Calls for Suspension of Aid to Abusive Indonesian Military

Unfortunately, Indonesia President's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono inpre-sentencing public remarks <
described the torture, which included the burning of the genitals of a Papuan man with a stick pulled from the fire, as "only a minor incident." This dismissal of the seriousness of the crime reinforces a pattern of impunity for security personnel.

WPAT, ETAN and TAPOL remain concerned that Indonesia has refused to make torture a specific offence under Indonesian criminal law, notwithstanding Indonesia's obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture which it signed in 1985 and ratified in 1998. We urge Indonesia to do so.

Indonesian military personnel, especially those operating in West Papua, which has seen the worst security forces abuse over the past decade, continue to perpetrate torture, rape, extrajudicial killings and other well documented abuses in part because they are aware they will never be effectively prosecuted for these crimes. By refusing to prosecute military offenders to the full extend of the law in civilian courts the Indonesian government is complicit in the military's continuing abuses.

The impunity long enjoyed by Indonesian security personnel for their criminal behavior stands in stark contrast to the severe sentences meted out to Papuans who assemble peacefully to protest decades of Indonesian government repression and the denial of essential services to the Papuan people. Dozens of Papuans have been imprisoned for years where, as described by UN reports, these peaceful dissenters endure health and life threatening treatment and conditions. Amnesty International and other reputable human rights organizations have identified many as "prisoners of conscience."

Government restrictions on travel to and within West Papua have long impeded the ability of the international community to monitor human rights and other developments. Indonesian security and intelligence forces within West Papua routinely shadow and obstruct the movement of the few international journalists and even diplomats who do manage to enter West Papua. Papuans who speak to these observers are often threatened and harassed.

The U.S. and other governments should act in a substantive way to end the continued abuses by Indonesian security forces against Papuans. The U.S., in particular, should exercise its significant leverage by suspending its extensive and expanding military assistance programs for Indonesia pending real reform of the Indonesian military. This reform should, at minimum, include an end to human rights violations by Indonesian military personnel, as well as effective prosecution in civilian courts of military personnel who perpetrate abuses and with sentencing commensurate with the crimes. The U.S. should also make any resumption of military-to-military cooperation contingent on an end to Indonesian government restrictions on access to West Papua by independent journalists and other observers, as well as an end to Indonesian security and intelligence force intimidation of those Papuans peacefully advocating for their political and other human rights.

More generally, WPAT, ETAN and TAPOL appeal to the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom and the European Union to promptly and publicly register with the Indonesian government their deep concern over what is only this latest example of decades of failed justice in West Papua.

see also West Papua Report

U.S.-Indonesia Military Assistance

ENDS

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