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We didn't shoot West Papuans, say Indonesian police, military
Sydney Morning Herald - December 10, 2014
Four died when a hail of bullets was fired into a crowd during a confrontation between Papuan protesters and police and military officers in the town of Enarotali on Monday morning. The fifth man died later in hospital.
Two days later, though, Jakarta-based leaders of both the army and police began denying responsibility. "Not the police", national police chief Sutarman said blankly on Wednesday.
A Jakarta-based military counterpart, army chief of staff Gatot Nurmantyo, speculated that, instead of being fired by the armed soldiers and police officers in front of the protesting crowd, the fatal shots came from the top of a hill behind them.
"I heard that from the TNI [military] commander and national police chief and also from the Papuan police and military that... shots were coming from the top of the hill," Mr Gatot said on Wednesday.
He was certain there were no members of the military or the police on the hill. "If there were shootings from up the hill while there was no military and no police, who was it?" he asked.
The comments appear to be an attempt to suggest the Free Papua Movement, OPM, which has been agitating for a separate Papuan state, is to blame for the deaths. Local people say the protest had nothing to do with separatism, but was a response to the beating of a child the previous night by soldiers.
Amnesty International called for a "prompt, independent and impartial investigation" into the incident and for Indonesia to "put an end to the climate of impunity for perpetrators of such abuses" by prosecuting those responsible.
It was revealed on Tuesday that the investigation will be run by a team headed by the Detective Head of the Papuan police, senior commissioner Dwi Iriyanto.
Hardliners in the military, police and political elite are said to be unhappy that the new Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, has said he wants to make welfare in Papua his priority, and to take a more pro-Papua stance. They fear it may encourage separatist sentiment in the region.
Also on Wednesday, the head of the Indonesian military, Moeldoko, announced plans to expand the military presence in Papua by opening a second command area, probably in the westernmost of the two Papuan provinces. It would be "purely for defence purposes," not to maintain political control over the region, he said.
The army in Indonesia lost its mandate for internal security in 1999 when the police force was separated from the military. However, in Papua, the military maintains a presence in places such as the highlands where there is little danger of foreign incursion.
Under the law, the police can still call on the army to help if it needs reinforcements to ensure security.
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