Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia Usman Hamid asks the Indonesian government and the Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to investigate the death of three civilians in Karutabe village, Mulia District, Puncak Jaya Regency, Central Papua, on July 16, 2024.
” We ask the government to investigate transparently and independently the shooting incident that led to the death of three civilians and make sure that all the perpetrators be prosecuted. The Human Rights Commision should also investigate the incident,” Usman said in a statement on July 20, 2024.
As earlier reported, Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel shot dead three alleged Papuan armed separatist group members in Puncak Jaya regency, Central Papua, on July 16, 2024. Local residents claimed that the three people were innocent civilians.
Spokesman of Papua’s Cendrawasih Regional Military Command, Lieutenant Colonel Candra Kurniawan, said personnel of the 753rd Infantry Battalion in Puncak Jaya were engaged in gun fight upon seeing Teranus Enumbi, an identified member of the armed Free Papua Movement (OPM) along with his peers in a residential area of Karubate village, Muara District.
The separatist group members shot at the 753rd Infantry Battalion personnel who were about to arrest them at a small kiosk in the village. Three of them, identified as SW (33 years old), YW (41) and DW (36), were killed in gunfire exchanges, while Teranus Enumbi managed to flee the scene.
Violence broke out on July 17, 2024 after local people staged a protest against the killing. TNI reported that six vehicles belonging to security forces were burned by the mass during mediation following the shooting of the three alleged members of the Free Papua Organization (OPM) in Puncak Jaya, Central Papua. The mob was allegedly provoked by a group of people.
Usman Hamid said this incident is a extra judicial killing that violates human right principle, but also refelected the failure of security approach applied by Indonesian government in handling conflict in Papua.
“Such violence not only adds to the suffering of the Papuan people, but also aggravate distrust to security officers and the government,” Usman said.
He was of the opinion that security approach taken by the Indonesian government in solving Papuan conflict by deploying massive number of armed military and police has been proven as ineffective.
“Instead of creating peace and security, this approach has incited fear and trauma for the civilians and distance the indigenous Papuan from justice. Ongoing violence has shown that militaristic approach cannot solve the root of the conflict in Papua that is social, economical, and political injustice.” he said.
He said further that the government should immediately stop the security approach that prioritize violence and switch to more humanist and dialog approach with all parties in Papua.
