Report on Manokwari Shooting Incident

Report on Manokwari Shooting Incident

As a result of the gun fires shootings that were conducted by Police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Compy 3 Detachment C Manokwari, on 15 September 2010, Wednesday, 8pm (local West Papua time), at least 2 civilians died and one woman got serious injuries with broken leg, broken pelvic bone, and broken jaws. The incident took place in Esau Sesa Street, South Manokwari, West Papua Province.

According to the local (witness), before the shooting incident happened there was a traffic accident in Esau Sesa Street, a woman called Antomina Kowi/Mandacan was hit by a motorcycle (a hired motorbike) at around 6.30pm. The victim suffered a broken right tight bone, serious pain on pelvic bone, and broken ribs. The motor cycle was in a high speed from the direction of Manokwari town towards Arfai district South of Manokwari. Post-incident, the victim’s family chased the motor’s driver but he headed to Brimob’s headquarters. The family could not find the driver they went back and took the victim to Manokwari Public hospital for medical treatment. After the incident, the residents were looking for the driver, and one of the Brimob personnel came alone toward the mob, according to the witness instead of calming down the people, he created tension. He was then injured by the angry mob using the machete. Being injured the Brimob member ran back to his HQ and contacted other Brimob members. At around 8pm, around a dozen Brimob personnel with fully equipments went to the crowded people and started shooting brutally against those civilians, most of the children and adults went hide into the jungle to avoid the angry Brimob members who seizing the area. At around 8.20pm, the electricity went off in the whole regency for about 10-15minutes.

A resident who was in Manokwari Public hospital said, “when the power supply went down totally, there was a car came to the hospital and drop something, and they took it to the emergency room, all windows and door were locked by the medical workers, only one spotlight that lighted up inside the room. Minutes later, it was heard that there was a death body inside the emergency room in that hospital. Since the night time to the morning, Thursday 16 September 2010, there was no relative of the death person came to the hospital. Around 9am, some of the families came to the hospital stayed outside the morgue. The dead body then was known as Naftali Kwan the priest of GPKAI (Christian Fellowship Bible Church of Indonesia) in Manokwari hinterland. Around 09.30, the locals found another dead body on the edge of abyss. The victim was known as Septinus Kwan, male, about 30years old, farmer. In the same time, another victim a woman was called Arfonika Kwan was found dying in critical condition in the abyss. She is the wife of the dead victim Naftali Kwan. The victim was rushed to the public hospital, she suffered of broken leg, broken jaws, broken pelvic bone. According to a local, the victim was trying to avoid the angry Brimob and fell down into the abyss. At around 10.30am, there was a mass paraded and carried the dead body of Septinus Kwan toward Manokwari Regent’s office.

The mass have 3 demands: First, Rp30millions compensation to the victims’ families, second that all Brimob [the National Police’s Mobile Brigade] officers be pulled out of Manokwari. Third, the land used to built the Brimob’s HQ will be drawn back as the property of the indigenous people. Thursday 11am, Manokwari ton became tense, all shops, office buildings, schools and markets closed. The road was so quite only the sound of machine guns were heard and a rumor was spread throughout sms/mobile phones among the residents that there will be a nigh attack, but it was not existed.

ENDS

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