West Papua: Indonesian police Accused of Endemic Abuse and Violence

A new report by Human Rights Watch has accused Indonesian police in West Papua of endemic abuse and violence particularly in the remote Central Highlands region. The region is effectively closed to outside observers, including journalists and human rights observers. The 81-page report, “Out of Sight: Endemic Abuse and Impunity in Papua’s Central Highlands,” is the result of more than a year of research that documents daily abuses by police officers and other security forces in the mountainous and remote region. Many Papuans continue to call for independence from Indonesia and attempt to raise the Morning Star flag at regular ceremonies and events throughout Papua.

Police and Military authorities have not responded to requests for information on documented cases in the report, according to Human Rights Watch. Joseph Saunders, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch, said “No one is being prosecuted for the crimes we documented,” said Saunders. “The police are acting as a law unto themselves.”

He said that there is a lack of internal accountability and a poorly functioning justice system that mean impunity for perpetrators of abuses is the normal state of affairs in Papua. Human Rights Watch has called for Indonesia to open access to the region to journalists and independent observers “By keeping the region closed to outside scrutiny, officials in Jakarta are receiving biased and partial accounts of what is taking place,” said Saunders. “Reliable information is essential if officials are genuinely interested in identifying problems and finding lasting solutions.”

A key finding of the report is that the police, particularly BRIMOB officers (Mobile Brigade police, the elite paramilitary corps used for emergencies), are responsible for the most serious rights violations in the region today, although some reports of brutal treatment by Indonesian soldiers continue to emerge. The report recommends:

• unfettered access for diplomats, journalists, and human rights organizations to all parts of the two Papuan provinces,
• Investigation of all cases involving allegations of abuses by the police or soldiers and prosecutions should be brought before civilian courts under the criminal law and not be dealt with solely as disciplinary offences.
• Suspension from active service all police officers being investigated for human rights violations, and dismissal of officers found responsible for human rights violations,
• Provision of timely health services to all victims of sexual violence.

This report follows Human Rights Watch’s report in February 2007, “Protest and Punishment: Political Prisoners in Papua,” which documented severe restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association in Papua.

The Central Highlands region of West Papua is mountainous and remote with confrontations between pro-independence guerrillas of the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, or OPM) and Indonesian military and police. Indonesian military forces regularly conduct military operations resulting in the spread of fear and panic amoung civilians forced to flee their villages.

Background

Indonesia invaded West Papua in 1962. Then in a tangled web of deceit, the Indonesian authorities sought to justify their invasion and occupation to the United Nations by the "Act of Free Choice" in 1969. Rather than institute an open referendum on independence, the Indonesian authorities selected 1025 Melanesian men under threats of violence against their families and communities to make the choice. Unsurprisingly, these people voted for Papua to join Indonesia. There was no United Nations or independent supervision of this process.

Britain, the USA and Australia shamefully conspired with Indonesia in this process to make sure the West Papuans were denied their right to take part in a proper democratic "one person-one vote" referendum. In return foreign multinationals have been allowed into West Papua to exploit the rich natural resources of gold, copper, oil & timber.

Since the invasion and "Act of Free Choice", Indonesia has murdered or starved to death over 100,000 Papuan men, women & children. Countless others have been tortured, raped, imprisoned, terrorised & racially abused by Indonesian soldiers & police. It is illegal to display or raise the Morning Star flag in Papua - a potent symbol of the call for Papuan independence from Indonesia.

Sources:

• Human Rights Watch Press Release July 5 2007 - Indonesia: Police Abuse Endemic in Closed Area of Papua
• Human Rights Watch Report July 5 2007 - Out of Sight: Endemic Abuse and Impunity in Papua’s Central Highlands,
• Human Rights Watch Report February 2007 - Protest and Punishment: Political Prisoners in Papua
• West Papua News and Information