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Jokowi urged to establish independent team to investigate Enarotali tragedy
President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo must establish an independent team to thoroughly investigate a shooting incident that occurred during a clash between local residents and security officers in Enarotali, Paniai regency, Papua, on Dec
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resident Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo must establish an independent team to thoroughly investigate a shooting incident that occurred during a clash between local residents and security officers in Enarotali, Paniai regency, Papua, on Dec. 8, which killed five civilians and injured 21 others, a human rights network has said.
'President Jokowi must establish a team to conduct a thorough investigation into the shooting incident that killed civilians in Paniai,' Papua Peace Network coordinator Rev. Neles Tebay said in Jayapura on Wednesday.
It was hoped that the investigation would reveal the identity of the person who drove a car with its headlights off on Dec. 7 and the people who were allegedly involved in the torture of a young boy at Pondok Natal (Christmas Hut) that evening, which led to a mass protest and ended up with the shooting incident the following day.
Neles said it was important for Jokowi to establish an investigation team to avoid blame and finger pointing over the bloody incident in the future. He further said the investigation should disclose the factors that led the security officers to shoot civilians during the incident.
'It is hoped that the investigation results will be made public and help find comprehensive solutions that can end current and prevent future violent acts, such as this shooting, in Papua,' said Neles.
He said it was not the first time for Paniai to see a civilian shooting since the Act of Free Choice (Pepera) took place in Papua in 1969.
Meanwhile, the shooting of five civilians in Enarotali has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups.
Human rights NGO Imparsial said the incident had added to the long list of victims who had fallen victim to atrocities allegedly perpetrated by the authorities in Papua.
'In commemoration of International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, Imparsial condemns the shooting that killed five young civilians and injured several others in Enarotali. The police and the military should have been careful in using their firearms, especially if they intended to disperse protests,' Imparsial executive director Poengky Indarti said in a statement obtained by The Jakarta Post.
She said human rights abuses in Papua should become one of Jokowi's main priorities because if the situation was not settled, more incidents would occur in the future.
Similarly, the NGO also criticized Jokowi's plan to establish new Regional Military Command (Kodam) headquarters in Papua and West Papua, saying that the President bore the responsibility to ensure freedom of speech and expression and to resolve human rights cases in the region. (dyl/ebf)(+++)
