Yeremia Sukoyo, Carlos Paath & Anastasia Winanti Riesardhy – A member of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has officially apologized to the Indonesian Military (TNI) for a controversial remark he made about the recent killing of eight military officers in Puncak Jaya, Papua.

"The moment I picked to say it was inappropriate because the Indonesian Military was in mourning," Komnas HAM member Natalius Pigai said on Wednesday. "Therefore, I directly apologize."

In a recent discussion at the parliament building, Natalius had said that the death of the eight military officers in Papua was not a human rights violation. He blamed the military's lack of preparedness as one of the contributing factors to the incident.

He said that there were 16,000 military officers in Papua, including 200 intelligence officers, while the number of separatists is only estimated at 1,000 people. "So, the rest of them were sleeping and hanging out. It's no wonder they got shot," Natalius said.

The remark upset lawmakers and military families, who said he was wrong to criticize the officers.

"Natalius has discredited the military officers who passed away. Natalius's statement has hurt the families of the officers who died in the line of duty. Natalius's statement could also be used as an argument to dishonorably discharge him from being a Komnas HAM commissioner," Khatibul Umam Wiranu, a member of Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said on Tuesday.

The TNI and Komnas HAM conducted a closed door meeting on Wednesday at military headquarters in Cilangkap, Jakarta, to discuss Natalius' controversial comment. Spokesman of TNI Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said that TNI has accepted the apology.

"TNI has accepted the apology of Komnas HAM commissioner Natalius Pigai," Iskandar said. "The apology is accepted as his statement was said in an inappropriate moment."