Ireland has been urged to use its influence within the UN to seek an international inquiry into the upsurge in human rights abuses by the Indonesian military in West Papua.
The call came yesterday at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, where a Swiss journalist, imprisoned in the territory two months ago for "illegal" reporting, gave an account of the beating of suspected pro-autonomy activists.
The journalist, Oswald Iten (50), was being detained in a police station in the West Papuan capital, Jayapura, on December 7th when he witnessed around 35 students being beaten with clubs and bamboo whips in a neighbouring cell. They had been arrested in apparent retaliation for the death of two police officers and a security officer during clashes with pro-independence supporters.
"There were five or ten 10 policemen in the cell," said Mr Iten, who had been arrested for working on a tourist visa. "I could see the whips coming up and down. They were spraying blots of blood on to the ceiling. Then I could see the policemen jumping from benches down on to people, and there were no screams, just groans."
When the beatings ended, he said, the floors were washed clean of blood and the students were thrown into other cells. One of them had a serious wound on the back of his head. "He fell over the bodies on to the floor and lay there groaning. He tried to get up but couldn't stand. It was a horrible atmosphere because everyone knew the man was dying and there was no medical assistance."
The student, Orry Doronggi (17), died in the cell about an hour later. At least one other student was killed in the same police operation, according to Amnesty International.
Since Mr Iten's visit, Indonesia has introduced even tighter restrictions on reporting in the area, a move condemned by Amnesty and the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Mr Viktor Kaisiepo, a member of West Papua's recently formed citizens' Presidium Council, said human rights abuses had increased in recent months, partly due to the unstable political situation in Jakarta.
Elements within the Indonesian military were now resisting the introduction of reforms promised by President Abdurrahman Wahid.
Mr Mark Doris, of the Dublin-based group West Papua Action group, called for an international inquiry into the rights issue and said silent diplomacy alone would not bring about the necessary change.
An estimated 100,000 West Papuans have been killed by the military since 1963, when Indonesia took over the territory and renamed it Irian Jaya, following the departure of its Dutch colonisers.
Speaking at yesterday's meeting, the Labour Party spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Michael D. Higgins, said it was vital that the Government "ensures that the situation in West Papua continues to be a priority for the EU".
