Source: Amnesty
Date: 26 Sept 2002

Indonesia: Grave human rights violations in Wasior, Papua


1. Introduction
The following document is a summary of human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, torture and arbitrary detentions, which took place during the course of an operation by members of the Police Mobile Brigade (Brigade Mobil, Brimob) in Wasior Sub-district, Manokwari District, Papua Province (formerly known as Irian Jaya) from April to October 2001.

The 2001 Brimob operation in Wasior Sub-district was one of the largest operations by the Indonesian security forces seen in Papua in recent years. Local human rights organizations estimate that over 140 people were detained, tortured or otherwise ill-treated during the course of the operation. One person died in custody as a result of torture while at least seven people are believed to have been extrajudicially executed. Twenty-seven people were sentenced to terms of imprisonment after unfair trials. Hundreds of people from villages in the area were internally displaced as a result of the operation and dozens of houses destroyed.

The last operation in Papua by the security forces on such a scale took place in 1996 in Mapnduma District in the Central Highlands after a group of international and Indonesian researchers were taken hostage by the armed opposition group, the Free Papua Movement (Organisasi Papua Merdeka, OPM). The military led operations which followed the rescue of most of the hostages lasted for two years and were reported to have resulted in serious human rights violations including extrajudicial executions, torture, arbitrary detention and destruction of private and community property.1

The Wasior operation in 2001 was led by troops from Brimob - a paramilitary unit of the Police of the Republic of Indonesia (Kepolisian Republik Indonesia, Polri). Brimob is frequently used in counter-insurgency operations, including in Aceh, and in East Timor in the past. Its members also provide security to some logging, mining and other commercial enterprises. In these and other contexts, Brimob has a notoriously poor human rights record.

The Brimob operation in Wasior was prompted by the killing of nine people, including five members of Brimob, in two attacks by an unidentified armed group on logging companies in the sub-district in March and June 2001. The subsequent Brimob operation was launched to capture those responsible, but appears to have turned into a campaign of revenge against the immediate community and beyond.

There has as yet been no investigation by the Indonesian authorities into the allegations of grave human rights violations and no one has been brought to justice for them. Requests by local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia, Komnas HAM) to investigate the events in Wasior have so far met with no response.

The events of Wasior during the latter half of 2001 are not unique, but they have a particular resonance for political and economic development in Papua because of their timing and location. In October 2001, as the operation was concluding, legislation granting Papua special autonomy was adopted by the Indonesian parliament. The legislation, which provides for a greater degree of local control over economic and political affairs, is intended to address local grievances and counter demands for independence. The Law on Special Autonomy for Papua specifically recognizes the failures of the administration thus far to respect human rights and uphold justice - which has contributed to Papuan demands for independence. The Law includes a clause making protection and respect for human rights an obligation for the provincial government.2

The granting of special autonomy has met with mixed reactions in Papua. Some regard it as an opportunity to establish a greater level of influence over the political and economic development of the province, while others see it as a transition phase before full independence. However, many Papuans reject the initiative believing that it does not adequately address their grievances, that it undermines demands for independence, or both. Mistrust of the government's intentions has been further reinforced by the failure of the Indonesian authorities, both national and local, to act decisively and effectively in bringing to justice those responsible for human rights violations, including those committed in Wasior in 2001.

The events also raise more general concerns about the protection of human rights in the context of the commercial exploitation of natural resources. This problem is not confined to Papua. For example, in the Kaolak Sub-district of South Sulawesi Province, 30 people were reported to have been injured in March 2002 when members of Brimob and local police fired into a crowd of local farmers and indigenous people who were occupying land taken over by a cocoa plantation company. Protests over land rights or other rights which may have been contravened by logging, mining or other commercial operations in Papua take on an additional dimension because those involved in such disputes are often branded as separatists or rebels, against whom the Indonesian security forces have waged counter insurgency operations for many years.

Employees and others associated with logging, mining and other companies operating in Papua are also at some risk as highlighted by the killing of one Indonesian and two United States's (US) citizens in an attack by an unidentified armed group close to the US owned PT Freeport Indonesia gold and copper mine in Mimika District on 31 August 2002. Amnesty International condemned the attack, as it condemns the targeting of any civilians by armed groups or members of state security forces.3 However, this latest incident and other past attacks on Freeport employees and facilities, together with allegations that members of the Indonesian military responsible for providing security to the operation have been responsible for committing human rights violations, show the difficulty of providing security for such operations, while ensuring that the human rights of those living around them are fully respected and protected.

