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Wamena investigation: What the government is not telling us
One of the most important pieces of information is that more than eight native Papuans died that day and that they died of gunshot wounds allegedly fired by what the locals call the “security apparatus”, a joint force of Indonesian Military and National Police personnel.
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A man stands at the location of Eles Himan grave, one of the dead victims among native Papuans. (JP/Albertus Vembrianto)
I
n Wamena in Papua’s Jayawijaya regency there is a customary belief that women and children are innocent, that’s why the men have to protect them. “Humi yukurugi wene inyokodek,” said Dominikus Surabut, head of the customary council of La Pago. But if women and children become victims, he said, the men are going to fight in the afternoon and evening. “Inyawim hiam-hiam ninane uok...,” Dominikus went on.
This belief played a role in the events that took place in Wamena on Sept. 23, a tragedy shrouded in mystery amid a communication blackout in the region.
According to statements from the government, at least 33 were killed in the violence, eight of them native Papuans. An armed rebel group – referred to as an “armed criminal group” by the police – was reportedly behind the atrocity. Thousands of people, both native Papuans and non-native residents, fled the town following the riot.
The police said the non-native Papuans had died in fire while some had sustained injuries from sharp weapons. The official statement said nothing about what had caused the death of the native Papuans.
On Oct. 2, security and terrorism researcher Sidney Jones of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) published a piece on Lowy Institute website, saying that “nine Papuans also died, mostly stabbed by migrants trying to fend off the mob.” Sidney told the Post on Oct. 23 that she had got the information from a hospital in Wamena.
The Jakarta Post and several journalists from Jayapura-based Jubi and Jakarta-based Tirto.id conducted an investigation in the field in Wamena in Jayawijaya from Oct. 3 to 10 and discovered what the government has failed to reveal.
One of the most important pieces of information is that more than eight native Papuans died that day and that they died of gunshot wounds allegedly inflicted by what locals call “security apparatus”, a joint force of Indonesian Military and National Police personnel.
