{"id":1569320,"date":"2024-03-23T04:18:55","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T04:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=98676"},"modified":"2024-03-23T04:18:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-23T04:18:55","slug":"wenda-condemns-sadistic-brutality-of-indonesian-torture-of-papuan-calls-for-un-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/03\/23\/wenda-condemns-sadistic-brutality-of-indonesian-torture-of-papuan-calls-for-un-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Wenda condemns \u2018sadistic brutality\u2019 of Indonesian torture of Papuan \u2013 calls for UN action"},"content":{"rendered":"
Asia Pacific Report<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n A West Papuan pro-independence leader has condemned the “sadistic brutality” of Indonesian soldiers in a torture video and called for an urgent United Nations human rights visit to the colonised Melanesian territory.<\/p>\n “There is an urgent need for states to take more serious action on human rights in West Papua,” said president Benny Wenda of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP).<\/p>\n Describing the “horror” of the torture video in a statement on the ULMWP website<\/a>, he called for the immediate suspension of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) membership of Indonesia.<\/p>\n Citing the 1998 Rome Statute<\/a>, Wenda said torture was a crime against humanity<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Indonesia has not signed this treaty — against torture, genocide, and war crimes — because it is guilty of all three<\/a> in West Papua and East Timor,” Wenda said. His statement said:<\/p>\n ‘Horror of my childhood’<\/strong> “In the video, a group of soldiers kick, punch, and slash the young Papuan man, who has been tied and forced to stand upright in a drum full of freezing water. <\/em><\/p>\n “As the soldiers repeatedly pummel the man, they can be heard saying, \u2018my turn! My turn!\u2019 and comparing his meat to animal flesh. <\/em><\/p>\n “Watching the video, I was reminded of the horror of my childhood, when I was forced to watch my uncle being tortured by Suharto\u2019s thugs. <\/em><\/p>\n “The Indonesian government [has] committed these crimes for 60 years now. Indonesia must have their MSG Membership suspended immediately — they cannot be allowed to treat Melanesians in this way.<\/em><\/p>\n “This incident comes during an intensified period of militarisation in the Highlands. <\/em><\/p>\n “After an alleged TPNPB fighter was killed last month in Yahukimo, two Papuan children were tortured by Indonesian soldiers<\/a>, who then took humiliating \u2018trophy\u2019 photos with their limp bodies. <\/em><\/p>\n\n
\n“I am truly horrified by the video that has emerged from of Indonesian soldiers torturing a West Papuan man. More than anything, the sadistic brutality on display shows how urgently West Papua needs a UN Human Rights visit<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n