Events in Wasior in 2001 intensified concerns about the development of a vast liquified natural gas operation in the Bintuni Bay area which, although some 200 or 300 kilometres from Wasior, is in the same district of Manokwari. In addition to concerns about the possible impact of such a project on the environment and indigenous peoples, there are as yet many unanswered questions about how the security of this new project can be guaranteed while at the same time guaranteeing that those providing the security will not commit human rights violations.4

Amnesty International does not take a position on the political status of Papua, neither supporting Indonesia's claims to the territory or demands for independence by Papuans. Nor does it support or oppose the existence of commercial operations. The organization is concerned only that the human rights of all those living in the province should be protected and respected and that these rights should not be ignored for the achievement of political goals or put in jeopardy for the sake of economic development. Amnesty International considers it to be the primary responsibility of the Government of Indonesia to ensure the protection of human rights, but also believes that other actors, including national and transnational companies, have a responsibility to ensure that human rights are upheld in the areas in which they are operating. The organization also calls on armed groups operating in Papua not to commit human rights abuses.

1.1 Summary of recommendations

To the Government of Indonesia with regard to police operations in Wasior:

  • To establish, without further delay, an effective, independent investigation into allegations of grave human rights violations in Wasior during 2001 and ensure that individuals found to be responsible, including those with command responsibility, are brought to justice;
  • To provide reparations, including compensation, restitution and rehabilitation, to victims of human rights violations in Wasior and their families;
  • To undertake a prompt and independent review of all cases of individuals who were convicted in relation to events of Wasior in trials which did not meet with international standards for fair trial.

To the Government of Indonesia in reference to the human rights situation in Papua:

  • To undertake comprehensive, effective and independent investigations into all past allegations of human rights violations in Papua and establish mechanisms by which every allegation of human rights violations can be independently and impartially investigated and perpetrators brought to justice in a manner which is consistent with international standards for fair trial;
  • To take measures to bring an end to the widespread practice of torture and prevent extrajudicial executions;
  • To carry out detailed, practical training for all security forces personnel, including those involved in providing security to commercial operations, and other relevant officials, in international human rights standards including those related to the treatment of detainees and the use of force and firearms;
  • To extend invitations to visit Papua to the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the UN Special Representative on human rights defenders.


To armed opposition groups operating in Papua:

  • To take measures to ensure that members do not commit abuses of human rights, including deliberate and arbitrary killings of civilians.


To national and international companies operating in Papua:

  • To ensure that their operations do not have any negative impact on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the local population, including by not engaging security forces against which there exist credible allegations of human rights violations and ensuring that all individuals providing security receive training in the practical implementation of relevant human rights standards;
  • To record and report any credible allegations of human rights abuses by the Indonesian security forces in their areas of operation to the relevant government authorities and to the National Commission on Human Rights. Companies should actively monitor the status of investigations and press for their proper resolution.


Footnotes

1 For further information see: Human Rights Violations and Disaster in Bela, Alama, Jila and Mapnduma, Irian Jaya by the Indonesian Evangelical, Catholic and Mimika Christian Evangelical Churches, May 1998, and Rape and Other Human Rights Abuses by the Indonesian Military in Irian Jaya (West Papua) by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for Human Rights and the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham), May 1999.

2 Paragraph f of the preamble to Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua Province notes: "That the running of the government administration and the implementation of development in the Province of Papua thus far has not engendered a feeling of justice,... has not yet fully supported the upholding of justice and has not yet fully demonstrated respect for human rights in the Province of Papua, particularly in respect of the indigenous peoples of Papua". Article 45 of Law 21/2001 states that: "The Government, the Provincial Government and the inhabitants of the Province of Papua are obligated to uphold, further, protect and respect human rights in the Province of Papua".

3 See: Amnesty International Public Statement: Indonesia: Attacks in Papua cannot justify violations of human rights, AI Index: ASA 21/122/2002, 2 September 2002.

4 The project is operated by British Petroleum (BP), under a production sharing contract with the Indonesian state oil company, Pertamina. The production start up date for the Tangguh Liquified Natural Gas Project (LNG), which includes three gas fields in Bintuni/Berau Bay, is 2006, and the expected life of the project is over 30 years. BP has expressed its desire to keep the presence of the Indonesian security forces to a minimum. Following the attack near Freeport on 31 August 2002, a spokesperson for BP reiterated their commitment to a community-based security plan and pointed out that there were currently no military or police presence on the site (Reuters, BP says committed to Papua despite Freeport attack, 4 September 2002).

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