Police urged to review security operations in Papua

A police officer who was assaulted by villagers in Papua died after being treated in hospital, the police said Monday, two days after two other officers were shot dead by unknown gunmen.

The National Police confirmed that Second Brig. Ridwan Napitupulu died after suffering injuries when he was stopped and assaulted while on his way to Nimbokran district, Jayapura.

“[Ridwan] passed away because of wounds sustained earlier this morning,” Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli said on Monday.

The assault that led to Ridwan’s death was the fourth deadly act involving police officers deployed in the restive region of Papua over the last two months.

Unidentified gunmen shot and killed Second Brig. Ferianto Kaluku and Second Brig. Eko Afriansyah on Saturday; two members of a National Police Mobile Brigade special operations unit (Brimob) in Wondegobak village, Puncak Jaya.

On Oct. 24, Mulia Police chief Comr. Dominggus Oktavianus Awes was shot dead with his own firearm after two unidentified persons assaulted him and took his pistol at Mulia airport.

Andy Denny Manoby, the secretary of the Papua Customary Council (DAP), told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the attacks aimed at officers deployed in Papua might indicate local resentment toward police and Indonesian Military (TNI) officers, saying that the police and TNI “frequently treated Papuans as if they were animals”.

“The TNI and police have instilled the feeling of resentment in Papuans, especially locals who live in remote areas, such as in Papua’s mountains and forests,” Andy said.

The Papua-born activist explained that Papuans harbor bitter feelings and were “unsympathetic” toward police officers who conducted security operations in their areas, especially the Brimob special police operations unit, because they often used repressive methods while on duty.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) held a meeting on Monday with top police brass at police headquarters in Jakarta to discuss the commission’s findings, suggesting the police review its security operations in the conflict-ridden region.

Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar told reporters that the recent string of assaults was specifically aimed at police officers deployed in Papua and was suspected of being acts of vengeance in retaliation for the police’s alleged “biased” law-enforcement activities in the resource-rich region.

“We found many examples of a lack of professionalism shown by police officers who applied violence and unfair treatment against civilians in Papua.”

“There were several instances of inappropriate conduct carried out by police officers [against Papuans]. We also convey our disappointment over several issues where investigative progress was considered unsatisfactory,” Haris said.

John Gobai, a DAP representative in Paniai district, Papua, said that the increasing number of Brimob personnel deployed in Papua would only lead to more conflict because officers frequently used repressive measures during security operations.

“In Paniai, Brimob is identical to violence. If there is a small incident, Brimob prefers to use violence by beating locals.”

John urged the police to withdraw officers from Papua, arguing that it would only cause the government-Papua dialogue to be less effective.

Amid calls to review its security operations in Papua, however, the police insisted the security operations were justified and said that they would not withdraw officers in the region.

“We will uphold security there and defend [Papua], as it is still part of Indonesia,” police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said. (sat)