JAKARTA, – Indonesia confirmed Friday that those seen torturing suspected separatists
in a video posted online were government soldiers. In a short video, men tied in contorted positions are
held down on the ground and questioned. At one point, one man’s genitals are burned. Another answers
questions while a knife blade is jammed under his nose and occasionally dragged across his face and
neck. The torturers’ faces cannot be seen, but a uniform is sometimes visible.
The senior security minister, Djoko Suyanto, said Friday that the abusers were, in fact, soldiers and that
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had ordered an investigation. The victims were thought to be from
the restive eastern province of Papua. “A comprehensive investigation of the unprofessional behavior is
under way,” Mr. Suyanto told reporters after a cabinet meeting to discuss the video, which was posted
online and drew condemnation from newspapers, legislators and rights groups. Mr. Suyanto said proper
action would be taken against any soldiers involved in torture in accordance with military regulations.
According to Human Rights Watch, the advocacy group based in New York, a metadata analysis
indicated that the video was filmed on a cellphone camera on May 30. The video was posted on the Web
site of the Asian Human Rights Commission, which is based in Hong Kong.
Indonesia took over Papua from the Dutch in 1963 and formalized its sovereignty six years later through
a stage-managed vote by about 1,000 community leaders. Human rights groups say more than 100,000
people – a fifth of the impoverished province’s population – have died as a result of military action.
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