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Rights groups call for restraint, dialogue after mass killing
Time of loss: Indonesian Military personnel load coffins into a carrier aircraft in Wamena, Papua, on Thursday
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ime of loss: Indonesian Military personnel load coffins into a carrier aircraft in Wamena, Papua, on Thursday. Indonesian security forces have retrieved the bodies of 16 people in the aftermath of a massacre of construction workers claimed by separatist rebels in the restive province, the military said on Thursday.(AFP/Staf Steel)
As the government looks to respond to the killing of civilians in Nduga regency, Papua, for which an armed separatist group has claimed responsibility, human rights activists have called for restraint in order to stop the cycle of violence plaguing the region.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian and Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto confirmed on Wednesday that 19 civilians and one Indonesian Military (TNI) soldier had been killed by an armed group linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
A faction of the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB) led by Egianus Kogoya has claimed responsibility for the deaths of the construction workers and the TNI soldier, but claimed that the workers were not civilians, but members of the Indonesian Army Corps of Engineers (ZIPUR).
Jokowi said that he had ordered the TNI commander and the National Police chief to “hunt down and catch” those responsible, while Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has said that there would be no negotiating with the separatists.
“For me, there is no negotiation. [The separatists] can only surrender or be dealt with. That is it,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the police should conduct a “major operation” in Papua, as the separatist group had committed human rights violations. “The pattern is that we are told to take a soft approach so that we will not be accused of violating human rights. But who has violated human rights? They did,” he said as quoted by Antara.
The Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry’s deputy for domestic political affairs, Maj. Gen. Wawan Kustiawan, said that an additional TNI battalion had been sent to reinforce the troops already deployed in the area.
“On Wednesday, the Cendrawasih military command sent one battalion, which was based in Sentani, to Wamena to hunt the rebel group with the TNI-police joint taskforce,” Wawan said on Thursday. “The standby force is needed because of Papua’s difficult terrain.”
Amnesty International Indonesia said that while security forces should “deliver justice” to the victims of the shooting, they should do so in a way that “does not lead to further human rights violations”.
“Security forces have a track record of violent clampdowns and this abhorrent act should be no justification for going down that path,” Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The unspeakable attacks must not be used as a pretext to roll back freedoms and crack down on human rights.”
He added that authorities should ensure the safety of all people, without discrimination.
“Failure to respect human rights will contribute to an ever-escalating cycle of hostility and violence with an increasing risk of more lives being lost or in danger — including [the security forces’] own,” he said.
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) commissioner Yati Andriyani called on all parties to stop violent attacks on civilians.
“This type of violence and killing is an inseparable part of the chain and circle of violence in Papua that often leaves civilians as the most vulnerable targets of violent acts, whether by security forces or by armed pro-independence groups,” she said.
Yati also urged the government to hold a more comprehensive dialogue about the problems that had plagued Papua.
“The incident clearly shows that the infrastructure development approach that has been the government’s ambition in Papua cannot on its own restore security and end violence in the region, because Papua’s problems are not limited to economic and development issues,” she said.
Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos echoed Usman’s and Yati’s sentiments.
“The government must provide a comprehensive response, including formulating a political solution for Papua, because, if not, the resistance from armed groups will only intensify,” he said. “The Jokowi-JK [Jusuf Kalla] administration must realize that infrastructure development and economic welfare for the people of Papua is not enough if it is not coupled with the respect and recognition of the basic rights of Papuans.” (ggq)
