Police Commission Investigate Papua Shooting

The National Police Commission (Kompolnas) plans to visit Papua due to reports of a shooting that occurred in Aimas, Sorong district, on April 30, and the unnecessary arrests and ban on protests by the police in May.

“If there was a shootout resulting in civilian victims, severe action must be taken because this gives the police a bad name,” stated National Police Commission secretary, Logan Siahaan, during a meeting with the representatives from the National Papua Solidary (Napas) and the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Jakarta.

He added that if activists were apprehended without solid evidence, the police involved must be punished.

Previously, Napas and KontraS submitted a complaint about the Papua Chief of Police, Police Inspector General Tito Karnavian to the National Police Commission due to shootings, torture, and unnecessary arrests, and the protest ban implemented by the police. This complaint was delivered on Thursday, May 23, at the National Police Commission office in South Jakarta.

Source: Tempo.Co

NZ police to train in Indonesia’s Papua province

NZ Ambassador to Indonesia David Taylor: “NZ government respects the full territorial integrity of Indonesia in Papua, and fully supports the central and regional governments’ approach in prioritizing the economic aspect to address many issues in Papua.”

The New Zealand government has allocated Rp 20 million (US$ 2 million) in aid for the Papua Community Policing program, which is slated to commence in September 2013. It is a three-year program in which members of the NZ police will run a Training for Trainers (TOT) program to work on community-based approaches for Indonesian Police officers in Papua.

“There will be two NZ police officers stationed in Papua on a rotational basis, and will be helped by a number of instructors,” NZ Ambassador to Indonesia David Taylor said on Monday (15/04) after meeting with Police chief of Papua province Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian.

“The main purpose is to foster relations between the community and the police in Papua,” he added.

Taylor said that his government respected the full territorial integrity of Indonesia in Papua, and would fully support the central and regional governments’ approach in prioritizing the economic aspect to address many issues in Papua.

The NZ government has also rejected any form of violence and offense because they do not resolve problems, including actions by armed civilians that disrupt security.

“All parties should sit together and negotiate to find solutions for the issues and challenges faced by Papua,” said Taylor.

Commenting on this, Tito said he was optimistic that the program offered by the NZ government would support law enforcement in Papua.

“There are tough ways and there are soft ways to deal with violence and we always use hard measures as a last resort,”

Source: The Jakarta Post

Police identifies civilian helicopter shooters in Papua

Police chief of Papua province, Ins.Gen. Tito Karnavian said the police had identified the perpetrators behind the civilian helicopter shootings on Tuesday (26/03) in Puncak Senyum, Papua. He said they were likely the armed civilian group of Free Papua Organization (OPM) which is led by Purom Okiman Wenda.

“According to a preliminary investigation, it is strongly believed that the shooters were the armed group of OPM. The area has been identified as the group’s playground for quite a while now,” Tito, former police counterterrorism special detachment commander, said on Wednesday (27.03).

He added that there had been growing suspicion that the shootings were also part of the group’s strategy to put blame on the police and the military due to the existence of a joint command post near the scene.

“They want the civilians to think that it was either the police or the military behind the shootings,” he said.

Separately, Cendrawasih Military Command Commander Maj. Gen. Christiant Zebua said he regretted the shootings, saying that whoever had masterminded the attack was heartless and irrational.

“Let alone the fact that the helicopter was transporting two Christian missionaries who carry out humanitarian missions in the region. This just makes the shootings look even worse,” he said.

An early report stated that a helicopter owned by the Helivida Foundation, en route to Wamena with two Christian missionary passengers, was shot at by OPM in Puncak Senyum on Tuesday. No victims were reported but there were two bullet holes found on a window near the cockpit.

Source: the Jakarta Post

UK diplomat visits Papua to counteract false information spread by certain groups in London

The British Embassy to Indonesia has described the situation in Papua as very peaceful and conducive. It is quite different from the information being disseminated by certain groups to the British government in London, she said .

The Special Staff of the British Embassy’s political section, Mrs. Millie McDevit made these comments during a visit to the chief of police in Jayapura, Police Inspector-General Tito Karnavian on 13 December.

