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Letter to President Yudhoyono over rights violations perpetrated by police in West Papua

TAPOL - July 19, 2006

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Istana Negara
Jakarta, Indonesia

19 July 2006

Dear Mr President,

We have received reports of serious human rights violations perpetrated by Indonesian police officers in West Papua and we urge you to address the situation ahead of your visit to the territory next week.

On Saturday, 15 July, a young Papuan woman, Selvi Kogaya (19 years old) was shot dead by a police officer after she had refused to have sex with him.

The incident occurred during an all-night drinking party at which the victim was present.

According to ELSHAM, the highly respected human rights organisation in West Papua, the young woman's boyfriend and members of her family, infuriated by what happened, turned on the officer responsible for her murder and struck him and two colleagues, as they were trying to flee the scene. As a result, the police officer, Second Brigadier Yermias Wabiser, died of his wounds and one of his colleagues was seriously injured.

ELSHAM also reports that members of the police force, along with a company of soldiers, are now hunting down the Papuans who attacked the three police officers.

The death of Selvi Kogaka and the subsequent killing of the police officer by her enraged relatives was clearly the result of the despicable behaviour of members of the Indonesian police force. TAPOL strongly condemns the attempt by an Indonesian police officer on active service in West Papua to force a young Papuan women into sexual relations with him and subject her to violence and brutality because she had the courage to fend off the attack on her personal dignity.

We urge you to ensure that the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) be granted every facility to investigate this outrageous incident.

We believe there is a grave danger that security officials will seek revenge against those who killed the police officer. We urge you to ensure that they do not take arbitrary reprisals against those involved and that the rights of any person detained in connection with the incident, including his or her right of access to a lawyer, are fully respected.

Clearly the Papuans were driven by understandable anger at what had happened to Selvi Kogaya. We trust therefore that any legal action taken against them will take account of the intense provocation they suffered and will treat them with appropriate leniency.

We urge you to order the withdrawal from the area of the police unit to which the deceased officer was attached.

We are deeply concerned that the killing of Selvi Kogaya is part of a disturbing pattern of recent violations by police officers against Papuan civilians in which torture and violence against women has increased significantly. Those responsible are rarely brought to court with the result that the police force is perceived as being out of control, especially in the highlands of West Papua.

We refer in particular to the following incidents which have been investigated by ELSHAM:

We urge you to take the following actions:

1) To publicly condemn the murder of Selvi Kogaya and offer her family and boyfriend your condolences for their dreadful loss of life.

2) To undertake an inquiry into the behaviour of the police force in West Papua and take appropriate action to ensure that the force is fully accountable for its actions and that it operates in a manner consistent with international standards concerning law enforcement officials.

3) To personally address the human rights situation in West Papua, especially in the highlands, and take meaningful action to prevent further violations by members of the police and military.

4) To ensure that all the incidents referred to above, and other incidents involving the police, are properly investigated and that all those suspected of involvement are prosecuted and tried according to relevant international standards. The investigations should involve both Komnas HAM Papua and Jakarta.

We are grateful to you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Yours sincerely,
Carmel Budiardjo, Director

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