SP/Carlos Paath & Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy – The Indonesian military has demanded a public apology from the commissioner of the country's human rights watchdog, who on Friday made an insensitive remark about the recent murder of eight soldiers and four civilians in Puncak Jaya, Papua.
"Our soldiers work based on the Constitution, leaving behind their wife and children for our country. The statement by a commissioner of Komnas HAM [National Commission on Human Rights], Natalius Pigai, has upset our soldiers' wives, and we hope he will be willing to make a public apology," Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul, a spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), said Tuesday.
Natalius earlier said that the attack in Papua was not a human rights violation, and added that the soldiers deserved to be shot to death for lazying around instead of patrolling the area.
"It is very ironic that somebody thinks that our soldiers in Papua are just hanging out and slacking. It's not true at all. Our soldiers in Papua are actively involved in various charity activities," Iskandar said.
Natalius denied that he insulted the TNI, saying that some media outlets misquoted him and that he was only criticizing the lack of management within the military.
"What I meant was that there should be security management and a balance between the quality and the quantity of our soldiers [in Papua], so there won't be any unnecessary deaths," he told Detik.com.
Khatibul Umam Wiranu, a Democratic Party lawmaker and a member of the House of Representatives' commission III overseeing legal affairs, said that the commission would summon Natalius to clarify his controversial statement before the House.
"Natalius has offended the family of the deceased soldiers. The statement has hurt them, and it could be used as an argument to remove Natalius from his position in Komnas HAM," he said.
Khatibul added that Natalius did not have the right to insult Indonesian soldiers since the commission was still in hot water over their polarizing internal dispute and poor work performance.
The controversy at Komnas HAM revolves around the length of the term served by the chairman, which the House has proposed should be cut from the current two and a half years to just one year. Four of the organization's 13 commissioners, including Otto Nur Abdullah, the chairman, have opposed the move, but the nine other commissioners have sided with the proposal.