Bloody Crackdown Against Papuan Independence
21 October 2011 at 10:34 am
A crackdown against the Papuan independence movement by Indonesian forces has seen two people killed and more than 300 arrested.
Indonesian Security forces fired shots as they dispersed the Third Papuan People's Congress after the 1500 delegates declared independence from Jakarta and elected a president and prime minister, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Witnesses said shots were fired by Indonesian security personal, some Papuan activists were savagely beaten and more than 300 people were arrested.
The bodies of Daniel Kadepa, 25, and Max Yewon, 35, were found behind a local military base near Abepura, the Jakarta Post reported following the clashes.
Papua Police Commissioner Wachyono told CNN: "The reason we broke in was because the Congress violated the permit. The permit was only to talk about the basic rights of Papuans,"
The Jakarta Post says due to increasing tension in Papua, the National Police dispatched a ‘special team’ tasked with maintaining security in the province.
The ABC says Jakarta has kept a tight rein on Papua, where a low-level separatist insurgency has simmered for decades amid repeated demands for a referendum on independence from Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
