In West Papua, tens of thousands of civilians have been murdered by the Kopassus, the most notorious unit of Indonesia’s armed forces. Secret documents have leaked from inside Kopassus, Indonesia’s red berets, which say that Indonesia’s US-backed security forces engage in “murder [and] abduction” and show that Kopassus targets churches in West Papua and defines civilian dissidents as the “enemy.” The authenticity of the documents has been verified by Kopassus personnel who have seen them. The documents include a Kopassus enemies list headed by Papua’s top Baptist minister and describe a covert network of surveillance, infiltration and disruption of Papuan institutions.
The disclosure comes as US President Barack Obama visited Indonesia. His administration recently announced the restoration of US aid to Kopassus. When the US restored Kopassus aid last July the rationale was fighting terrorism, but the documents show that Kopassus in fact targets civilians.
Title: http://www.allannairn.com/2010/11/breaking-news-secret-files-show.html Breaking News: Secret Files Show Kopassus, Indonesia’s Special Forces, Targets Papuan Churches, Civilians. Documents Leak from Notorious US-Backed Unit as Obama Lands in Indonesia.
Publication: Jakarta, November 9, 2010
Author: Allan Nairn
URL: http://www.allannairn.com/2010/11/breaking-news-secret-files-show.html
Faculty Evaluator: Robert McNamara, and Peter Phillips, Sonoma State University
Student Researcher: Aluna Soupholphakdy, Sonoma State University