Komnas HAM meets military commander to discuss human rights

Bintang Papua, 16 July 2011

Komnas HAM meets military commander to discuss human rights violations

Jayapura: Many human rights violations are now confronting the National Human Rights Commission - Komnas HAM in Papua. Commission deputy chairman Nurcholis paid a visit to the command centre of the Cenderawasih Military Command to discuss two important problems. The first was about the security situation at Freeport. 'A few weeks ago, we received complaints from workers at Freeport about the security situation at the company and this is now being discussed with the military commander.'

The security problem began when some Freeport employees made complaints about the situation and the families of the victims went to Komnas HAM, seeking assurances that legal processes would begin quickly.

The second problem relates to the shooting of members of the TNI in Puncak Jaya. But apart from these casualties, there were four civilian casualties, a woman and three small children. 'We need to know whether these casualties were wounded or had died,' he said. Nurcholis stressed the need for caution about information being received, so as to correctly determine what measures need to be taken. 'We are now gathering more complete information with the help of the human rights commission in Papua, to ensure that speedy action can be taken to solve the issue.'

Meanwhile, there are reports that some villagers have fled their homes because of armed skirmishes between civilian forces and the TNI in Puncak Jaya. He said: 'If this is indeed happening, we hope to solve the problem so that our activities can focus on restoring security,' he said.

No access to Puncak Jaya He said that Komnas HAM is not at present able to gain access to Puncak Jaya and can only establish contact by phone. 'The core of the problem needs to be dealt with through dialogue while recognising that this will not be easy. The next move will be to consult with the ministry of political and legal affairs, with dialogue being the only choice, and one that is supported by most of those involved so as to ensure that the difficulties can be overcome.'

Komnas HAM is checking whether the victims are civilian or military and whether the victims were wounded or have died. When asked how long this would take, Nurcholis said that he could not say.

'The best indicator for solving human rights issues is not fixing a time frame but finding the best way to solve the problem,' said Nurcholis.

ENDS

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