The Killing of Yawan Wayeni...

BE ADVISED THE VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC FOOTAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES PERPETRATED BY THE MOBILE BRIGADE OF THE INDONESIAN NATIONAL POLICE FORCE. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.





I have had this for a few days (and the LA Times went with this story today) and the news relates to events that happened on 3 August 2009. I have been thinking whether I should post it and what I should say about it. I have 99 followers and average about 21 returning visitors every day (according to my statcounter). So, I am hardly a fountain of influence peddling information. If only I had the numbers that Perez Hilton has or the same number of Twitter followers that Ashton Kutchner has, then maybe what I post might influence opinion a little. But, I firmly believe that the flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a tornado at some point in the future. We must start somewhere, and maybe if each of us does a part we can, together, influence opinion and make the world a better place.

This post does not lend itself to a full expose of the litany of abuses perpetrated against the Papuan people since the integration of Papua into Indonesia in 1963 and the alleged act of free choice in 1969. However, it is important to note that there has been resistance to the integration into Indonesia.

It must also be pointed out that the Indonesian government still tightly controls access to the region. The lack of access by Indonesian human rights NGOs and Indonesian press leads to allegations that the Indonesian government is perpetrating crimes against the Papuans in order to stifle this dissent and eradicate it. It is time that the world took a stance on this issue and called the Indonesians to task. Nevertheless, it is also important that Indonesians themselves said, "enough is enough" and moved to bring their government to account for the ongoing atrocities occurring in Papua.

Perhaps, it is more important that Indonesians take a stand on the brutality being perpetrated against the Papuans as this then prevents the Indonesian government playing the "foreigner" card. The foreigner card is the claim, made generally through Commission I of the Indonesian Parliament, that foreigners leveling accusations of Indonesian brutality in its far-flung and restive provinces is nothing more than international meddling in domestic affairs with a view to securing vast swathes of Indonesia's natural resources for themselves.

The video is the of the killing of Yawan Wayeni. Wayeni was an escaped convict. He had been jailed for alleged violence against police and the burning of police property. He was also said to be a member of the Free Papua Movement or Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM). The video is graphic. Wayeni has been bayoneted in the stomach and his killers are taunting him through the final moments of his life.

However, in scenes reminiscent of Braveheart, Wayeni to the end can be seen raising his fist and saying as loud as he can "Papua Freedom" (Papua Merdeka). The video shows the police taunting Wayeni as he lies there. It also shows that they are not rendering him any assistance. Even if the claim was that he was wounded in this way while resisting arrest with a home-made rifle, it is clear that he is no longer any threat. The police must render all assistance they can.

The video was taken by the police. So, it has been leaked. By who, and why, remains a mystery.

It must be noted that, aside from Brimob, the other force most active in the restive province of Papua is the special forces. The special forces known by their Indonesian acronym of Kopassus (Komando Pasukan Khusus) have long been a pariah in world military circles with most countries opting not to engage in any joint activities with them. However, the US has recently indicated that they are about to re-engage with them. Australia has been re-engaged with them since 2005.

This is problematic because this force has long been accused of serious and grave breaches of human rights. These abuses have been perpetrated against the Timorese during Indonesia's occupation of East Timor / Timor Leste, and against the Acehnese during the period of Special Military Operations (DOM / Daerah Operasi Militer) and also against the Papuans. For these alleged abuses the special forces have never been called to account. Re-engaging with them suggests that there is no longer any serious intent on the part of most nations to hold either Kopassus or Indonesia accountable for these violations.

There can be no justice without accountability.

Executions in Indonesia

Executions in Indonesia are governed by the provisions of Law No. 2/PNPS/1964 on the Procedures for Carrying Out an Execution. Among other things this Law regulates the number of shooters to be in the firing squad and the distance the shooters can be from the condemned person. This is a team of 14 and more than five meters but less than ten meters, respectively.

The shots are to be fired at the heart and some members of the team will fire live rounds while others will fire blanks. This might sound like it lessens the burden of the shooters as they supposedly do not know whether they fired a live round or a blank.

However, I am reliably informed by a couple of former SAS soldiers that any soldier worth his salt can tell the difference between a live round and a blank. My guess is that the police officers of the Mobile Brigade that are tasked with this duty will also be able to tell the difference between a live round and a blank. The law does not stipulate how many rounds are to be live and how many are to be blank.

The Law also states that if the initial volley does not extinguish the condemned person's life then a single pistol shot to the temple is to finish the job. I would have figured if the firing squad were any good at their jobs then 5 or 6 shots to the heart would probably be a pretty instantaneous death as far as I can tell.

There will be an executioner. It seems the executioner's job is to lower the sword that signifies the shots are to be fired. I am guessing there will probably be witnesses on the scene, maybe a spiritual advisor, and a doctor to declare a time of death.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to be counting the days, hours, and minutes to your execution.