Investigation needed into brutal death of Papuan teens - HRW

Transcript

Human Rights Watch is calling for an independent investigation into why police and military personnel in Papua fired on 800 peaceful protestors, killing six people.

Four teenagers and two other people were shot dead outside a local police station in the central  Paniai regency on the Indonesian province earlier this week when security forces opened fire.

At least 17 others, including five primary school children, required hospitalisation.

Human Rights Watch's Phelim Kine says the protest was sparked after a boy was physically assaulted by security officials.

PHELIM KINE: Hundreds of Papuans in the city of Enarotali gathered to protest the beating of a 12-year-old child the day before by security forces. And they came with these ceremonial bows and they did a ceremonial waytek dance which is similar sort of to Maori style, you know, ceremony dances in which there's sort of aggressive motions, there's bird song, and essentially they're there to ask for redress for the beating against the 12-year-old child the night before. And within 20 to 30 minutes the security forces on the scene, and this is on a football field in front of where the local police station, local military detachment are based. Security forces on the scene opened fire into the crowd. And we now have an updated death toll. Six people were killed as a result of that. There was no sign of any warning shots fired, and there was absolutely no indication that the protestors were violent in any way. This was by all accounts a peaceful, non-violent protest which the security forces responded to with unjustifiable lethal force.

SUSIE FERGUSON: And many of these people killed very young, indeed teenagers, and also several of those injured, primary school age children?

PK: Exactly. This was a crowd of young people primarily, children, teenagers, women, you know not a threatening group by any measure. And so you know this points to what is all too often the recourse of security forces in Papua to address any type of peaceful demonstration or protest by local Papuans with unjustifiable force.

SF: What is it that is being said by the authorities to give reasons for, or to justify what went on?

PK: The authorities efforts of explanation have been absolutely absurd. One of the ministers, for security affairs, he was on record saying that this group of security forces had to "defend" themselves from people trying to fight the authorities. And again there is no indication from eyewitnesses that Human Rights Watch is spoken to that there was any type of violence on behalf of the crowd. The Papua police spokesman went on record to say that suddenly there were victims but we don't know who shot them. So it really speaks to, you know, to a certain extent, the lack of concern for the Papuan people and their safety and security, due to the Indonesian government's obsession with this perceived security threat on Papua which they address by whatever means necessary. And far too often that is at the price of the rights, safety and lives of Papuans themselves.