INDONESIA: Government urged to probe West Papuan deaths
Updated
The Coalition of West Papuan people is asking the Indonesian government to investigate the mysterious deaths of scores of people in the past month. A Yale University lecturer claims people have been dying after eating and drinking poisoned alcohol and food.
MOTE: They found a dead body. I have just today received a report from the churches in Papua explaining (to) me about for instance, just in one month in August, there are 53 highlanders who are living the Jayapura district (who) died after consuming alcoholic drinks that are solely in their local storages. And also there are about 28 people (who) died after they ate in some restaurants around in Jayapura as well as in other part of Papua such as Wamena.
Also, based on my conversation with a lot of Papuan leaders include Agus Aluai whose chairman of the Papua People's Assembly. I also talk with Socrates Yoman, from the president of the Baptist Church in West Papua. I also talk with the Beni Giai which from the Vangelica church in West Papua, from the Catholic side as well. All these leaders said to me that they all decided not to go out after 6 o'clock. So you have a situation in West Papua where (it's) really scary. A lot of rumours spread all over in West Papua that all the food and the drink are already injected with the poison and this is not gastro, but since they found these people like as I explained before, that they drink and then they die, and then they eat and they die. But the 12 people found dead in the streets, those situations make these rumours, these kind of true.
DJAJAMIHARDJA: What do police in Papua do about this you said dead bodies?
MOTE: They do nothing actually, because they said we don't have evidence, we don't ... just accept as it is. So they really do nothing, the police.
DJAJAMIHARDJA: Who do you think did the killing, these mysterious killings?
MOTE: Yes, West Papuans people really believe that this is by Indonesian military, which can be from big mobile brigade of police force, armed forces, may be air forces. The Papuans believe either of these units did this, that's what Papuans believe. And then it's very interesting that most of these dead bodies are from highlands, so it seems like the target is really to highlanders who are very strong, fight for their rights and fight for independence of West Papua.
DJAJAMIHARDJA: This mysterious death you describe, some of them were caused by people consuming poisoned food. Do you have any proof about it?
MOTE: Yes, the people has evidence, because a couple of, for instance, what happened in Jayapura, just right after they eat from that restaurant they came back home sick and dead. So just right after, just after they drink they finally dead. Because this is what all this is really I gather report in death this morning.
DJAJAMIHARDJA: How many deaths do you know in say in the last month of August?
MOTE: In August, here I have from 12 that body gets found in the street, ten of them are death in last month.
Presenter: Hidayat Djajamihardja
Speakers: Octovianus Mote, lecturer in genocidal studies at Yale University
