17 Oct 2012

Warning of harder Indonesian crackdown in Papua

2:52 pm on 17 October 2012

The British-based Indonesian human rights group, Tapol, says political activists and human rights defenders in West Papua are living in increasing fear as a result of an intensifying crackdown by Indonesian security forces.

It says on Tuesday student dormitories at the University of Cenderawasih were raided by Indonesian intelligence officers.

Tapol says they were attempting to arrest a member of a network of women human rights defenders, Fanny Kogoya, and other activists.

It says Jakarta has been increasingly targetting Papuan activists since the killing of the leader of the National Group for West Papua or the KNPB, Mako Tabuni, four months ago.

Tapol says it fears further acts of terror, intimidation, arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings against activists are imminent.