2011The Papuan National Liberation Army, the military wing of the OPM has condemned the shooting dead in Arso 14, district of Keerom of a Papuan named Dasnum Komba which occurred on 17 August. According to the TPN/OPM Komba died after being shot by members of the 330 infantry brigade (Yonif 330) which is based in the area.
[See our translation of a report by ELSHAM about the failure of Komba to return home from his garden which we posted yesterday.]
'We strongly condemn this killing and call on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to take action to solve the Papuan issue,' said Lambert Pekikir, general co-ordinator of the TPN/OPM in the area..
He called on the police in the area as well as the military commander of the Cenderawasih Military Command, Major-General Erfi Triassunu to arrest the perpetrator of this crime and deal with the case in accordance with the law. 'The military commander and the police must take responsibility for this case. He was apparently shot because he was suspected of being a member of an armed unit. 'The shooting happened while the victim was working in his garden which is not far from Arso 14.'
Suddenly a large group of soldiers arrived at the spot and started asking him questions. Because he could not speak Indonesian very well, they started to beat him. 'Then the victim was shot, his body was put into a sack and buried nearby. Some people who happened to be nearby saw the incident but were afraid to do anything because it would have meant confronting a member of the military, so they went to informed Komba's family.'
'Since this happened on 17 August, Indonesia's independence day, it was not reported (in the press). 'The incident has been covered up but the fact is that he was shot in the chest. Lambert did not see the incident himself but received a report from some of his subordinates and also heard about it from a local inhabitant. 'We dont want any more incidents like this. It must stop,' said Lambert.
He said that the president, SBY, should understand that this is not just a trivial incident, and should realise that Papua has now become a matter of international concern.
Major-General Erfi Triassunu later confirmed that shots were fired by a member of the TNI- the Indonesian army - because they alleged that Komba was preparing to attack his men. He said he was not clear about what happened but claimed that Komba had tried to seize a weapon from his men who were on patrol in the area. According to Triassunu, his men could not possibly have shot someone at random. He said that the TNI has a 'noble duty' in Papua and would not do such things, still less would they do it during Ramadan, the fasting month.
According to Bintang Papua, an autopsy confirmed that there weere fragments of ammunition in Komba's body but the calibre of the bullets is not known. Witnesses said that Komba had been told to go home by three soldiers, but just as he turned round, intending to return home, they heard two gunshots. His body was not found until Sunday, two days after the shooting.