Indonesia revises Papua toll to 15 dead after April 14 operation; probe under way

JAKARTA, April 20 — Indonesia said today that a total of 15 people were killed in Central Papua province earlier ‌this month during a military operation against separatist rebels that drew condemnation from the country’s human rights watchdog.

Natalius Pigai, Indonesia’s Minister of Human Rights, told reporters today that another seven were also injured during the fighting.

He did not disclose how many of the casualties were civilian, but said anyone responsible for attacks against civilians “should face the legal process as soon as possible.”

The military said it had no information about the deaths, but the state-run National Human Rights Commission said over the weekend that 12 civilians, including women and children, were shot dead during an operation against separatists in central Papua on April 14. Dozens of others sustained serious injuries, it added.

It was not immediately clear whether ‌they were killed by Indonesian or rebel fire, or both. The commission said it was investigating the ⁠deaths.

“We condemn the enforcement operation against Papuan rebels that ⁠resulted in civilian casualties,” commission chief Anis Hidayah said in a ⁠statement.

“All forms of attacks against civilians, ⁠whether in situations of war ⁠or otherwise, carried out by state or non-state actors, constitute violations of human rights and International Humanitarian Law,” she added.

The commission also urged Indonesia’s military to reevaluate operations against Papuan rebels, she said.

Pigai said ⁠the human rights ministry would also send a team alongside the human rights body to investigate the deaths.

Resource-rich Papua, home to the world’s second-largest gold and copper mine, has been beset by a simmering separatist movement since it was brought under Indonesian control after a 1969 vote overseen by the United Nations.

A military spokesperson for Papua told Reuters he had not received any information regarding ⁠civilian fatalities in Papua last week. A Papuan rebel group said 12 civilians were killed by military operations.

The military’s Habema taskforce carried out an operation on April 14 in Puncak region ⁠after receiving reports from civilians about the presence of rebels in their village, taskforce spokesperson Wirya Arthadiguna told ⁠Reuters.

Four rebels ⁠were killed during the operation in Kembru village, and there was a report of a child dying from a gunshot during an unrelated incident in a nearby village, Wirya said.

“No military personnel were present at that ‌village at the time of the shooting of the child, and the two incidents took place at different locations and times and are not connected,” he said. — Reuters