Out of Sight RIGHTS Endemic Abuse and Impunity in Papua’S Central Highlands WATCH July 2007 Volume 19, No
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Indonesia HUMAN Out of Sight RIGHTS Endemic Abuse and Impunity in Papua’s Central Highlands WATCH July 2007 Volume 19, No. 10(C) Out of Sight Endemic Abuse and Impunity in Papua’s Central Highlands Map of Papua and West Irian Jaya ............................................................................ 1 I. Summary...............................................................................................................2 Methodology...................................................................................................... 6 II. Key Recommendations........................................................................................ 8 Human Rights Watch urges the Indonesian government to: ................................ 8 III. Background.........................................................................................................9 Roots of the Papuan conflict............................................................................... 9 Post-Reformasi: A Bumpy and Uncertain Transition to Special Autonomy........... 14 IV. Restrictions on Access to Papua........................................................................21 V. Human Rights Violations in the Central Highlands .............................................24 Extra judicial executions and other abuses during sweeping operations............24 Brimob operations in Tolikara......................................................................26 Brimob operations in Puncak Jaya................................................................29 Serious human rights violations by the police ...................................................34 2005 flag raising..........................................................................................34 The arrest of David Hubi ..............................................................................38 Mulia DPRD Demonstration..........................................................................44 Shootings in Waghete..................................................................................46 Police Killing of Man in Wamena ..................................................................49 Police Beating of Man in Apalapsili.............................................................. 51 TNI Abuses........................................................................................................52 TNI Beating of Two Men ...............................................................................52 TNI beating of uncle of rape victim ...............................................................53 TNI Assault in Jayawijaya ............................................................................. 55 TNI Beating of Youths in Piramid..................................................................56 Violence Against Women and Girls and Other Violations of Women’s Rights......58 TNI Rape of 16-year-old girl ..........................................................................61 Rape as retaliation for alleged links to the OPM ...........................................62 VI. Impunity and Lack of Accountability for Abuses ................................................64 Impunity for security forces in Papua: Prominent cases .....................................65 Mechanisms for Accountability ........................................................................ 69 Prosecuting members of the police ...................................................................70 Impact of the Human Rights Courts ................................................................... 71 Conclusion: Impunity Persists ...........................................................................73 VII. Recommendations ...........................................................................................74 To the Government of the Indonesian Republic: ................................................74 To the Government and the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia (POLRI): .........................................................................................................................75 To Papuan community leaders: .........................................................................76 Appendix I: Glossary of Indonesian Terms.............................................................. 77 Acknowledgements................................................................................................79 Map of Papua and West Irian Jaya1 © 2006 International Crisis Group 1 On April 18, 2007, the name West Irian Jaya was changed to West Papua. 1 Human Rights Watch July 2007 I. Summary The performance of security forces in the Central Highlands region of Indonesia’s Papua province2 is an important barometer of the success of security sector reform efforts in the country more generally. Outside scrutiny is minimal and the security challenges are pronounced—pro-independence guerrillas have long been based in the region and public resentment of Indonesian authorities and institutions continues to simmer. The Central Highlands show how security forces act when hidden from public view. For this report, Human Rights Watch investigated 14 cases of alleged human rights violations in the region, interviewing more than 50 victims, witnesses, and family members of victims. Government limits on access and the rugged terrain of the region posed unique obstacles to research and follow-up as needed what we found gives serious cause for concern. Among our key findings are that while civilian complaints of brutal treatment by soldiers continue to emerge, police officers rather than soldiers are responsible for most serious rights violations in the region today. We found that both army troops and police units, particularly mobile paramilitary police units (Brigade Mobil or Brimob), continue to engage in largely indiscriminate village “sweeping” operations in pursuit of suspected militants, using excessive, often brutal, and at times lethal force against civilians. Another finding is that even in routine policing, officers sometimes use excessive force. 2 The Indonesian territory of Papua occupies the western half of the island of New Guinea. Originally one province in the republic, in 2003 it was controversially divided into two new provinces. The new province of West Irian Jaya now occupies the western part of the region with a new provincial capital of Manokwari. The new province in the eastern half is still called Papua, with Jayapura still serving as the provincial capital. Plans for a proposed third province named Central Irian Jaya, have been postponed. On April 18, 2007, the name West Irian Jaya was changed to West Papua. As used here, Central Highlands refers to the districts along the mountainous “spine” of the eastern province of Papua: the districts of Jayawijaya, Puncak Jaya, Mimika, Tolikara, Yahukimo, Pegunungan Bintang, and Paniai. Out of Sight 2 Underlying these mostly violent abuses is a culture of impunity. Members of the security forces continue to act as if they are above the law because, in fact, they rarely are prosecuted even when they commit the most serious of crimes. In the 14 incidents documented in this report—which include eight alleged killings, two rapes, and many cases of ill treatment and torture—at writing, only one member of the security forces had faced prosecution, and that was before a military court; a low ranking officer was sentenced to eight months in prison for killing a 16-year-old Papuan high school student. To our knowledge, no Brimob or regular police officers have been investigated or prosecuted for their role in the remaining seven killings. No officers have been charged in either of the two rape cases in which police were implicated. No officers have been charged in connection with the cases of alleged police ill-treatment we documented. This report thus documents what appears to be the near total absence of accountability for members of the security forces who commit abuses in the Central Highlands. * * * The Central Highlands region for years has been the site of tense confrontations between Indonesian police and military units and small cells of Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM, known in English as the Free Papua Movement) guerrillas. The pro- independence guerrillas have conducted repeated low-level armed attacks against Indonesian security forces, while Indonesian security forces, fearful of a repeat of the successful movement for independence in East Timor, have conducted regular sweeping operations to search for OPM guerillas or their supporters. These operations have typically involved looting, destruction of property, and in some cases harm to civilians and displacement. Public support for the guerrillas is perhaps stronger in the Central Highlands than anywhere else in Papua. Some proponents of Papuan independence have alleged that Indonesia is carrying out genocide in the Central Highlands, while others claim that serious human rights violations are a thing of the past. The reality is that surprisingly little is known about what is happening in many parts of the region. One reason is that this region is a 3 Human Rights Watch July 2007 large, mountainous, inaccessible, and sparsely populated area with little modern infrastructure. News can take days to reach towns if it reaches them at all. A more important reason is that journalists, human rights workers, and even diplomats are barred from entry to the area without permits, which are hard, at times impossible, to obtain. Outsiders who do visit are able to