Indonesia to probe Papua killings

Indonesia’s military will investigate an incident in the easternmost region of Papua in which two men were shot dead, it said yesterday, after rights activists and a family member said the men were wrongly identified as separatist rebels. Separatist conflict has simmered in the former Dutch colony since it was controversially incorporated into Indonesia after a widely criticised UN-backed referendum in 1969. The men were killed at a river near the Grasberg mine, the world’s second-biggest copper mine operated by an arm of miner Freeport-McMoRan, after security forces mistook them for members of the Free Papua Movement, rights activist Patris Wetibo said. Demi Bebari, the father of one of the dead men, a 19-year-old student, said the two had gone fishing to find food because the nearby markets had been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“My son was in an area for fishing, not for military operations,” he said, adding that the men were only carrying rudimentary fishing gear. Papua military representative Dax Sianturi confirmed there had been a fatal incident on Monday near the Grasberg mine and said it was under investigation. Papua police chief Paulus Waterpau said he had visited the family, along with the military commander, to offer condolences. “The plan is, after the funeral, we will question members of the task force that directly faced the two victims,” Waterpau added. Human rights lawyer Veronica Koman urged Indonesia to withdraw troops from some areas after a recent escalation of violence, saying separatists had offered a ceasefire because of the pandemic. “West Papuans have been saying ‘We are more scared of the bullets than the coronavirus’,” she said.