Wednesday, July 18, 2012

1) Police Officer Is Latest Fatality As Violence Continues in Papua


1) Police Officer Is Latest Fatality As Violence Continues in Papua
2) Concern about journalists alleged to be serving TNI interests

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http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/police-officer-is-latest-fatality-as-violence-continues-in-papua/531374
1) Police Officer Is Latest Fatality As Violence Continues in Papua
Farouk Arnaz & Banjir Ambarita | July 18, 2012

A police officer succumbed to his wounds after being found beaten and stabbed in Keerom, Papua, on Tuesday. 

Residents found First Brig. Sudirman Atang Sabil clinging to life with serious stab wounds in front of the Pramuka Buper Waena Jayapura building at about 8:30 p.m., two hours after he had left his post at the Keerom district police office.

“He was tortured and he died from loss of blood, National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said on Wednesday in Jakarta.

Boy said Sudirman left Keerom at the conclusion of his shift and was headed for Jayapura, the provincial capital. The victim was not wearing his uniform or carrying his service weapon.

“Keerom to Jayapura is a one-hour drive,” Boy said. “Residents found him with stab wounds that were about seven centimeters deep and rushed him to Dian Harapan Hospital.” 

He said the officer died about an hour after arriving at the hospital.

Police have yet to establish a possible  motive for the stabbing. A joint team from the Keerom district police and the Papua provincial police is investigating.

Papua Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yohanes Nugroho Wicaksono confirmed that the officer had died of stab wounds. 

“The victim was stabbed repeatedly, which resulted in heavy bleeding that led to his death,” the spokesman said. “We are still investigating the killing and processing the crime scene. The perpetrators are still not known.”

Two weeks ago, three people were found stabbed to death in Ndeotadi, in Papua’s Paniai district. One of the dead was a member of the Indonesian Military (TNI), but it is not know if the killings are connected.

Like this week’s incident, those victims were also discovered by locals. The bodies were found in a shop-house near a gold mine in Ndeotadi that was owned by the dead soldier, Warrant Officer Sunaryo.

“Sunaryo was a member of the Paniai district military command, while the two other victims were identified as Aco and Nini,” Boy said.

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2) Concern about journalists alleged to be serving TNI interests
Bintang Papua, 17 July, 2012

Eleven journalists working in Papua are alleged to be passing on information to TNI, the Indonesian army. In response to this report, the Jayapura branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, AJI, said:

'AJI is very concerned  that a number of Papuan journalists  may be agents of the military. If this is true, it would significantly damage the reputation of journalists who are neutral and who consistently serve the interests  of the general public,' said Viktor Mambor, chairman of AJI-Jayapura.

He said that journalists should carry out their activities in the interest of the general public, in conformity with Press Law/1999 and should not be acting for certain groups or institutions. According to the Press Ethics Code, they must at all times be objective, accountable and transparent.'

The fact that eleven journalists may be assisting the TNI is having a detrimental impact on those journalists who work in conformity with the ethical code because people may very well suspect these other journalists of  working in the interests of certain interests or institutions. 'This is  serious precedent  and the public could very well regard all journalists as failing to be neutral and transparent. This is very serious indeed,' he said.

He went on to say that AJI has carefully investigated the claims that some journalists are serving the interests of the military.  'We will investigate these claims while at the same time warning all journalists  to work clearly within the terms set by UU/1999.'

Earlier, the website Umaginews.com reported that a number of journalists in Papua are suspected of being military agents.. They include journalists  in the print media, the radio, online, as well as in local and national TV. As a result, many journalists were worried, fearing that they could be suspected of not being neutral or independent.

[Translated by TAPOL]

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