Arie Sunaryo – The Indonesian military (TNI) and police (Polri) must be held accountable for the violence that has been occurring in Papua.

This statement was made by the Papuan Student Alliance (AMP) during a demonstration at the Gladag traffic circle in the Central Java city of Solo on the afternoon of Wednesday December 10. The protesters also called on the government to conduct an investigation into and fully resolve the cases of violence that have occurred in the land of Cendrawasih [Bird of Paradise, Papua].

During the action, the student brought posters and photographs of the victims of violence in Papua, including photographs of the victims that were killed in the violence over the last few days. “We call on the government to conduct an investigation into cases of violence committed by TNI and Polri personnel”, said action coordinator Marcel in a speech.

Marcel said that the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (Jokowi-JK) must be held accountable for the recent death of five civilians in Paniai regency, Papua.

According to Marcel, the Papua chief of police (Kapolda) and the commander (Pangdam) of the Cendrawasih military command are the people most responsible in this case.

Marcel said that there is numerous evidence of the violence that is occurring in Papua that has resulted in ordinary people becoming victims. The group is calling for the Papuan people to be given room to live democratically free from violence by security forces.

“The Papua Kapolda and the Cendrawasih Pangdam must take immediate responsibility for the violence that has been occurring in Papua. Stop the violence against the Papuan people”, he said.

Although it was quite hot, the action, which was closely guarded by security personnel proceeded in an orderly and peaceful fashion. Satisfied with giving speeches and conveying their demands, the students disbanded. (mtf)

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the report was Kekerasan di Papua, mahasiswa tuntut TNI-Polri tanggung jawab.]

Source: http://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/kekerasan-di-papua-mahasiswa-tuntut-tni-polri-tanggung-jawab.html