Sharon Muller – On Friday March 22, a video circulated of TNI (Indonesian military) soldiers torturing of a civilian in Papua. In the video, the victim is submerged in a drum filled with water with his hands tied behind his back. The victim was alternately beaten and kicked by the TNI members. The victim's back was also slashed with a knife.

David Robie – On my office wall hangs a framed portrait of Shireen Abu Akleh, the inspiring and celebrated American-Palestinian journalist known across the Middle East to watchers of Al Jazeera Arabic, who was assassinated by an Israeli military sniper with impunity.

State murder

Jakarta – Responding to a claim by the separatist West National Liberation Army (TPNPB) that aerial bombing had occurred in an area where New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens was taken hostage, the Indonesian Military (TNI) said it had deployed only flyby operations in Nduga regency.

Sentani, Jubi – Rev. Benny Giay, the Moderator of the Papuan Church Council, has emphasized the need of a third party to investigate various cases of violence involving security forces in Papua. This third party should examine all related facts and information, including allegations that the victims were members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).

Jayapura – Papuan students in various cities around Indonesia along with humanitarian solidarity groups including the Indonesian People's Front for West Papua (FRI-WP) are demanding that the state be held accountable for cases of torture and violence against civilians by TNI (Indonesian military) and Polri (Indonesian police) officers against the people of the land of Papua.

Ronny Kareni – Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia's army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding.

Senator the Hon Penny Wong
PO Box 6100
Senate
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

28 March 2024

Dear Foreign Minister,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Australia West Papua Association in Sydney concerning the brutal torture of a West Papuan man, Defianus Kogoyaby Indonesian troops in West Papua in early February.

Geneva – The U.N. Human Rights Committee said on Thursday it was concerned by extrajudicial killings in Indonesia's Papua province, where separatists and Indonesian troops have been fighting for decades.

The Papuan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) has raised concerns over the denial of legal assistance to Melianus Baye and Benny Elopere, two minors detained by the Papua Regional Police (Polda Papua) on suspicion of involvement in an aircraft shooting incident in the Yahukimo Regency.

Andreas Harsono – The Indonesian military apologized to "all Papuan people" and detained 13 soldiers from an elite battalion in West Java who had tortured a Papuan man in Gome, Central Papua.

Jakarta – It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers.

Jayapura, Jubi – Repeated occurrences of Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers torturing civilians in Papua have been evident, as seen in the viral video depicting the torture of civilians in the Puncak Regency allegedly done by soldiers of Raider 300/Brajawijaya Infantry Battalion.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Fellowship of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) has called for a thorough and complete investigation into the alleged torture of three civilians in Puncak Regency by TNI soldiers from Raider 300/Braja Wijaya Infantry Battalion. Ronald Tapilatu, the Head of Papua Affairs Bureau of PGI, made this statement in Jakarta on Monday (25/3/2024).

Defara Dhanya, Yohanes Maharso and Hendrik Yaputra, Jakarta – The Spokesperson for the West Papua National Liberation Army of the Free Papua Organization (TPNPB-OPM), Sebby Sambom, denied the allegations that the residents tortured by Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers were members of the organization.

Yohanes Maharso and Defara Dhanya, Jakarta – Commander of the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Regional Command, Major General Izak Pangemanan, said the New Zealand Ambassador has handed over the plan for the release of his citizen to the Indonesian government.

Defara Dhanya Paramitha, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) strongly condemned the torture of an indigenous Papuan man by soldiers of the Indonesian military (TNI). YLBHI Chairman Muhammad Isnur urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to immediately conduct an investigation and demand that the perpetrators be held accountable.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Army issued a rare apology on Monday and said 13 soldiers had been arrested after a video emerged showing a man being tortured by troops in Papua region, where armed separatists have clashed with security forces for years.

Sebastian Strangio – The armed forces were forced to issue a rare apology after a video showing soldiers torturing a Papuan separatist fighter was posted online.

