Jakarta – Human rights activists have urged the government to better control and monitor its military (TNI) to prevent torture against civilians.
"The government and the TNI must respond quickly to Human Rights Watch's (HRW) recent report by punishing violators and commencing an all-out reformation of the armed forces," Poengky Indarty, from the Indonesian Imparsial Human Rights Watch, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
HRW, a New York-based rights watchdog, recently said members of the country's elite paramilitary forces, Kopassus, had detained and tortured civilians in Papua, one of the most conflict-prone regions in Indonesia.
HRW urged the Indonesian government to investigate alleged abuses, and to discipline or prosecute offenders and their commanding officers.
It also called on countries such as the United States, Australia and the UK to cut training ties with Kopassus until the matter had been resolved.
"The reports from our branch offices confirm HRW's findings. There have been many arrests and torture of innocents accused of being part of the separatist Free Papua Movements (OPM)," Poengky said.
"Most of the arrests are conducted without the authorization of superior officers. Therefore, I feel it is crucial for the TNI, including Kopassus, to reform its chain of command, and for there to be firm regulation stipulating that superior officers are punishable for their subordinates' violations."
She added the House of Representatives should also frequently summon the TNI leadership for inquiries into its budget expenditure in conflict zones. "The House and the government will then be able to monitor the TNI and prevent its members getting out of line during duty," she said.
HRW alleged most of the arrests had been made by plainclothes Kopassus personnel.
Poengky said detained civilians were made to suffer mental and physical abuse during their detention. "The torture and detention occur very systematically and slowly evolve to be massive," she said. "In some cases, the soldiers line up all the residents of a village and systematically detain or beat them in public."
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said as quoted by Reuters that he needed to read the report before he could make any comment on the matter.
Papua military spokesman Lt. Col. Soesilo also said the allegations had not been properly delivered to him, adding he was unaware of the alleged abuses detailed in the HRW report.
For decades, the OPM separatist movement has forced the Indonesian Military to maintain a strong presence in Papua, the country's richest region in terms of natural resources, but the poorest in terms of income.
The OPM was established in 1965 and has since been seeking independence for the western part of the island of New Guinea, currently under Indonesian control.
OPM supporters say Indonesia's administration of West Papua is a military occupation. Due to the OPM's separatist nature, it is considered a crime to display the Papuan independence flag, known as the Morning Star, in public.
Crucially, the organization does not have the support of the significant Javanese population in Papua. (hdt)