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Churches demand KPP HAM for Paniai tragedy
Jakarta Post - March 17, 2015
"Entering the fourth month since the shootings were committed on Dec. 8, 2014, there are no signs of finding the perpetrators. The investigation doesn't seem to have given a bright light to the victims' families," chairman of the Papua Baptist Churches Synod, Soctares Yoman, said in a press conference at the office of the Papua Kingmi Synod in Jayapura on Monday.
The Papua Police's investigation report on the case as presented during a meeting on March 5, Socrates said, seemed to be of a low quality and protected police personnel.
"It gave an impression of trying to break the one intact case into separate cases, making it blurred and difficult to find the perpetrators," he said.
Five people aged between 16 and 18 were killed and 21 others were injured in the incident. Witnesses said the residents were performing the waita tribal dance after setting fire to a black SUV believed to belong to a group suspected of assaulting residents assembled at a Christmas event in Ipakiye village, East Paniai.
The Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI) had earlier submitted its findings on Paniai – which concluded that Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers were responsible for the shootings – to President Jokowi.
Meanwhile, Papua Gospel Camp Church Synod (KINGMI) chairman Benny Giai said local residents felt it was useless to give information to a party that had committed the killing. "In people's minds, why should they give testimony to the perpetrators? It's wasteful," Benny said.
That accounted for why, according to Benny, the President should establish the KPP HAM to make the case very clear. Otherwise, the case would be like other cases of shootings in Papua, in which the perpetrators were never revealed.
Indonesian Evangelical Church president Dorman Wandikmbo concurred, saying that the conflict in Papua was like a winding rope, difficult to unravel and requiring the President's focus to do so.
"The President should appoint a high official at minister level to take care of the Papua-Jakarta conflict through peaceful dialogue mediated by neutral third parties," he said.
Responding to the church leaders' demand, Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rudolf Patrige said all components in the community should be communicating to find a solution to the Paniai tragedy.
"The main challenge investigators face is people are not really aware yet about giving testimonies on what they heard, saw and experienced [in regard to the case]," Rudolf said.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/17/churches-demand-kpp-ham-paniai-tragedy.html.
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