in public schools”, according to a statement released by cabinet secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya on September 23. “Free...
Turkish Confectioner Hands Out Doughnuts to Honor the Dead
In Turkey, people who have recently lost loved ones hire doughnut makers to hand out fried dough balls, known as lokma, to honor the dead and spread their blessings.
Southeast Asia faces ‘sleeper’ food crisis from Hormuz fertiliser bottleneck
A hunger crisis could creep up on Southeast Asia if the region does not guard against export restrictions amid a fertiliser shortfall, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Secretary General John Denton has warned. On the sidelines of the Future of Trade Forum in Singapore on Wednesday, Denton urged the city state, as the next Asean chair, to prioritise the “sleeper issue” for the region. He argued that the real story centred on food, despite the Strait of Hormuz gridlock being widely seen as...
Seoul residents up in arms over school for North Korean defectors
Residents of a district in the South Korean capital of Seoul are up in arms over plans to build a permanent school for North Korean defectors in their neighbourhood. The dispute escalated to the point where the school’s principal dropped to her knees to beg protesters to “embrace the children”, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Yeomyung School, which educates middle and high school students who fled North Korea or are children of North Korean defectors, has been unable to afford its own...
Can India curb childhood obesity by banning junk food near schools?
Shivanjali Singh has worked hard to raise two healthy, athletic children in India, but worries about their ability to resist the lure of junk food constantly surrounding them. Her children, aged 14 and 10, are national-level skaters and have grown up on home-cooked food and drinks such as coconut water rather than fizzy drinks and crisps. Yet Singh, who lives in Noida in the National Capital Region, sees sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks everywhere from school surroundings to sports...
Behind closed doors, a fatal beating exposes Malaysia’s parallel boarding school rules
The death of a 14-year-old student at a Malaysian boarding school has renewed scrutiny over student safety, raising questions over whether reforms introduced after the high-profile death of Zara Qairina Mahathir last year have changed what happens behind dormitory doors. Police in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, have detained two 16-year-old students as they investigate the death of Muhammad Idlan Fareeq Shahril. They said Idlan was caught vaping by a hostel warden on September 23. Two days later,...
Singapore jails man for slapping preschooler at bus stop over rude gesture
A man became angry after a four-year-old boy pointed his middle finger at him while he was picking up his son from preschool in Singapore. He pursued the boy to a nearby bus stop that was crowded with other young kids, grabbed the boy by the arm and slapped him hard on both cheeks. The boy, who was his son’s schoolmate, suffered bruises on his face and ringing in his ear, on top of emotional trauma that lingered for months and required his parents to change his preschool. The aggressor, Muhammad...
Malaysia Begins Repatriation of Migrants to War-Torn Myanmar Despite Critics’ Warnings
Malaysia says it is repatriating undocumented migrants from Myanmar who want to return. Critics say it is putting their lives at risk.
Philippines urged to adopt Malaysia’s lasting tourism strategy
Philippine senators have urged the Department of Tourism to stick with a single marketing campaign to build long-term international recognition, pointing to long-running successes such as Malaysia’s “Truly Asia” tagline. Newly appointed Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay was asked about her plans for the current slogan, “Love the Philippines”, during a departmental budget hearing on Monday, the Philippine Star reported. Senate finance subcommittee chairman Erwin Tulfo suggested keeping the...
Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong stocks face bumpy fourth quarter as risks mount: analysts
Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong stocks may face a challenging fourth quarter as investors contend with underwhelming stimulus measures from Beijing, tighter financial conditions in the US and a shift in the narrative around the artificial intelligence trade, according to analysts. The two markets were likely to consolidate throughout the rest of the year to digest the negatives before settling on a clearer direction, according to brokerages including Zheshang Securities and CCB International. CCB...