Dinda Shabrina, Jakarta – The Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, urges President-elect Prabowo and Vice President-elect Gibran to evaluate the security approach in Papuan soil.
According to Usman, the ongoing violence involving state forces and the Papua pro-freedom groups has taken many lives.
Based on Amnesty International Indonesia's observation, at least 132 unlawful killings in Papua occurred from February 2018 to August 2024. These instances, Usman said, have caused the deaths of 242 civilians.
"The majority of these incidents, or 83 cases with 135 civilian victims, are linked to security forces," Usman said on Friday, October 18, 2024.
In the same period, Usman said, as many as 55 military personnel have been killed in 37 cases, as well as 16 police members in 14 cases. Meanwhile, 42 members of the Free Papua group, or OPM, have been killed in 27 instances of unlawful killings.
"These murders exacerbate the tension (in Papuan soil), especially for the Indigenous people of Papua," Usman emphasized.
"We urge the president and the new government to evaluate the security approach in Papua. Over the past decade, the increasingly intensive military deployment has only resulted in more infringements on human rights," he added.
Usman also hopes that the Prabowo government will uphold the human rights of all people, including native Papuans. He asks the government to ensure justice and accountability for human rights violations in Papuan soil.