Andra Jackson – An anglican minister from Victoria witnessed a confrontation in West Papua between protesters and Indonesian police, who fired rifles and tear gas into the air before charging into a demonstration that turned into a deadly riot.
Five members of the Indonesian security forces were killed in the March 16 confrontation, which grew out of a protest by students, academics and West Papuan highlanders against the US-owned Freeport gold mine. The demonstration began outside Cendrawasih University, Abepura, outside the provincial capital, Jayapura.
The Reverend Peter Woods, from St Andrews Church, Somerville, on the Mornington Peninsula, was visiting West Papua at the invitation of the indigenous Bethel church. He encountered the protest on the way to an appointment at the university.
Pictures he took of the scene are the first to be published in Australia.
Mr Woods said police lost control of the protest, which turned into a riot in which angry demonstrators stoned and killed three policemen and one intelligence officer. But the numbers of Papuans beaten and killed on the day or in later reprisals had been covered up, he said.
He said media, family, friends and other concerned people had been refused access to Jayapura's main hospital where the injured and a fourth policeman who later died were taken.
"There were wounded people, including children. Children had been shot. That has not been publicly aired yet." Mr Woods said he had heard from a number of consistent sources that a five-year-old child had been shot.
Among those bashed was the university's law and politics lecturer, Franz Kapissa, whom Mr Woods had gone to meet. He photographed his swollen face.
Mr Woods said news footage on Indonesian television showed "two plain-clothes officers shooting pistols, firing into the gates of the university". "It looked to me that one of them was taking potshots just trying to pick off who he could. He wasn't firing above heads, he was firing at people. There was footage on Indonesian television of policemen shooting into the air out of cars and on the backs of motorbikes."
The March 16 protest was the second day of demonstrations over the Freeport mine. The protesters had barricaded a section of road leading to the main airport.
Mr Woods said he saw 400 to 500 protesters, some sitting on the road, some standing in the university, confronted by about 100 armed police. He was standing in the university grounds with a video camera, filming down on to the road. "There was high emotion and incredible tensions. I saw bottles gathered."
He said organisers tried to calm everybody down and gestured for people to stay sitting.
"There was at least 50 metres between the line of police and the demonstrators," he said. "I filmed the first advance by the police, and there wasn't any interest in further negotiation shown by those of the police who were negotiating with the leaders."
The protesters offered to leave one side of the road open but were told to disperse, he said.
When the leaders refused, "there was a charge onto the demonstrators by firing into the air tear gas. They fired rifle fire into the air." "I got out of the initial surge and the gunfire, and as it turned out it was probably a good thing I did get out, otherwise I would have been a target," said Mr Woods, who returned to Australia on Saturday night.
Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja said at the weekend that human rights group were investigating reports that up to 16 students had been murdered by security forces.
Mr Woods said that while in West Papua he had heard that 16 students had been killed in revenge attacks, but had been unable to verify this. He said that since returning home he had spoken to a church leader in West Papua who said a member of the Indonesian riot squad, BRIMOC, had told him: "There have been killings. It hasn't come out yet."
The Age approached Foreign Minister Alexander Downer for comment on Mr Woods claims but his office failed to respond last night. The claims come as the granting of protection visas to 42 Papuan asylum seekers has strained relations between Jakarta and Canberra.
Prime Minister John Howard yesterday dismissed suggestions that Indonesia could retaliate by blocking a prisoner exchange scheme, which could allow convicted drug smugglers Schapelle Corby and the Bali nine to serve their time in Australia.
Mr Howard said he believed the West Papua issue would have no impact on the prisoner transfer negotiations or on relations with Indonesia.
"It will not disturb the close friendship between the governments of the two countries," he said. "We do not support for a moment the West Papuan independence claim. To those who are urging us to do so, I say we will not."
He also warned that the decision to give the 42 Papuans protection visas was not a green light for others to follow. Meanwhile, three Papuans have reportedly sought political asylum in Papua New Guinea following the Abepura riots.
[With Tim Colebatch]