A disturbing video has emerged on social media, and going viral depicting the brutal torture and eventual death of a West Papuan man at the hands of his captors. The victim, whose crime remains unknown, was brutally beaten while bound and confined within a 44-gallon drum, leaving him with no chance of escape from his tragic fate.
Frank Makanuey, a Papua New Guinean citizen of West Papuan descent, has voiced his outrage and concern over the treatment of indigenous people by Indonesian soldiers.
He highlights that this atrocity and incident is in violation of the New York Agreement, an agreement signed over 69 years ago in secrecy between the US, the Netherlands, and Indonesia, paving the way for the occupation of West Papua in 1963. Makanuey said the original intent and purpose of the New York Agreement is not to exact human rights abuses.
Mr. Makanuey condemns this barbaric act as a crime against humanity, yet laments the world’s indifference towards the atrocities faced by the indigenous population of West Papua in their struggle for freedom.
The footage, showing Indonesian soldiers inhumanely assaulting an unarmed man trapped in a drum, serves as a damning indictment of the ongoing crimes against humanity in the region.
Since the implementation of the New York Agreement and Indonesia’s prolonged dominion and occupation over West Papua, countless such atrocities have unfolded, claiming the lives of thousands of indigenous Melanesian individuals.
Mr. Makanuey said further that crimes against humanity have long been outlawed by the United Nations, following the atrocities of World War II.
He calls for an immediate cessation of aggression against the indigenous people of West Papua, asserting that their right to self-determination supersedes Indonesia’s domestic affairs and warrants intervention by the United Nations.
As a respected West Papuan community leader, Mr. Makanuey urges the United Nations General Assembly to take decisive action and grant independence to the Melanesian people of West Papua, in accordance with its Human Rights Charter that was ratified in 1948.