WUNRN
Please Read 4 Parts of This WUNRN
Release About West Papua, Indonesia & Torture.
WUNRN is focused on the human
rights, oppression, and empowerment of women and girls all over the world. As
females, we are part of the human family, and know that men and boys need be
involved in the rights and issues of women and girls. The men being tortured in
this sobering video, are someone's son, brother, husband, father, partner. The
pain is human, profound, and a violation of human rights.
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West
Papua (Indonesian: Papua Barat) is a province of Indonesia
covering the western peninsula of the island of New Guinea.
It is the least-populous province of Indonesia.
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WOMEN OF WEST PAPUA, INDONESIA
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UN
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Signature Ratification
23
Oct 1985 |
28
Oct 1998 |
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Asian Human Rights Commission
Direct Link to Video:
Indonesia: Video of Military Torturing Indigenous West Papuans
(Hong Kong, October 17, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has
received video footage from sources in West Papua, who must remain anonymous
for security reasons, showing the torture of indigenous Papuans by the
Indonesian military (TNI). The full video can be viewed here.
The AHRC has chosen to remove some of the scenes showing the burning of one of
the victims’genitals.
The video was recently recorded in the Tingginambut area in West Papua. The
current whereabouts of the victims in this video are unknown. The AHRC
understands that both incidents in the video involved members of the Indonesian
military. The first incident shows uniformed members of the Indonesian army
ill-treating indigenous Papuans. The second incident also reportedly involves
members of the army committing grave abuses.
"This is only one of numerous cases of torture by the military in Papua
that has been reported to us," explained Wong Kai Shing, Executive
Director of the AHRC. "The Indonesian government must adopt a
zero-tolerance policy concerning torture, as recommended by the United Nations
(UN) Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, Dr. Manfred Nowak" he continued.
Indonesia ratified the UN Convention Against Torture in 1998, but acts of
torture continue to go unpunished. As a result, torture is in fact encouraged
as a mean of interrogation and intimidation by the police and the military.
The military enjoys special immunity, since its members cannot be held
accountable in civilian courts. Military courts are known to give at best only
lenient punishments for serious human rights violations, and often do not
punish those thought to be responsible at all.
The Indonesian military regularly runs so-called sweeping operations including
the burning of village houses, killing of livestock, arrests and other forms of
intimidation in areas where separatists are suspected of being located.
"The people who suffer most from anti-separatist sweeping operations by
the military are innocent civilians" Wong Kai Shing reminded. "The
Indonesian government has to ensure impartial investigations into the cruel
acts of violence portrayed in this video. All perpetrators have to be brought
to justice" he said.
The government of Indonesia has deployed a significant military force in Papua,
ostensibly to ensure security, but as a result numerous serious human rights
violations are being committed. This approach has heightened tensions and has
worsened the conflict. Repeated requests by West Papuans for dialogue under
international supervision have not yet been answered by Jakarta.
West Papua comprises Indonesia’s richest provinces in terms of resources, and
the autonomy law concerning Papua effectively exists only on paper, as it has
not resulted in any decrease in poverty in practice.
The repressive environment in West Papua makes human rights work very difficult
for local activists. Foreign journalists and human rights organisations are not
given visas to enter the region. The recent killing of a journalist
in Merauke, Papua and the indiscriminate shooting at a crowd by the police that
resulted in several deaths in Wamena are
examples of the serious violations taking place in Papua. Several activists
remain imprisoned for having peacefully voiced their political views.
It is imperative that the Indonesian government strongly condemn all acts of
torture and ensure that those in the military that are responsible for the acts
documented in the torture video are brought to justice for their crimes. Crimes
by members of the military against civilians must be tried by civilian courts
and the law must be reformed in order to ensure this.
Sweeping operations by the military, that involve indiscriminate and excessive
use of force and numerous widespread human rights violations, must be halted.
Policies and acts of intimidation against human rights defenders must also be
put to an end and rights enshrined in the country’s constitution and its
obligations under international law must be guaranteed at all times, throughout
the country, including in West Papua. Beyond this, the Indonesian government
should ensure that the Anti Corruption Commission (KPK) is fighting corruption
in the public service effectively in Papua as a priority, in order to combat
the rampant disappearance of autonomy fund budgets, in order to enable
development and the improvement of life for all in West Papua.
For more information, please contact:
Wong Kai Shing, Executive Director, Hong Kong, +852 26986339
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a
regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights
issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.