Human Rights Ministry Deems No Need for Investigation Team in Papua Shootings

The Indonesian Ministry of Human Rights (HAM) believes that an independent investigation team is not currently needed to probe shooting incidents in Papua, including the case of a pregnant woman being shot in Intan Jaya Regency. The ministry stated that comprehensive investigations are already underway in coordination with the National Police (Polri). Mugiyanto, the Deputy Minister of Human Rights, explained on Tuesday (7/7) at his office in South Jakarta that while the ministry initially considered forming an investigation team, discussions with the National Police indicated that the ongoing comprehensive investigation process meant there was no need to establish a separate team. Komjen Fadil Imran, Head of Operations Assistant for the National Police (Astamaops Kapolri), who was present at the same occasion, stated that the shooting of the pregnant woman is currently being investigated by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). He also mentioned that the TNI and Polri have identified the perpetrators of the shooting of an AMA AIR pilot in Papua. "The collaboration between the TNI and Polri in the field in the context of law enforcement to identify the perpetrators is already working well. I don't think it's necessary, the team from the Cartenz Peace Operation Task Force, the Law Enforcement Task Force is already working, it's just a matter of technical coordination in the field on how to find the suspects," Imran said. In a written statement on July 3, the TNI's Habema Operation Command (Koops TNI Habema) provided details about the incident involving a pregnant woman named Melkiana Dwitau in Wandoga Village, Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency. Kapen Koops TNI Habema, Lt. Col. Inf. M. Wirya Arthadiguna, stated that based on field reports, chronological analysis, and location mapping, the gunfire was carried out by an armed group led by Peles Tigau from three different points within approximately 15 minutes. The first shots occurred around 6:45 PM WIT (Western Indonesian Time) from the direction of Wandoga Village. Five minutes later, shots were heard again from a different point in the hills in front of the Sugapa Military Post (Koramil Sugapa). Around 7:00 PM WIT, the group fired again before fleeing towards the river. Arthadiguna explained that during the series of events, TNI personnel did not return fire. "The conditions of rain, thick fog, and very limited visibility led personnel to occupy protective positions (stelling) while monitoring the situation, to avoid risks to civilians," he said. He added that spatial analysis indicated that the three sources of fire were at different points, with distances ranging from approximately 900 to 1,500 meters. Meanwhile, the victim's location was about 321 meters from the first shooting disturbance and further from the TNI personnel's position. "These data are one of the bases for the incident analysis process, which is still being deepened along with other field facts," Arthadiguna concluded. Source: CNN Indonesia