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Feelings of injustice and trauma still widespread in Papua

lsm-lsm papua buk dan kontras papua merilis, sejak tahun 1967 hingga kini kasus pelanggaran ham masih bertumpuk, tanpa diproses sesuai hukum yang jelas.
02 January 2013

Jayapura: KontraS, The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, and BUK, United for Justice, say in a press release that since 1997, they have received information about scores of human rights violations in Papua none of which has been dealt with by the courts.

This has lead to feelings of injustice, deep resentment and trauma.

Furthermore, in a press release sent to JUBI in Padang Bulan, Jayapura, Papua, on 7 December, they drew attention to three grave cases of violations of human rights which occurred: the Bloody Abepura Incident 2000, the Wasior Incident 2000, and Wamena 2003.

With regard to the Bloody Abepura Incident, at 01:30 Papua time, the police command post (mapolsekta) in Jalan Dewi Sartika which is about 20 kilometres from the centre of  Jayapura was attacked by unknown persons (OTK).

During this incident, a police officer Brikpa Petrus Eppa was killed and three civilians were also killed.  About one hundred metres from the Abepura police station, a shop and the house above it was destroyed by fire  while an unknown person (OTK) killed a security official (satpam)  working for the Kotaraja autonomous region.

On the same day at about 02:50, there were sweepings in three student dormitories in Abepura, the dormitories in Ninmin, Yapen Waropen and Ilaga, as well as people’s homes in Abepura Pantai, Kotaraja and Skyline. At the time this incident occurred, the chief of police in Papua was Police Brigadier General  Moersoertidarmo Moerhadi D.

During the sweeping in Skyline, Elkius Suhuniap died while John Karunggu and Orry Dronggi who were staying at the Ninmin dormitory died after being tortured at the police command post in Jayapura.

In 2005, KontraS HAM set up KPP HAM Abepura to investigate the case.  According to its investigations, 25 perpetrators were involved. Even so, the attorney-general, MA Rachman and Commission II of the DPR-RI appointed Chief Police Commissioner Johny Wainal Usman as commander of Brimob (an elite unit of the police) and AKBP Daud Sihombin as supervisors and commanders of operations.

‘During the initial stage of the proceedings of the above cases, the documents made no mention of the conditions and damages suffered by the victims. As a result there was no mention of any rehabilitation nor was anything said about the injustices suffered by the victims,’ said Olga Helena Hamadi, Co-ordinator of KontraS Papua.

As was stated in the KontraS-BUK press release, 25 people were involved in this case but only two people were mentioned. Although there were 105 victims, there were only 17 witnesses.

KontraS and BUK believe that the judicial process in the Bloody Abepura Incident 2000 was deeply flawed. As is clear from the press release, there was no mention of the victims despite the fact that six people died while being tortured.

To this day, they are traumatised and deeply resentful.

‘Because the court case was so flawed, the victims have lost confidence in the law. The violence has led to deep feelings of resentment.’

On 8 and 9 September 2005 in Makassar, South Sulawesi, the Ad-Hoc Human Rights Court in the Abepura case acquitted Police Brigadier-General Johny Wainal Usman and Police Commissioner Daud  Sihombing because it considered that it had not been proven that they committed human rights violations in Abepura.

BUK and KontraS  urge Komnas HAM, the National Human Rights Commission, to immediately take action on the serious cases in Wasior and Wamena because the legal processes underway by the attorney-general’s office  are unclear and the victims have the right to be informed of how far the cases have proceeded.

KomtraS and BUK also call on the governor of Papua, the Papuan legislative assembly (DPRPapua) and the Papuan People’s Council (Majelis Rakyat Papua) to call for an official evaluation of the security situation in Papua, to reject the presence of organic and non-organic troops and to re-consider the number of Polri/TNI troops in Papua whose presence could lead to yet more victims.

KontraS and BUK also call for an end to shootings, torture, arbitrary arrests, the denial of democracy and other measures being taken against the civilian population in Papua.

(Jubi/Timo Marten) Published by Jubi on 7 December 2012.

To read the original article in Bahasa Indonesia, click here.

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