Mrs McDevit said that she had made a special visit to the chief of police in order to get confirmation directly from him about information being spread by certain groups who allege that the situation in Papua is far from peaceful.

She went on to say that such information was being spread every time Papuans suffered discrimination by the Indonesian government, especially by the TNI – the army – and Polri, the police force.

She said that after visiting a number of places especially in Jayapura, she could see that things were very different indeed from what is being conveyed to the British government.

“It is nothing like what I expected to find when I first set foot in Papua,” she said. “When people visit Northern Ireland, you can be questioned anywhere, but in Papua you can go out late at night without being disturbed in any way.”

She said that security and development are proceeding very well in Papua and she expressed support for what the police in Papua are doing to combat corruption because combating corruption is the best way to improve people’s welfare.

The police chief Tito Karnavian said that they had provided plenty of information to the Special Staff of the British Embassy’s political section in order to counter all the disinformation being spread about the situation in Papua.

“She decided to come to Papua to check the information,” he said.

Karnavian also said that they had asked the British government to provide the police in Papua with special equipment to check people’s DNA.

At present, the police have to identify people involved in violence and shootings by checking the evidence outside Papua.

“If we have the equipment to check people’s DNA, this will help to enhance the supremacy of law here in Papua,” he said.

Source: Bintang Papua

Indonesia sets up special police team guard US’ mining site in Papua

A senior police officer overseeing Indonesia’s Papua province said on Wednesday that they will set up a special police team to safeguard the US’ Freeport gold and copper mining site in the province due to frequent violence by separatist group Free Papua Organization (OPM) aiming Freeport’s workers.

Chief of the Papua police, Inspector General Tito Karnavian said there have been cases of shooting and murder in Freeport operation area conducted by OPM’s armed groups.

“The team has to deal with many such cases and probe them thoroughly to the very bottom,” Karnavian said in Mimika, Papua.

Hundreds of acts of terror by OPM’s armed groups left more than 20 people killed including Freeport workers, police officers, company’s security officers and local traditional gold prospectors, he added.

He said that security condition around the mining site is under control. Investigations into violence cases occurring in Karnavian ‘s jurisdiction are underway at the moment with trials against perpetrators are progressing.

Karnavian visited the Freeport workers’ compound in Tembagapura, Mimika, last week.

SourceL Global Times

Police replace 23 regency chiefs in Papua

The Indonesia National Police have launched an overhaul of their institution in the provinces of Papua and West Papua by replacing 23 out of 29 police regency heads.

The major restructuring was conducted by Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian, who was installed as the new Papua Police chief, replacing Brig. Gen. Lumban Tobing at the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta on Sept. 21.

Tito said at the joint installation ceremony in Jayapura on Monday that aside from being used to refresh the institution, the major restructuring was also intended to help support the fight against rampant corruption in Papua.

“This is only to refresh because there are many regency police chiefs who have held their current positions for a long time, while at the same time there are many young and clever officers who have to be given a chance,” Tito said.

“Our focus is on the rotation of office, but in every briefing they will be continuously reminded to help the fight against corruption,” he said.

In a coordination meeting with heads of detective and crime units of all the 29 police units throughout Papua and West Papua in Jayapura on Oct. 16, Tito reminded them that each police units had to be serious about uncovering corrupt practices in both Papua and West Papua provinces because rampant corruption had caused Papuans to suffer.

Post-New Order Indonesia resolved half of the Herculean job of keeping Papua as part of Indonesia through issuing the province special autonomy in 2001, which was intended to allow Papua to enjoy and manage the lion’s share of its revenue from natural resources.

The government is set to do more for Papua in the future, including renegotiating mining contracts with large-scale companies operating in the province.

The central government is also due to raise special autonomy funding for Papua to Rp 4.3 trillion (US$450.5 million) next year from this year’s Rp 3.10 trillion, and to Rp 1.8 trillion for West Papua from this year’s Rp 1.33 trillion.

