Kate LambAgustinus Costa
3 minute read
JAKARTA, July 28 (Reuters) - The Indonesian government has apologised for the actions of two military officers it said used excessive force to pin down the head of a deaf, indigenous Papuan man after a video of the incident was widely shared online.
Tensions have long simmered between Indonesian security forces and the indigenous people of Papua, a remote and resource-rich region that was bought under Indonesian control after a controversial but U.N.-sanctioned vote in 1969.
The video, shot in the Papuan town of Merauke on Monday, shows an altercation between the man, Steven Yadohamang, and a food stall owner that was broken up by two uniformed air force officers.
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President Joko Widodo told Indonesian media he had ordered security forces to âchase and arrest all rebelsâ, while Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the Peopleâs Consultative Assembly (MPR), told the government to âdestroy them first. We will discuss human rights matters later.â
Lanikwe, a womenâs community leader, from Wamena, near Puncak, said the situation for local people as a result of the crackdown was dire.
âThousands are displaced in Puncak, five villages fled into the jungle. Health clinics and schools have been taken over by the military. Soldiers are everywhere. We are living in a war zone.â
âInternet was blocked two days before conflict in Puncak flared, the government said itâs a problem with the cable, but it also happened during the 2019 West Papuan Uprising,â she said.
Ironically, with the annual World Press Freedom Day on April 26, many commentors also warn about the increased dangers for journalists covering the conflict.
Setara Institute for Peace and Democracy chairperson Hendardi has criticised the government’s move against “armed criminal groups” in Papua, or “KKB”, as the Free Papua Movement (OPM) armed wing is described by military authorities.
The move to designate them as terrorists is seen as a short-cut and an expression of the government’s “desperation” in dealing with the Papuan struggle for independence.
“The labeling of resistance groups in Papua will not break the long and recurring cycle of violence,” Hendardi said, according to a report in