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End aid to Indonesian special forces, campaigners tell Obama
“In secret documents from Kopassus, the Indonesian special forces, they state that they have a policy of targeting civilians and targeting churches in Papua,”
The leaked Kopassus list includes “the head of the Baptist Synod in Papua, the evangelical church ministers, intellectuals, students, community leaders,” Nairn says, adding that Obama should cut off assistance to the Indonesian military.
"When the US restored Kopassus aid last July, the rationale was fighting terrorism,” he writes. “But the documents show that Kopassus in fact systematically targets civilians."
Nairn points out that US companies have major interests in Indonesia, including the world’s largest gold and copper mine in West Papua itself.
Torture, A Routine Tactic for Security Forces in West Papua
For the second time in recent months video footage of torture by Indonesian security forces targeting Papuans has revealed the brutality with which Indonesian security forces oppress Papuans.
The latest torture videos clearly depict Indonesian security forces applying a burning ember to one man’s genitals and suffocating him while a second man had a knife held to his throat and face. This video footage follows footage this summer of a Papuan who was knifed while in custody. That video showed his agonizing final minutes during which he was taunted by the Indonesian security forces who dealt him his fatal wound.
Indonesia: US Resumes Military Assistance to Abusive Force
Obama Administration Lifts Ban Despite Military’s Lack of Reform, Accountability:
The Obama administration's decision to lift a more than decade-long ban on US military assistance to Indonesia's abusive special forces seriously undermines its commitment to promoting respect for human rights in Indonesia and weakens US standards for military cooperation globally. The US secretary of defense, Robert Gates, announced a limited program of engagement with the elite force, Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus), while in Jakarta today.
Kopassus has been responsible for numerous serious human rights abuses - including killings, enforced disappearances, and torture - since the 1990s. The Indonesian government's failure to remove Kopassus soldiers convicted of serious abuses from the military, and its recent appointment of officers credibly linked with abuses to leadership posts within Kopassus and the Defense Ministry made repealing the ban particularly inappropriate
Originally posted by andy1033
the people running society are just out to kill and torture.
Of course obama has no choice to to let this stuff happen as he has no real power over who does it. Have not watched the vids, as i prefer not too, but man.
Originally posted by ringht_n_wrong
Well bro...this kind of human rights abuse is so rampant around the world these days that most people feel numb when seeing innocent people tortured. Thats the world we live in........
Originally posted by boondock-saint
Our world needs to change then !!!
2nd