Indonesia's military says that it has arrested 13 soldiers after the emergence of a video showing the torture of a man believed to be a member of a Papuan separatist group.

Manokwari, Jubi – The Executive Director of LP3BH Manokwari, Yan Cristian Warinussy, urged the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto to immediately remove the Commander of the XVII/Cenderawasih Military Command Maj. Gen.

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia's military said Monday it has arrested 13 elite troops accused of involvement in a video showing the torture of an indigenous Papua man believed to be a member of a separatist group.

Julie Wark – Budi Hernawan said it ten years ago: "torture in Papua... has become a mode of governance." It hasn't stopped. It's got worse. It's got worse precisely because it's a mode of governance accepted and blessed by the international "community" whose neoliberal politics of extraction means extermination of anything and anyone getting in its way.

Jakarta – The commander of the Cenderawasih/XVII Regional Military Command (Kodam), Major General Izak Pangemanan, has revealed the chronology of the abuse committed by TNI (Indonesian military) soldiers against a member of an armed criminal group (KKB) in Central Papua.

Bill Birtles in Jakarta – Indonesia's military has pledged to investigate after videos described as "barbaric" circulated online showing what appear to be soldiers punching, kicking and slicing a Papuan man in a steel barrel.

Zach Hope and Karuni Rompies – The Indonesian military has detained 13 of its own after disturbing videos surfaced of a group beating and slashing a young Papuan trembling in a barrel of bloodied water.

As a result of the attack on a police post in Paniai District by the TPNPB on the 20 March, the Papuan Police have deployed 30 rangers from its elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) to secure the post and hunt down the attackers. Two police officers died in the attack.

Ben Doherty – Footage of a West Papuan man, bound in a water-filled barrel and being beaten and cut with knives, allegedly by Indonesian soldiers, has reanimated demands for international intervention in the contested province.

Zach Hope and Karuni Rompies – The Indonesian military has detained eight of its own after disturbing videos surfaced of a group beating and slashing a young Papuan as he stood trembling in a drum of bloodied water.

Human rights groups on Monday were attempting to confirm reports from locals that the victim later died.

An Australian solidarity group for West Papua today warned of a fresh "heavy handed" Indonesia crackdown on Papuan villagers with more "arrests and torture".

The Indonesian government has confirmed it is investigating a viral video showing security forces in Papua torturing a civilian.

Antara, Jakarta – The Papua Police deployed 30 rangers from its elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) to the Ndeotadi 99 police post in Paniai District, Central Papua, following a deadly attack on the post on Wednesday, March 20.

Jayapura, Jubi – The bodies of two police officers who died in an attack by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) in Paniai Regency, Central Papua Province on Wednesday (20/3/2024) will be evacuated on Friday morning. Both bodies will be evacuated to Mimika Regency, said Paniai Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Abdus Syukur Felani, on Thursday.

Ronny Kareni – Recent videos depicting the barbaric torture of an indigenous Papuan man by Indonesian soldiers have opened the wounds of West Papua's suffering, laying bare the horrifying reality faced by its people.

Diamanty Meiliana, Jakarta – The Humanitarian Coalition for Papua is urging the government to hold an investigation into the torture of a Papuan civilian by members of the TNI (Indonesian military) after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is calling for an evaluation of the placement of TNI (Indonesian military) in Papua after a video of a Papuan man being tortured by several soldiers at the Gome Post in Puncak Regency, Central Papua, went viral on social media.

A West Papuan pro-independence leader has condemned the "sadistic brutality" of Indonesian soldiers in a torture video and called for an urgent United Nations human rights visit to the colonised Melanesian territory.

Videos of Indonesian soldiers torturing an indigenous Papuan have gone viral on social media and caused public outrage. Human rights defenders found hints that the video might have been taken during a security force raid in Omukia and Gome on 3 and 4 February 2024. Both districts are located in the Puncak Regency, Pegunungan Tengah Province.

