Hengky Yeimo, Jayapura, Jubi – West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson Rudolof Fatem reported that one of the Maybrat displaced people named Samuel Saisor (42) died in the evacuation camp.
"The death was a result of gastric disease and lack of blood. He died at 01.00 p.m. local time in the evacuation camp," Fatem answered Jubi in a phone call on Sunday night, February 20, 2022.
Fatem said that Samuel Saisor was a farmer from the Tegemana Village, Far East Aifat District. Saisor died because he did not get access to treatment at the hospital. "The deceased left his wife along with four children, comprising three girls and one boy," he added.
Fatem told that on September 2, 2021, there had been an attack at the Kisor Military Post. Shooting between the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police took place. As a result, hundreds of people took refuge in the forest.
"Samuel Saisor and his family also fled to the forest. Saisor fell ill in October 2021. When he was about to get sick, we tried to take him out but couldn't because all the ways out were blocked by the TNI and police," he said.
His party had attempted to evacuate Saisor through Bintu, Maybrat, South Sorong. However, this access was strictly guarded by the security forces.
"We brought him back and tried to survive in the forest. He eventually got sick, he lacked blood and had a stomach ulcer. During some days in the forests, he did not eat well, his health kept deteriorating," he said.
For this incident, Fatem hoped that all parties, including churches, NGOs, and teams from the National Human Rights Commission and the United Nations could visit Papua to witness in-person situations like this.
"We are civilians who fled our hometowns. How long do these people be able to live in the forest? We hope that there will be pressure from all elements so that the UN can see the situation of human rights violations occurring in Papua from 2018 to 2022, we ask the UN to go to West Papua to see the condition of the people. This is a serious humanitarian issue," he said.
Meanwhile, head of the Papuan Office of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Frits B Ramandey said that the Indonesian government needed to remember that in certain situations, there could be major international intervention to Papua.
"The human rights mechanism indeed respects sovereignty. But when the UN has sent Special Procedures Mandate Holders, this is an intervention mechanism," he said.
Ramandey said the issue of human rights could have legal implications and political implications. "Because, in the context of Papua, it is not ordinary violence. Therefore, the Indonesian government must respond to it," he said.
Source: https://en.jubi.co.id/unable-to-access-the-hospital-a-maybrat-displaced-person-dies