Police unit accused of Papua abuses

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 07/06/2007 10:51 AM

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Human Rights Watch on Thursday released a report in which it accuses police of raping, killing and beating unarmed civilians in Papua.

The New York-based group claims the police's paramilitary unit, or Brimob, is responsible for grave human rights violations in the Central Highlands of Indonesia's easternmost province.

It documented 14 cases of abuse but said their were dozens more that lacked sufficient first-hand accounts from victims and witnesses.

The group said a lack of accountability and a poorly functioning justice system meant impunity for the culprits was the norm in Papua.

""With one exception, no one is being prosecuted for the crimes we documented. The police are acting as a law unto themselves,"" said a program director for the group, Joseph Saunders.

Several women, said Saunders, told the group of threats of sexual violence and harassment.

""A woman told us she had been accosted by Brimob members when she and other women were returning to camp after gathering food. Brimob officers accused them of gathering food for the OPM and when the woman refused to answer, she was raped, left with her blouse and skirt torn,"" he said.

The separatist OPM, or Free Papua Movement, has been cited by authorities as a source of security problems in the province since the 1960s.

Another documented case involved Brimob officers who entered Wunmi, Tolikara regency, in search of OPM members. The officers allegedly burned down 10 houses, stole dozens of chickens and food, forcing villagers to flee to the mountains where seven died from malaria and other diseases caused by unhygienic conditions.

Despite the low intensity of its campaign, the OPM has been branded by the police as a serious threat to security. As a result, authorities have severely restricted access to the region.

Many observers believe the police are simply trying to ensure their continued presence in the area, where they guard mining firms for significant amounts of money.

The heads of the police and military in the region did not respond to requests for information on the documented cases, Human Rights Watch said.

Police have said reforms are taking place within Brimob and has promised any abuses will not go unpunished.

Saunders said the lack of reliable factual accounts of what is happening in Papua means unfounded rumors circulate with much the same potency as accurate accounts.

""The prominence of misinformation has served only to magnify the Central Highlands' reputation as a hotbed of dissent and abuse,"" he said.

The government says Papua is prone to external provocation and allowing in outsiders could worsen the security situation.

It recently barred visiting UN envoy Hina Jilani and U.S. congressman Eni Faleomavaega from entering Papua.

The government split Papua into two provinces in 2002 and enacted an autonomy law to boost the local economies, but progress has been minimal.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised in April last year to issue a decree to improve infrastructure and the economy in one of the country's most disadvantaged region.

However, the President has yet to act on that promise.

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