Victor Mambor and Dandy Koswaraputra, Jayapura, Indonesia and Jakarta – Military officials in Indonesia's restive Papua region said Friday they were verifying the authenticity of a video that has gone viral and appears to show Indonesian servicemen beating and cutting with a bayonet a man believed to be an indigenous Papuan.

The Australia West Papua Association condemns the brutal torture of a West Papuan man by Indonesian troops in Yahukimo.

A video of the torture is circulating on social media. The video shows soldiers brutally beating a man as he stands in a barrel of water and slashing him with a knife.

A West Papua freedom movement leader is renewing calls for a UN human rights visit to Papua after new videos of Indonesian soldiers torturing a West Papuan man emerged online.

In the video viewed by RNZ Pacific, a group of men wearing Indonesian military uniforms take turns kicking, punching and slicing an indigenous Papuan man.

Gratianus Silas, Jayapura – Cenderawasih/XVII Regional Military Commander Major General Izak Pangemanan has spoken out about a video that has gone viral of a Papuan civilian being tortured by rogue TNI (Indonesian military) officers.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Office of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM Papua) has urged the Papua Police and Yahukimo Police to uncover the perpetrators of murder and rape against two female refugees in Yahukimo, IS and AK, on October 11, 2023. Police must ensure the complete enforcement of the law and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Jayapura, Jubi- The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) shot down a helicopter in Baya Biru District, Paniai Regency on Wednesday (20/3/2024), claiming that the helicopter was carrying mining logistics operating in Baya Biru. The mine is suspected to be illegal.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Papua Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua) expressed its assessment that the Cartenz Peace Operation in Papua does not demonstrate a prioritization of law enforcement. LBH Papua urged the government to evaluate the implementation of the Cartenz Peace Operation in Papua.

Merauke, Jubi – Hundreds of Indigenous Papuan mama (women/mothers) who are members of the Association of Indigenous Papuan Mama Traders (IPM2AP) in Merauke Regency, South Papua, staged a protest demanding the local government to construct a representative market within the city of Merauke.

Merauke, Papua – The AIDS commission (KPA) noted that from January to March 2024, there were 16 cases of HIV-AIDS in Merauke Regency, South Papua. Three of them resulted in fatalities. Damario Sriyono, the Secretary of KPA in Merauke Regency, stated to Jubi on Tuesday (3/19/2024) that among the cases recorded earlier this year, the patients were from the general public.

Jayapura, Jubi – Two students arrested in Kali Brasa, Dekai District, Yahukimo Regency on February 22, 2024 and have yet to be released by the police as of today. The two teenagers, MH and BGE, have been made suspects in the case of aircraft shooting.MH and BGE were apprehended by security forces on suspicion of being members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).

Jayapura, Jubi – The indigenous community of the Awyu Tribe has filed a cassation against the decision of the Manado State Administrative High Court which rejected their appeal regarding their lawsuit against the environmental feasibility permit issued by the Papua Department of Investment and One-Stop Service for PT Indo Asiana Lestari.

Jayapura, Jubi – The Democracy Alliance for Papua (ALDP), conducting independent monitoring during the 2024 elections, concluded that the political understanding among election participants, electoral organizers, and the public was severely lacking during the implementation of the 2024 elections in the Papua and Mountainous Papua provinces.

Jayapura, Jubi – In March 1973, then President of Indonesia Soeharto, accompanied by the Governor of Irian Jaya Frans Kaisiepo and the Director of Freeport Minerals, officially inaugurated the Ertsberg mine for the first time. This mountain was excavated for copper concentrate to be exported from Nemangkawi abroad.

Merauke, Jubi – Thousands of indigenous Papuans in South Papua Province took to the streets at Brawijaya-Libra Circle Park in Merauke Regency on Tuesday (3/13/2024). They believed their political rights were undermined during the 2024 General Election, particularly regarding the legislative vote count held in four districts in the region.