Papua: A war with no enemy
Step Vaessen; 29/5/08
The torture scars on the body of 23-year-old Julius Meage are stark reminders of a grim past.
While much of Indonesia has moved on to become a vibrant democracy, the province of Papua in the far east of the archipelago has been left behind. Suharto, Indonesia’s former strongman president, stepped down 10 years ago, but the legacy of his often harsh rule continues to be felt here. In June last year, Meage, a resident of the small town of Wamena in the highlands of Papua, was locked up in the house of a local military officer after being accused of stealing the equivalent of $30. “They pulled out my nails and started to burn my body with a candle. My genitals and tongue were severely burned,” he says. These claims have never been officially investigated, but are nevertheless fuelling many Papuan’s desire for independence.
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9DE4027A-CAE7-4DE9-9566-11BF05A5BFCF.htm
Tags: Indonesia, TerrorismAdd new tag, West Papua