On January 7, hundreds of police and soldiers assaulted the highland village of Utikini following the killing of two police officers and a security guard from the mine. Pictures taken by soldiers, show Papuan men stripped to their waists with their hands tied behind their backs. Villagers reported to Survival International that 116 Papuans were arrested, including 48 women and 3 children. The police interrogated and tortured many of them. Twelve remain in police custody.
People from the nearby village Jekson Waker reported that soldiers and police have burned houses and tents belonging to members of the Dani, Amungme, Damal and Moni tribes.
Police allegedly found that many of the villagers had cards supporting Papuan self-determination. Such political expressions can be dangerous in West Papua, where people are jailed for up to 15 years for simply raising the West Papuan flag.
Activists have reported that during a press conference on January 7, an Indonesian Police chief said, “I ordered [them] to burn the civilians’ houses in Utikini village. This was deliberately done to trim the movement. I will annihilate them’.
The presence of so many police and soldiers has spread terror in the region and many have fled their villages and are hiding out in the jungle. Military sweeping operations such as these are commonplace in West Papua, where soldiers and police kill, rape and torture with impunity