No Upholding Of The Law In Papua, Says Priest

No Upholding Of The Law In Papua, Says Priest

Bintang Papua, 29 October 2010

The abuse of human rights in Papua is caused by the fact that the rule of law is simply not functioning. If it were, those who were the perpetrators would think twice before acting against the law, said John Djonga Pr, a Catholic priest, in an interview with Bintang Papua.

He said that the many conflicts and cases of violence, torture and other incidents occurring in Papua were because neither the security forces nor the government had any interest in siding with justice.

'All these things happen not only because of the lack of justice but also because of the lack of human resources within the community and in the government,' he said.

If these abuses continue, people will resort to finding their own ways and pressing for reform of the law enforcement agencies and of the security forces, the TNI/Polri.

The circulation of a video showing acts of violence shows that no sanctions are being taken against those who perpetrate these things. But it also shows that anywhere in Papua, even the most isolated places, violent incidents are occurring and can be recorded.

'What happened in Tinggisambut is just a small example of what is happening in Papua in many other places, as well as violence in social, economic, cultural, moral, and other aspects of life, things that are frequently experienced by Papuan people.'

The conflicts that occur when people demand their rights are responded to by sending in the security forces, and this is quite inappropriate, because the problems are political. And economic problems should be solved by taking economic measures. But none of this happens The response to everything in Papua is by taking a military approach.

He accused the people in the leadership of failing to control their subordinates. Perhaps this is because those at the top are receiving incorrect information about conditions being fine everywhere.

This should be a warning to the security forces that what they are being told by the commanders in the field should not be accepted as being the true situation. All these reports coming up the chain of command only reveal the abuse of human rights and acts of violence perpetrated by the military. They should be aware that all these things that are happening can be recorded on videos by anyone, anywhere.

ENDS

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