Jayapura, Jubi – Member of the Papua Legislative Council (DPRP) John NR Gobai asked the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander to intervene in the legal process against soldiers in the case of murder and mutilation of four Nduga residents in Mimika Regency, as well as the persecution of six civilians in Mappi Regency.
TNI Commander’s intervention was needed to ensure that soldiers involved in the two cases were immediately tried through the general court in Papua and fired from the TNI, Gobai said in a press conference after meeting with the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in Jakarta on Monday, September 26, 2022.
During the meeting, members of the DPRP and commissioners of Komnas HAM discussed the Mimika murder and Mappi persecution cases. Gobai said the two violent cases were an insult to God’s creation.
Gobai also condemned the actions of Raider 600/Modang soldiers who placed money on the coffin of Bruno Amenim Kimko, a Mappi resident who died after experiencing persecution at Bade Post, Edera District on August 30. Gobai said the action of placing money on Kimko’s coffin was an insult to the Papuan people.
He emphasized that the compensation money should not stop the legal process against the suspected soldiers. “Maybe the soldiers think that money solves the problem but it is not. We Papuans do not accept that,” he said.
Gobai also criticized ten soldiers of the Raider 600/Modang who declined to provide information to Komnas HAM. Therefore, Gobai asked Komnas HAM to encourage the TNI Commander to intervene so that the two cases could be processed transparently and provide justice.
Chairman of Komnas HAM Ahmad Taufan Damanik stated that his party had followed up on the two cases but the investigation had not been finalized yet. “We will do another deepening,” said Damanik.
Damanik said that the preliminary findings of Komnas HAM’s investigation would become a recommendation in law enforcement. For the mutilation case in Mimika, Komnas HAM encourages law enforcement through a court-connected dispute resolution at the Timika City District Court.
“We encourage a fair court. We will convey it to the government, especially to the TNI Commander, the National Police Chief and his staff,” he said. (*)
