http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-military-admits-torture-in-papua/402701
Indonesian Military Admits Torture in Papua Camelia Pasandaran | October 22, 2010 Scenes from the video showing one of two men allegedly being tortured by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI). The government on Friday admitted the video is real and said soldiers implicated in the abuse had been taken into custody. (Photo courtesy of YouTube) Jakarta. In a rare break from tradition, top government officials on Friday admitted that soldiers were involved in the grizzly torture of two Papuan men shown in a video posted on YouTube. Djoko Suyanto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, speaking to journalists after a limited cabinet meeting held to discuss the video, said the military was still investigating the report. "But the preliminary explanation is that the incident really took place, and it is true that the perpetrators are members of the military," he said. Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said soldiers found to have acted excessively in interrogating prisoners could be court-martialed. "If they are really wrong they could be arraigned in a court-martial," he said. "There was indeed a firefight at the time and those questioned were detainees. But it is not impossible that our soldiers behaved excessively. That will be dealt with. The president used the words 'court-martial,' " he said. The graphic 10-minute video appears to show six soldiers burning their prisoners' genitals and threatening them with knives, guns and a cigar. The exact identities and fate of the two men remain unclear. Both officials said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was very concerned about the case. "There will be follow-up actions, that has been assured by the president. There will be a comprehensive investigation," Djoko said, adding that there was already a special team on site. He did not elaborate on the special team. He denied, however, that the state was still conducting military operations, including in Papua. He said that while disturbances by unarmed individuals or groups could be dealt with according to the law, "If shooting is involved and there are deaths, special handling is needed." He said recent events in Papua had shown that armed attacks were still being carried out against civilians and security forces. "Armed groups that are disturbing security are still there and it is in this context that the armed forces and the police are there, to uphold security so economic activities can proceed without disturbance," he said. Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, a military analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the military "deserved appreciation" for acknowledging that its members were implicated in the abuse. "I think they have learned from past experiences and are showing a commitment to being professional," she said. However, Joko Ariwibowo, a member of P2ITTP, a nongovernmental organization based in Tingginambut, Papua, said the fact that Djoko did not apologize meant the government was still in denial. "They do not want to fully admit that they are torturing Papuans," he said. The president, he added, should establish a probe team consisting of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), NGOs and religious leaders. With reporting from Banjir Ambarita, Ismira Lutfia, Nurfika Osman & Antara [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