“There is a lot of money being allocated for Papua and West Papua, but the fact is that most Papuan people, especially those inland and in remote areas, still live in poverty. There must be something wrong, so the police branches have to focus on uncovering allegations of fund misuse,” he said.

Tito’s remarks were warmly welcomed by the head of the Papua Church Leaders Forum (PGGP) Lipius Binilux. “In my capacity as head of PGGP, I fully support the commitment of the Papua Police chief to fight against corruption,” he said.

He said Papuan people had lost trust in Jakarta because it allowed rampant corruption practices to continue in Papua.

“I hope the Papua Police chief’s commitment to fight against corruption will be able to revive the Papuan people’s trust in Jakarta,” Lipius said.

Out of the 23 newly installed regency police chiefs, there was Adj. Sr. Comr Esterlina Sroyer, who has been promoted as the new Bian Numfor regency police chief and at the same time is the first woman police chief in Papua.

“This shows appreciation toward policewomen,” Lipius said.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Police Name Nine Suspects In Alleged Papua Bomb Plot

Nine members of the separatist movement West Papua National Committee (KNPB) were charged with possession of explosive devices after Jayawijaya Police allegedly found bombmaking materials in KNPB offices on Saturday (29/09).

The nine suspects were all charged under the 1951 Law on Explosive Ownership, Papua Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Gede Sumerta told the press. They have been identified as JW, ED, JJM, BYW, SK, SH, YD, RK and NK.

Pilemon Elosak, a man who was detained by police after officers reportedly found the first batch of explosives in his house, was not among the list of those charged. Pilemon reportedly told police that Lani Hubi and Michel Waitipo gave him 0.5 kilograms of dynamite, a detonator and an undisclosed amount of aluminum in order to bomb multiple police, government and military offices across Wamena, police said.

Both Lani Hubi and Michel Waitipo were absent from the list of suspects.

Police then searched KNPB numerous offices in Wamena and allegedly uncovered two more bombs, three bows, one airgun, eight machetes, two axes, a compact disc on Papuan independence and a Morning Star flag, police said.

“They’re planning to blow up [the] military headquarters and police office,” National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Monday (01/10).

According to police reports, the men were reportedly behind the Sept. 18 bombing of a police post and an attack on a government office in Wamena.

The Papua branch of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy (Elsham) doubted the veracity of the police report, claiming that the evidence must have been fabricated by police.

The KNPB has historically been seen as a peaceful separatist organization.

A separatist group, the Free Papua Movement (OPM) has waged a low-scale insurgency against Indonesian security forces from their remote outpost for decades. Much of that fighting has been centered near Freeport Indonesia’s mining activities in Timika.

Papua Police is now being lead by a new chief who has vowed to take a grassroots approach to policing the restive province.

“This is a matter of hearts that we have to touch,” Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said.

Tito was the former head of Densus 88 from 2004 to 2011. He was briefly appointed as deputy chief of the recently formed National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) before taking over the Papua Police.

Source: The Jakarta Globe

Papua’s New Police Chief Vows to Touch the Hearts of Papuans

Papua’s new police chief vowed to take a grassroots approach to stopping the violence that has plagued this restive province during his swearing in ceremony on Friday.

“I will approach the Papuan society at the grassroots level,” Insp. Gen. Tito Karnavian said. “This is a matter of hearts that we have to touch. I don’t think my background will be a problem because when we talk of matters of the heart, we no longer differentiate between ethnicity, religion or race.”

Tito Karnavian, 47, holds a masters degree in strategic studies and a certificate in terrorism studies from the Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

He replaced outgoing chief Insp. General Bigman Lumban Tobing in a ceremony at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta on Friday.

Tito told the crowd that the region’s violence can be curbed through enforcement.

He declined to detail the department’s plan for addressing a recent spate of violent attacks near Freeport MacMoRan’s Grasberg mine.

“Give me time. This needs to be evaluated,” Tito said.

Free Papua Organization (OPM) gunmen have opened fire on Indonesian Military (TNI) and Freeport security vehicles twice in recent weeks.

Indonesia has been fighting against an insurgency waged by armed pro-independence groups like OPM since 1963.

Source: The Jakarta Globe