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Kopassus - The elite special branch


INDONESIA's controversial special forces, which are trained by Australia, have been accused of new human rights abuses in the troubled province of Papua.In a report by US-based Human Rights Watch, off-duty members of the elite Kopassus branch of the Indonesian army are said to have tortured and abused Papuans. The claims coincide with a rise in reported violence in the province and a visit this week by presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla to the resources-rich but services-poor region.

The report documents the claims of several residents in the town of Merauke, southeastern Papua, who say they were beaten by plainclothes soldiers in Kopassus headquarters. Under a memorandum signed in January by Australia's Defence Force Chief Angus Houston and his Indonesian counterpart, Djoko Santoso, Kopassus troops are among those trained by Australia's military. The report calls on Australia, the US and other countries to reconsider their military co-operation with Indonesia. Military spokesman Vice-Marshal Sagoem Tamboen rejected the abuse claims, suggesting HRW's informants "could be just fighting amongst themselves, and then blaming our soldiers". He said concerns over Kopassus abuse should be reported to military police, although the HRW report documented one complainant being told by regular police it was "too dangerous for them to do anything".

The elite special branch, whose implication in human rights atrocities goes back to the communist purges of 1965-66, is led by Major General Edhie Wibowo, brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. General Wibowo is also the son of one of the special forces' great heroes, the late Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, who was heavily involved in the 1965-66 anti-communist purge that accompanied the overthrow of founding president Sukarno. As Kopassus chief at the time, Wibowo Sr was responsible for enforcing the so-called "act of free choice" by which Papua was incorporated into the Indonesian state. Papuan activists claim they were coerced into that 1969 decision. The new report documents claims by Merauke residents of being kicked, punched, whipped with hoses and forced to eat raw chillies in the Kopassus barracks. One alleged victim, a man named Petrus, 41, said a soldier shouted at him during a beating: "You Papuans, one single Kopassus soldier can kill you like chickens."

The report is the second this month from HRW to claim human rights abuses in the closed province, where visits by foreign journalists are rarely allowed and strictly monitored. On June 5, the organisation released a report detailing claims of beatings in Abepura prison, in the main northern city of Jayapura. They included claims of political prisoners being beaten and tortured, then moved out of sight during a visit to the jail by Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta

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