Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and several Papuan civil society groups have protested against raids on Papuan student dormitories in several areas in Jakarta and Denpasar, Bali, by Indonesian security forces last week.

The Papuan civil society groups are the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), Foker Papua NGOs Cooperation Forum and the Papuan Community Alliance Against Corruption (KAMPAK).

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said in a joint press statement that the raids were forms of systemic intimidation, threats and terrorism of Papuans living outside Papua.

The statement said that during an incident in Jakarta that occurred on Nov. 12, several armed Army and National Police officers entered the Papuan student dormitory in Tebet, South Jakarta, without asking for permission.

The officers said that they were collecting data on Papuan students living in Jakarta. "This incident has frightened and has traumatized Papuan students," the statement published on the Kontras website, kontras.org, reads.

In Denpasar, a Bali Police officer entered a Papuan female student dormitory on Nov. 3, asking for all students to lodge their identity cards with the officers for security reasons.

"The Army and the police have violated the Article 9 of the 1999 Law on Human Rights," Haris said. He urged the Army and National Police chiefs to stop all forms of intimidation of Papuans and to investigate the incidents. (swd)