Adam Gartrell – A new report calls on Australia to cut off ties with Indonesia's feared special forces group Kopassus over new evidence it is terrorising civilians in Papua.
The Human Rights Watch report says Kopassus plucks Papuans from streets and homes, without legal authority, and subjects them to brutal beatings and torture.
Based on interviews with locals in the Papuan town of Merauke, the report says Kopassus soldiers act with complete impunity, and local police are too scared to end their reign of terror.
Tne former detainee describes how Kopassus soldiers stripped him down to his underwear before savagely beating him.
"They beat us till we bled and had cuts," he says. "They forced us to face the sun and chew chillies... We were not allowed to spit."
The abuses occur regularly and have nothing to do with Indonesia's war against separatist guerillas in Papua, the report says.
Australia's relationship with Kopassus has always been controversial because of the group's well-documented involvement in human rights abuses in East Timor, Aceh and Papua. But under the Howard government, Australia resumed joint training with Kopassus in 2005, ending a long moratorium.
The report says Australia and other countries should withhold such training until Indonesia properly investigates abuses and holds the perpetrators accountable.
"Indonesia values its military-to-military relationships, in particular training for its personnel," the report says. "Targeted sanctions on the Indonesian military can provide important pressure to help end the climate of impunity long enjoyed by the security forces."
Foreign governments should also publicly press Indonesia to end restrictions on access to Papua for diplomats, journalists and human rights organisations.
"Foreign governments concerned about human rights should insist on a clear political commitment to reform... before offering the seal of approval of formal relations with Kopassus," Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams said.
Kopassus is currently headed by Pramono Edhie Wibowo, brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.