16 Oct 2015

Churches criticise Indonesia's Papua record

4:38 pm on 16 October 2015

Pacific churches say Indonesia must seriously address human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings in Papua.

The call by the Pacific Conference of Churches comes after the killing of a student in Timika and Indonesia's denials at the UN General Assembly of human rights abuses in the territory it annexed in 1961.

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Photo: RNZI

The organisation's general secretary, the Reverend Francois Pihaatae, says the situation in Papua is made worse by Indonesian denials when the evidence of abuse was clear.

He says social media makes it impossible for Indonesia to hide the atrocities committed by its security forces on a people who want to determine their political future for themselves.

The Reverend Pihaatae says despite the obvious and overwhelming evidence, the Indonesian government insults the intelligence of Pacific people by its denials.

He says Papuans are killed and tortured merely because they want self-determination, a right guaranteed by the UN of which Indonesia is a member.

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