Egi Adyatama, Maudey K. Setyakusuma (Intern), Jakarta – Violent acts against a Papuan was again caught on camera, on Wednesday, July 28. This time, two police officers caught on camera assaulting a resident in the back of a truck by hitting the victim's head twice.
According to the Executive Director of the Manokwari Institute for Research, Assessment and Development of Legal Aid (LP3BH), Yan Christian Warinussy, the incident occurred in Nabire. The victim, identified as Nicolas Mote, was a civilian.
"As a fellow law enforcer in Papua, I strongly disagree with the attitude, behavior and brutal actions of these police officers," said Yan, in a written statement, Thursday, July 29, 2021.
This incident occurred shortly after a video of two members of the Indonesian Air Force was recorded persecuting and stepping on a civilian in Merauke. The incident resulted in the dismissal of the Commander of the Air Force Base Johanes Abraham Dimara (Dma Air Base) and the Commander of the Military Police Unit of the Dma Air Base, as leader of the two TNI members.
In the case in Nabire, Yan highlighted that one of the police officers who abused the victim looked like a native Papuan. Yan suspects that the said officer entered the institution through the Special Autonomy police.
"If this is true, then my suggestion is that he should be fired immediately by the National Police Chief through the Papua Police Chief. Likewise, the Nabire Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comsr. Kariawan Barus and the Nabire Police Operations Development Section Head should also be removed from their positions, because they seem very incapable of guiding their members," said Yan
Previously, human right activist Veronika Koman also shared a similar violent video. "Confirming that racism against Papuans is systemic," she said in responding to the recent incidents.
Tempo tried to confirm the video and this incident to the Head of Public Relations of the Papua Police, Sr. Comsr. Ahmad Musthofa Kamal. But there has been no response until the news was revealed.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1488760/police-reportedly-beats-papuan-following-tni-violence-cas